Paul W.S. Anderson - (2012) Resident Evil: Retribution [Review]

 

You know who she is. Her name is Alice and she worked for the Umbrella Corporation. Okay, I'm just going to stop there. If you're keen on finishing that sentence for me, be my guest. From the very first titular debut film, I was already disappointed with the fact that filmmakers have strayed too much from Resident Evil grand mythology. I mean who the hell is Alice anyway?

One after another, Paul W.S. Anderson, Alexander Witt and other parties responsible in bringing Resident Evil from console to silver screen, have spewed forth rather disappointing films as the entry progresses. It's downright embarrassing to watch my favorite characters such as Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy and Chris along with Claire Redfield being defiled by incessant effort to cash in on the franchise already worn out cliche.

Li Bing Bing as Ada Wong. She cannot perform too much action due to the USD$7,500 wig she's wearing.

I guess it will be better if Hollywood try to follow the storyline from the first ever Resident Evil that was released in 1996. That game has one of the scariest plot filled with bleak atmosphere of impending dread. No kidding. Set in a mansion somewhere deep in the Arklay Mountains, the latter is teeming with life devouring terror that awaits in every corner. Perhaps filmmakers find the story, well, less accessible to people who aren't familiar with the moniker?

Retribution is laden with laughable shoot 'em up scenes; the characters are heavily bombarded and shot at but fled the scene unscathed. One thing that bugs me which doesn't feel quite life-like is the fact that they never ran out of ammo. Only when Leon and Luther West confronted the bad Rain do their guns run on empty clip. Yeah it is understood that such an element is part of the action. However, when they have neglected to bring up the sense of realism to the film, it's nothing more than just another cliche entertainment.

Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine. My favorite

At least the fight choreography is well executed. It is perhaps the only redeeming thing about Retribution. It is as impressive as it gets, most notably the melee combat between Jill and Alice near the end of the film. Valentine now brandish a retractable scepter, reminiscent of Paul W.S. Anderson 'Alien vs. Predator'. Then again, fans like me clearly recall of how Jill kind of looks similar to Nina Williams from the Tekken series. Bad Rain is not really bad at all when it comes to her penultimate battle with Leon and West; upon injecting herself with Las Plagas parasite, she gains the upper hand by beating the shit out of Leon, and killing West in the process. Yes. It's obvious that black people will always be sacrificed as part of Hollywood ritual.

Verdict: Repetitive, been there done that kind of feeling, like Deja Vu. Nothing new. Basically the film uses hell a lot of stock footage to retell the already redundant facts about the film's mythology. Cardboard characters, especially that of Ada Wong and Leon S. Kennedy. Cliche feats. Worst dialogue ever. Bland storyline. Great fight scenes. In essence, I gave this film 2.5 out 10.