Resident Evil Retribution poster. See Alice Run. Run, Jump, Shoot. "Let's go!"

Stars: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Boris Kodjoe, Michelle Rodriquez, Colin Salmon, Ada Wong, Shawn Roberts, Aryana Engineer, Johann Urb and Kevin Durand
Director/Scriptwriter: Paul W. S. Anderson
Composer: tomandandy
Cinematographer: Glen MacPherson
Screen Gems
Rating: R for violence and themed material
Running Length: 97 minutes
 
Resident Evil is one film franchise that sails along from episode to episode with nary a worry. The video game does well and so does their story of one posterior kicking female, Alice (Milla Jovovich), who somehow manages to face the bad guys down without a hair out of place. Director and writer here is Paul W. S. Anderson, and this is his third time directing. Alice’s gang along for the ride include Sienna Guillory as Jill, Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker, Aryana Engineer as Becky and Michelle Rodriguez as Rain. This film continues from the former one, “Resident Evil: Afterlife,” where Alice and her comrades thought they were safe on a ship, but guess again. Here is a world in the future where the Umbrella Corporation lets a mutant virus loose on the population (supposedly an accident) and people are turned into zombies with a landscape of gray, rain and destruction.
 
Back to the story…the safe ship is attacked! Surprise. This film is one battle scene after another and one escape after another. It seems as though action films of the past 2-3 years have no plot anymore, just run, jump, shoot, say one or two words and then back in action. Same here. Everything is spectacularly done and my hearing will return in a day or two, but I would have liked a few words other than, “Let’s go.” 
 
Alice’s friend Jill is now controlled by Umbrella because of a pendant on her neck. You just know somewhere in the film will be one dozy of a fight scene between the two.  Alice protects a deaf child, Becky, and these moments add to the film, but that’s all they are---moments, then back to action. Alice is trying to escape from somewhere and she doesn't know where. Turns out, Umbrella has a secret underground/underwater base in Russia that stretches for miles with areas such as Suburbia, Moscow, etc. so they can study people in different environments. How to escape from this place?  That’s where Kevin Durand (Lost) and friends come into play, they are the rescuers trying to get into this enormous bunker. Add to the mix alternate realities, zombies, two huge monsters, flying zombie-like bats and clones and you have a game board in front of you that any gamester would like to tackle. See Alice Run.
 
I was disappointed in the latest film of the franchise. There are talented actors here but given so little to do. The previous film, Resident Evil: Afterlife had a story to it and time to develop it besides giving the actors something to do other than run. That doesn't happen here. This story is slack in places, confusing in others and with clones around, who is “really” who? The audience needs a map to follow.
 
As Alice, Milla Jovovich makes the character and will continue on as long as there are stories. She brings a positivity to Alice and I imagine, even in Resident Evil XXV, it will still be there.
 
2tocks
 
Copyright 2012 Marie Asner
 
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