Resident Evil: Afterlife (www.the-usher.com)

"My name is Alice. I had worked for the Umbrella Corporation. Five years ago, the T-Virus escaped, and everybody died. Trouble was... they didn't stay dead."

With the human race all but gone, Alice (Jovovich) takes the fight to the Umbrella Corporation, the company that spawned the T-Virus that wiped out the planet, turning the victims into the ravenous walking dead. Succeeding in taking on the CEO Albert Wesker (Roberts), Alice returns to her search for survivors, trying to discover what happened to Clare Redfield (Larter) and the others who escaped from the desert outside of Vegas. Her investigation reveals something more terrifying however, as the virus has mutated.

When it comes to naming the most success movies based on Video Games then there is only one series that has kept going but can the fourth live action Resident Evil movie bring a new dimension to the franchise?

In 2002 writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson brought us his own interpretation of the extremely successful action horror game by Capcom and the ‘Resident Evil’ franchise was born. Mixing over the top action and zombie horror, the film went onto take over one hundred million dollars worldwide, even with fans bemoaning the fact that it did not follow structure and storyline of the game. Two years later, the sequel, ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’ tried to rectify that by setting the film in Raccoon City and introducing more of the heroes and villains from the first three classic games. Again, the movie made over one hundred million dollars worldwide and more than the original which led to the third movie, ‘Resident Evil: Extinction’ coming on 2007. Introducing further character fan favourites from the game and pushing the action stakes up again, the third film in the franchise again made money at the box office than the previous two movies. A fourth movie was inevitable but as Paul W.S. Anderson returns as director, he wanted to bring a new dimension to the franchise, 3D.

While the Hollywood studios may think that 3D can work in every genre, it is in horror where a filmmaker can have the most fun. With ‘My Bloody Valentine’, ‘Final Destination’, ‘Piranha 3D’ and ‘Saw 3D’ all utilising the technology with varying amounts of success, Paul W.S. Anderson decided to adapt the same camera system and techniques used by James Cameron’s team for ‘Avatar’ but again the new dimension has mixed results. The action sequences are slightly enhanced by the use of 3D with the impressive opening sequence employing the technology with great aplomb but the rest of the film does not live up to this early promise. With only some key scenes making you notice the use of 3D, this again raises the question as to whether it is worth wearing the glasses in the cinema or at home.

Even with a new dimension added, ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ has to do what the other sequels have done, continue the story of Alice and her fight against the Umbrella Corporation and the film does just that. All of the sequels have tried to introduce characters from the video game series and this time it is the turn of a classic hero and a bigger role for a much-loved villain. ‘Prison Break’ star Wentworth Miller stars as former STARS officer and brother of Claire, Chris Redfield. Introduced in the third film, Albert Wesker has a much bigger role to play in the fourth movie. Much more like the character from the ‘Resident Evil 5’ video game and played this time by Shawn Roberts, Wesker is the ultimate opponent for Milla Jovovich’s Alice, using the T-Virus as his own plaything to make himself all the more powerful.

With the zombies taking a step back and the fight against Wesker and Umbrella coming to the forefront, this change of direction makes ‘Afterlife’ more of an action movie than a horror one. While some fans may bemoan this, the change in direction makes for up for this with more action and a progression to the story that will open up even more sequels. Lets just hope they utilise 3D much better for the fifth film.

2D Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D Special Features

Sneak Peek of Resident Evil: Damnation
movieIQ+sync
Undead Vision” Picture-in-Picture Video
Filmmaker Commentary
Eight Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Seven Featurettes:
- Back Under the Umbrella: Directing Afterlife
- Band of Survivors: Casting Afterlife
- Undead Dimension: Resident Evil in 3D
- Fighting Back: The Action of Afterlife
- Vision of the Apocalypse: The Design of Afterlife
- New Blood: The Undead of Afterlife
- Pwning the Undead: Gamers of the Afterlife

DVD Special Features

Sneak Peek of Resident Evil: Damnation
Filmmaker Commentary
Two Featurettes:
- Band of Survivors: Casting Afterlife
- Fighting Back: The Action of Afterlife

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2010