To say that Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a horror movie would be a misnomer. The original film, based on the game, created a feeling of tension and foreboding while our group of protagonist ran from zombies. The sequel, however, changes the atmosphere a bit and creates more of an action flick. That is not to say that scary moments are nonexistent; they are just filler for gun fights and explosions.
This new movie starts off slightly before the first movie ends. This is necessary because of how long ago the first movie came out, and also because I doubt many people saw it. The Umbrella Corporation’s T-Virus has escaped the underground facility beneath Racoon City and has begun turning its citizens into flesh-eating zombies (the good, old-fashioned lumbering ones too, no more running). After the city is quarantined, a small group of survivors must find the daughter of an Umbrella Corp scientist in order to escape before the city is nuked. Along the way, we see zombies, a group of monsters unique to the game, zombies, a rather impressive Nemesis from the game, zombies, the return of the creepy, skinless Dobermans, and of course more zombies.
The only returning character (essentially) is Alice, played by Milla Jovovich. Since the last film she has been genetically modified, allowing her to perform super-human feats. Her character is the only one really required to so acting chops, and she does a fairly adequate job. This film also brings in S.T.A.R. Agents, Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliviera (Sienna Guillory and Oded Fehr, respectfully). The rest of cast includes the cliché bad guy, little girl, concerned father and plucky comic relief, L.J. (Played by Mike Epps, who actually adds a good bit of humor to the film).
The film itself is average. As stated before, instead of going for scary, this follow-up shifts gears for a more action-oriented boom-fest. That’s not really a bad thing, just disappointing. I really enjoyed the first one and was hoping this one would be more of the same. Do I think it’s as good as the first film… nope. But it does have a more commercially appealing vibe with all the fight scenes now. Also, the new style has more video game flair where the first one was simple horror-flick in video game universe. It’s just not what I was expecting.
Overall though, it’s a good film. It does raise a couple of questions regarding the power of monopolistic businesses, but by-and-by it’s just a fun movie. The ending is very peculiar, and I do know that a third film is in pre-production. If you like action-films or horror movies, it will be an enjoyable way to pass an afternoon. But if you liked the first one, remember that this film is a completely different beast.
THREE OUT OF FOUR STARS
Overall Summary- Being a fan of the first film, this kinda disappointed me. However it does have one of the more disturbing zombie horde scenes I have ever scene (Zombies… creepy; zombie child… disturbing; zombie childREN…..).
This new movie starts off slightly before the first movie ends. This is necessary because of how long ago the first movie came out, and also because I doubt many people saw it. The Umbrella Corporation’s T-Virus has escaped the underground facility beneath Racoon City and has begun turning its citizens into flesh-eating zombies (the good, old-fashioned lumbering ones too, no more running). After the city is quarantined, a small group of survivors must find the daughter of an Umbrella Corp scientist in order to escape before the city is nuked. Along the way, we see zombies, a group of monsters unique to the game, zombies, a rather impressive Nemesis from the game, zombies, the return of the creepy, skinless Dobermans, and of course more zombies.
The only returning character (essentially) is Alice, played by Milla Jovovich. Since the last film she has been genetically modified, allowing her to perform super-human feats. Her character is the only one really required to so acting chops, and she does a fairly adequate job. This film also brings in S.T.A.R. Agents, Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliviera (Sienna Guillory and Oded Fehr, respectfully). The rest of cast includes the cliché bad guy, little girl, concerned father and plucky comic relief, L.J. (Played by Mike Epps, who actually adds a good bit of humor to the film).
The film itself is average. As stated before, instead of going for scary, this follow-up shifts gears for a more action-oriented boom-fest. That’s not really a bad thing, just disappointing. I really enjoyed the first one and was hoping this one would be more of the same. Do I think it’s as good as the first film… nope. But it does have a more commercially appealing vibe with all the fight scenes now. Also, the new style has more video game flair where the first one was simple horror-flick in video game universe. It’s just not what I was expecting.
Overall though, it’s a good film. It does raise a couple of questions regarding the power of monopolistic businesses, but by-and-by it’s just a fun movie. The ending is very peculiar, and I do know that a third film is in pre-production. If you like action-films or horror movies, it will be an enjoyable way to pass an afternoon. But if you liked the first one, remember that this film is a completely different beast.
THREE OUT OF FOUR STARS
Overall Summary- Being a fan of the first film, this kinda disappointed me. However it does have one of the more disturbing zombie horde scenes I have ever scene (Zombies… creepy; zombie child… disturbing; zombie childREN…..).
