This, the fourth entry into one of my favorite ongoing film franchises, more than does the job in satisfying those of us who count the days to the next chapter documenting the post-apocalyptic adventures of Alice (Milla Jovovich) as she marauds her way through oceans of mutant zombies in a righteous quest for vengeance against the evil Umbrella Corporation; the multi-national responsible for the virus that caused the end of the world. With the returning help of curvy Claire (Ali Larter), there’s just nothing not to like about bodacious babes brazenly blowing bad guys to hell.
“Resident Evil: Afterlife” opens to keep the promise made by its predecessor. Like unbelievably hot Godzillas with all kinds of sexy speaking voices, Alice and her lethal clones rampage through Tokyo to deliver a bloody reckoning on the underground facility housing an operational branch of Umbrella. Lifting heavily from “The Matrix” (never a bad thing), including an Agent Smith-like low talking arch-villain with a fondness for sunglasses, this stunner of a sequence ends with Alice losing those powers given to her by the T-Virus. Don’t worry, though. She can still handle herself just fine without the super strength and burgeoning telekinesis.
Hoping to meet up with those who survived the previous film, Alice does an Amelia Earhart and sets off for Arcadia, Alaska. A place advertised as the Promised Land, out of reach of the virus, undead and Umbrella. The many abandoned planes prove that she’s not the only one who had hoped to start a new life here. But she’s all alone until a Claire she hardly recognizes appears.
From there, things move quickly to a ravaged Los Angeles (half-joking he said: if only it were true) where thousands upon thousands of zombies from miles around have mindlessly laid siege to a maximum security prison where a handful of survivors – maybe the only survivors — await rescue. With Alice’s help and their only hope a large ocean-liner out at sea, they’re going to have to make their way through all those flesh-eaters first.
After stepping away as director for the middle two entries, Paul W.S. Anderson (the most unfairly maligned film director working today — other than Brett Ratner), who has overseen the production of the entire series, returns to the director’s chair bringing with him a much appreciated and increasingly rare talent for staging complicated action sequences in a comprehensible way. Unafraid of the tripod and possessing enough faith in the physical choreography of his scenes to deliver the goods, few directors are as gifted as Anderson when it comes to allowing audiences to understand the geography of what’s happening. No Greengrass-ian crutches to falsely inflate the energy – no hyper-edits and no shaky-cam.
Besides unpretentious stories, moments of real heroism, and an always stunning production design, the real attraction to this franchise is two-fold. Wisely, each new chapter is set in a completely different world. Since the series launch in 2002, the environment has moved from a sterile underground laboratory to urban nightmare to Road Warrior desert. You can’t overstate how important this dynamic is at keeping things fresh. And then there’s Jovovich, who effortlessly carries each film as our vulnerable but very capable heroine. Completely believable in ass kicking mode, she’s also tough without being strident and sexy in that old-fashioned way that doesn’t exploit her sexually at the expense of her dignity. You can’t keep your eyes off of her for all the right reasons…
She’s a star.
“Afterlife” isn’t the best of the series and it’s not the worst. The opening sequence is a highlight, the humor that comes at Hollywood’s expense is appreciated, and the prison scenes are exciting. But there are slow spots, the climax feels smaller than it should, and the screenplay feels one draft away from allowing the characters to connect as well as they might’ve. Whatever. I wasn’t bored, I wasn’t insulted, and I wasn’t stressing over the two hours of emails and phone messages piling up in my Blackberry. In other words, “Afterlife” passed the all important test of casting a spell and holding it.
Another sequel is promised. Another cliffhanger staged. So if you need me, I’ll be over here back counting down the days.
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