When we think of bad video game to movie franchises we always come back to the live action Resident Evil films and fair enough alot of them are bad. However there are some that are dumb but enjoyably dumb and those films do deserve alot of praise for knowing just what kind of film that they are and not being afraid of being exactly that and that is very much the case with this film as this film knows full well that it's a dumb film and because of that the film can be alot of fun watch and so then join me as I review the film that sees the Resident Evil films start to lean away from being horror films and start becoming more action films with the film in question being called simply just "Resident Evil Apocalypse" enjoy.
The plot of this film is several hours after the events of the first film Alice escapes the Umbrella Corporation and finds herself in the middle of a Zombie apocalypse where she and a bunch of other survivors have just a few short hours to find a way out before the Umbrella Corporation blows the city up for good. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. This films plot is one that is yes a dumb plot but its one that is enjoyably dumb as you get to see the characters struggle to do the most basic things all the while trying to escape from several zombies and heck no one goes to one of these movies for the plot anyway as we know that its going to be a bad plot. Yet with that in mind this films plot could have been alot more stronger as the film doesn't really have a plot for a lot of its running time with the characters just wondering around Raccoon City for alot of the films short running time with it only being when the film reaches the middle of the second act that a plot does somewhat start to emerge by which point its far to little to late to be starting a plot proper this is something that does make the film alot less enjoyable to watch as it robs the film of a reason for existing in the first place this is despite the fact that he film does have some good ideas in it and yet the film doesn't focus on any of them whereas if the film did have a more stronger plot then this film would come off as being all the more better because of it with the plot of this film being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this film is Milla Jovovich as Alice , Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine and Oded Fehr as Carlos Olivera. Also starring in this film is Thomas Kretschmann as Major Timothy Cain , Sophie Vavasseur as Angela "Angie" Ashford , Razaaq Adoti as Sgt. Peyton Wells , Jared Harris as Dr. Charles Ashford , Mike Epps as Lloyd Jefferson "L.J." Wade , Sandrine Holt as Terri Morales , Matthew G. Taylor as Nemesis , Zack Ward as Nicholai Ginovaef , Stefen Hayes as Yuri Loginova and Iain Glen as Dr. Alexander Isaacs.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. Much like with the films plot no one goes into of these films expecting the acting to be OSCAR worthy and whilst this films acting was never going to be winning any kind of awards it is alot more better then what it really had any right to be as due to the fact that tis films actors are all either unknown actors or at the time were very little known actors this films acting does end up only slightly being alot more better then what it rally should have been as yes there are still some truly wooded performances in this film. With the best actor in this film being Iain Glen as Dr. Alexander Isaacs as even tho he's not in that much of the film he does make each scene that he's in count as he does act his socks off in those scenes while Milla is of course the franchises main star she is still very wooden in this film she is better then what she is in the first film tho but with Iain he does nail his character right out of the park even down to the almost condescending way that he talks to Alice near the end of the film and it all adds up to a performance that is actually better then the film that it's in. With the acting that's in this film not really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this film absolutely anything to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.
Doing the CGI for this film is Mr. X , C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures , Frantic Films , Double Negative and Soho VFX. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. While the film doesn't really use alot of CGI with them mainly using Matte Painting to extend things like the films sets when the film does use CGI it is something that does stand out as they can either be really good or really bad. With a good example of this being the Lickers as when they are stood still or hidden mostly in the dark they do look pretty good with this being due to the fact that as was just mentioned they are mostly hidden in the dark and therefor we the audience don't get that good of a look at them but it's when we see there tongues being used that things do start to fall apart for them as while there is no way to get perfect recreation of a tongue especially given the fact that Lickers are essentially mutations they do look a little bit weird with them at best looking like very early PS3 graphics as they do look pretty fake an while there is no way that they could have done practically there still should have been some effort put into making there tongues look as good as they could gave done for a film that was released in 2004. However to the films credit the ending explosion does look really good with the makers of this film putting alot of thought and effort into making that explosion which is something that does make sense as it is technically a key plot point in the film and while yes the explosion itself does look dated by today's standards baring in mind that this film wouldn't have had a huge effects budget in the first place that ending explosion does look as good as it was ever really going to look.
Whilst the first film did have Alice taking part in some fight scenes and some stunts here in this film it did feel like that that became her entire character. Which is just odd as they have Jill who in this film is all about talking part in fights s the film basically has two versions of the same character with the makers of this film quite clearly favoring Alice over Jill which from the point of view of the mainstream audience is something that does make sense as they won't know who Jill is and what her story is and therefor won't mind that Alice is beating up alot of people in this film but those who did play the game and are watching this film because of the love that they have for those games will find it weird that there's two versions of the same character both of whom are meant to be the best fighter in the group with the only difference being that Alice was given her skills as a fighter whereas Jill wasn't. This is somethin that while it does make the fight scenes in this film alot more fun to watch as now we have not but two very beautiful women beating up zombies it also just makes the makers of this film not only lazy but also arrogant as they are saying that there creation is far more better then the character the fans of the game have come to know and love an while people would over the course of the films come to like Alice as a character they already loved Jill coming into this film therefor it would have made sense for the makers of this film to not focus on Alice as much and give some of the focus to Jill and heck they could even gave Alice play the same kind of role that she did end up playing in this film but in a more reduced capacity. However tho the mainstream fans who didn't play the games but just wanted to see this movie would be missing out as alot of the really cool stuff does happen with Alice and while there us nothing wrong with making Alice more of the bada*s of the group its something that does only work when there already isn't a bada*s in the group as then you cold have the group and Alice conflicting on how to handle a situation but given the fact that the group essentially has to leaders both of whom are bada**es that just doesn't get to happen in this film.
