Resident Evil on Johnny Brento’s Juju.
If you aren’t aware of the video game based Resident Evil film franchise starring action vixen Mila Jovovich, you must have been living under a rock for the past decade.
Yes, I know that Streebo has frequently decried some of the franchises films as “Not Working” and “Awful” in various post and MutantTV Vlogs. In at least one case, that of Resident Evil: Extinction I even agree with that film just being a total mess. That said, I DO NOT agree that these films are completely without merit. No matter how strongly any one reviewer feels, at the end of the day any review comes down to one guy’s opinion. Uncle Streeb’s and I generally have very similar tastes so we rarely have diametrically opposed views but it does happen occasion. For example he had kind words for that piece of crap, “John Carpenter’s Dark Store.” Opinions on movies are like fingerprints, no two are exactly the same.
For me the Resident Evil franchise started strong with a compelling story, strong acting from an excellent cast and really interesting art design and cinematography. The original 2002 Resident Evil film directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, just worked for me on every level. An honest to goodness mystery and zombie movie with other monsters. Great looking people doing some bad arse action! An underground base hidden in a mansion, secret subways and labs, you name it and this film had it. For me this was the best film by a country mile, though others would go onto be bigger with crazy premises, bigger and badder monsters and more video game like in their action. This is where my love for the franchise began and really accounts for me forgiving a lot in the sequels. The movie was actually scary and had a believable heroine. I just totally dig it still today.
2004 brought Resident Evil: Apocalypse directed by Alexander Witt. More Zombies and Monsters, a boss Monster battle and the addition of additional characters from the game including Jill Valentine played wonderfully by Sienna Guillory and Carlos Olivera played by the racially ambiguous and ridiculously talented Oded Feher. Mike Eps brought a very funny element to a few scenes and wound up reprising his comedic relief role of L.J. In the second sequel. I liked this film because it was bigger, flashier and had a lot more action. The store was a bit of a snooze but still it was another installment of a franchise I dearly loved by now.
In 2007 Russell Mulcahy brought us his vision of the Resident Evil Extinction. Bigger still than the first two films, this one had big problems with the script/story as far as most critics were concerned. Set in the post apocalyptic world, this films sees Alice become essentially god-like in her powers. Ahhh, yeah, classic mistake which a little research could have avoided. Having an Alice who can flip a switch in her head and use telekinesis to crush her opponents hands free strips her of her vulnerability and ultimately her humanity. We as an audience start to care less for her. The cool thing is that MVP called this glaring mistake after the advanced screening and when the following sequel, Afterlife took away all of Alice’s super powers. I’ve re-watched this one at home a few times and while there are definitely cool parts of the movie that entertain as well as plenty of eye candy, I cannot call it a good film. I really feel like the director just failed the franchise in this one.
In 2010, Paul W. S. Anderson said, “Screw this guest director crap,” and once again assumed the helm of the franchise with Resident Evil: Afterlife. Easily the best sequel thus far, Afterlife again upped the annie but this time in the form of the franchise’s first foray into 3D technology. I remember catching the teaser at the screening of another movie with my son, Liam. He looked at me and said, “We HAVE to see this!” We watched in together shortly there after and loved every second of it. By now everyone in the room is expecting a whacky video game sense of story and action. All bets are off as far as real world physics are concerned and the film borrows a great deal stylistically from, The Matrix. The action is, as always video game-like and epic and there are several fights scenes that really compete for my favorite of the film. I just thought this movie was a love letter to the fans. An in the end we get to see an evil version of Jill Valentine. Kick ass, I say!
Yes, I realize that I skipped Resident Evil: Degenration and the Capcom shorts in the series. Here at MVP we are about live action Baby! That brings us to next week’s Resident Evil: Retribution. Myself and fan boy kind everywhere are chomping at the bit. While I’m not ready to curse Uncle Streebo out for his disparaging remarks on the franchise, down at some inner child level, I can’t stop myself from loving these movies. No one is trying to make high art here. It’s all about the fantasy and the eye candy. So get yourself to a theater and enjoy the latest in the franchise on September 14th. Be sure to tell em Streebo sent ya. He’d love that!
