Not
quite the subtlety of the video game...
It's
been five hours since I left the theatre and I
still have a splitting headache. "Resident Evil:
Apocalypse" is one loud freaking movie!!! I am
not sure I have ever attended a louder movie in
my entire life. My ears felt literal pain.
Now, I must admit that despite giving it a
somewhat weak grade, I liked the first "Resident
Evil" enough for it to be considered a guilty
pleasure. I enjoyed playing the video game a
number of years ago and thought that Milla
Jovovich's performance was energetic and fun.
I've even sat though the movie a couple of times
as it made the rounds on HBO, Cinemax and
Showtime. It's not a great movie, but it is
tolerable.
I am not sure the same can be said of this
second installment. Despite the addition of
Sienna Guillory, whom I have a huge crush on,
there isn't much to be savored in this sequel.
Sienna takes the lead role as Jill Valentine for
the bulk of this film until the big finale when
Milla's character, Alice, takes center stage.
Sienna's Valentine is a sexy-as-hell renegade
cop who teams up with both Alice and Carlos
Olivera (Fehr), who is a SWAT-like soldier. They
are all trapped in Raccoon City as the Umbrella
Corporation's infamous virus zombifies the
entire population. They are searching the city
for a young girl who is the ticket to their
escape.
I'll be honest with you... I had the feeling
that this film would suck, but my Sienna
Guillory crush demanded a first day viewing.
"RE2" is a teeth-gratingly loud movie with weak
special effects, especially when it comes to the
old-school slow-motion Zombie shots. You never
really get a good look at one of the monsters,
presumably because they looked cheap.
Only die-hard fans of the franchise will be able
to tolerate the lack of character depth or the
ludicrous story. The rest of you should save
your time and money. Not even the gorgeous Jill
Valentine scenes can overcome the lameness
exhibited elsewhere. Sienna Guillory will have
many better roles in many better movies in her
career... this was just a stepping stone for
name recognition.
Milla Jovovich is typically powerful. I think
she is an underused and underrated actress. It
must be hard to overcome the supermodel stigma.
But the plot is dull and the effects are weak,
and if you absolutely insist on going to see the
film anyway... I suggest you bring along some
earplugs.
©
Written by TC Candler
Richard
Propes' Comment
As
attractive as Milla Jovovich and Michelle
Rodriguez are...I still didn't much care for
this flick. This is yet another of the bad
"video game" movies...I've heard that fans of
the game, at times, actually liked this film.
I've never even seen the game so maybe I'm
missing the point. What I see is a film with
moderate special effects, mild horrors and
little else to recommend it.
Jacob
Hall's Comment
n/a