This is the film where we do find out not only who crated the original T-Virus but also what it was originally meant for. With being revealed that Dr. Ashford created it to help his daughter walk again something which he is unable to do and yet when Umbrella found out about this they took it of him and turned into what we know it to be this is a really good idea as it not only gives us some lore for the film but it also makes Umbrella be even more evil then what they already are as they took something that was meant as a way for a father to help his daughter and they just saw dollar signs and they took it of him and changed and muted it into something completely different which is a really good idea in the first place. Yet the film doesn't do anything with this idea as they never mention it after Dr. Ashfords daughter Angela mentions it when she mentions that both she and Alice have huge doses of the virus running through there bodies and yet that is something that really could have been explored more as it gives Umbrella more of a tie to alot of the characters then what they already have in the first place and it makes them appear to be all the more evil then what they already are in the first place. Heck even the fact that both Angela and Alice have huge doses of this apparently deadly virus running through there bodies and yet it doesn't kill them is something that whilst it does get explained as they are both immune to the virus which does create a problem when it comes to creating tension its also something that isn't that well thought out as the makers of this film not only don't go into that much detail about why that's the case in the first place but they also do nothing with it as it doesn't create any tension between Alice and the other survivors and we don't get to find out why we should care that the blood of these two people might hold the cure to this deadly virus in the first place but if the film did go into more detail then it does run the risk of making the film be alot less fun to watch.
Whereas the first film was a horror film and an action film second from this film onwards that does pretty much stop being the case. As they become and action film first and a horror film second with this being something that does happen in this film as while there are plenty of creepy moments in the film like at the school for example or the entire scene at the church both of which are very good examples of that as they do take the time to build suspense and while the scares themselves are nothing more then jump scares we do get some really fun deaths in them all of which do make it clear as day that the makers of this film do still know how to make a good horror film but then for no reason the film will just show us a really over the top action scenes. Granted this is a good way to get people excited during the film but alot of the time tho the films action is just there to show off what either Milla Jovovich or Sienna Guillory can do as while alot of the films other actors are taking part in the films action it is mainly them and Oded Fehr alot of the really cool stuff and all this does is make the film feel uneven as a film like this one should treat both the action and horror equally good and not favor one other the over but given the fact that the makers of this film do cram in alot more action scenes then they do scary scenes it is pretty obvious that they did favor being more of an action film then they did being an action horror film and this is something that didn't stop with this film as with each passing film they upped the action but downplayed more of the horror to the point where you could say that the last few Resident Evil live action films weren't horror films but they were action films and you'd be right and that is something that did start with this film and while fair enough you do want to show off what Milla Jovovich can do in a fight scene you can still do that whilst also having her be scared for life when a zombie comes to attack her.
Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and thirty three minuets and forty eight seconds. This is a solid amount of time for this film to have as the films plot is a really simple and therefor it doesn't need a longer running time in order to do its story any kind of justice and whilst yes fair enough it would have helped the film out quite alot if the film was a a little bit longer but at the same time tho that would make alot of the films issues seem all the more bigger as we would be forced to focus on them alot more then what we are in the first place with the film having the right amount of plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. Yet at the same time this this film really doesn't use its running time all that wisely as the film doesn't take the time to develop its plot as the makers of the film seem to be more invested in literally anything else in the film then they are in not only giving the films plot some much needed development but also in starting the main plot of the film as with this film having such a short amount of running time really every single scene needed to be about advancing the films plot and the film can't do that when it's main plot is started deep into the films second act with it being clear as day that the makers of this film cared more about giving us the same flashback scene over and over again in this film then they did in giving us a well thought out plot. The same thing is also true for the films severe lack of character development as none of the films characters including the returning who it could be argued doesn't need character development due to her being in the first film as none of them get any character development even the films new characters and yet they are the ones that really did need it the most and yet this is something that the makers of this film very easily could have done by not giving us an action scenes every five minuets and instead giving us a scene where the character just sit and talk and are given the chance to get across just what it is that makes them tick as people but the makers of this film seem to be more focused on giving us lots of action scenes but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really god. Heck you could very well make the case for tis films action being the best thing about the film as a whole as its where this film does get to be more alot of dumb fun to watch as we get to see all of the characters doing these really cool things with the only major thing that does let down this films action being the fact that the film cuts several times inbetween each shot which is something that does make it hard to work out just what it is that's going on in alot of this films action scenes. With the best action scene in this whole entire film being the scene where Alice runs down the side of a building just to meet back up with her friends which is just such a cool as heck stunt that it was featured in alot of the films marketing and it's not that hard to see why as its a stunt that does look really good with the version in the films trailer actually being alot more better then then the one in the final film due to the fact that the one in the trailer has "Not Listening" by Papa Roach playing over it whilst in the film it just has a more generic instrumental track playing over it with this really going to show you that even tho a stunt is cool you sill a good piece if music playing over it to make be all the more better with the stunt itself being a really impressive one with Milla herself doing the end part of the stunt and its that dedication that makes it better as you get to see the characters face in the shot for real with the rest of the films action scenes being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall no matter what people think of this film the one thing that we call agree on is that it's better then whatever Welcome To Raccoon City was trying to be as this film knows full well that it's a dumb and bad video game movie and isn't afraid to be exactly that with the film being alot more fun to watch because of it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in his very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a gran old score of exactly a 6 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.
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