When it comes to chic cinematic action, Milla Jovovich may be the poor woman’s Angelina Jolie, but her Resident Evil saga continues to be one of the millennium’s only adequate B-movie franchises. In this fourth installment, the first to be helmed by creator Paul W. S. Anderson since 2002’s original, as well as the maiden chapter shot in 3D, Jovovich’s zombie-killing Alice blows up the subterranean Japanese headquarters of the evil Umbrella Corporation, loses her T-virus superpowers, and – along with amnesiac sidekick Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) – attempts to help a group of Los Angelinos escape a downtown high-rise prison. That ludicrous setting is in keeping with mayhem so far removed from reality (and, in most respects, the Capcom videogames that loosely inspired this series) that Afterlife doesn’t bother explaining basic plot points (it would be generous to describe the narrative as “superfluous”) or even matching one shot to the next. Instead, its prime preoccupation is reveling in outrageously gimmicky 3D imagery, most of which involves Jovovich pointing phallic firearms and running and/or leaping toward the screen as explosions propel her forward, except in the one sumptuous sequence in which Larter takes center stage to fight a hooded behemoth in rain-drenched slow-motion. Shiny CG combat of a decidedly juvenile, titillating order is the film’s sole commodity. And in that limited respect, it delivers a reasonably vigorous balance of sexiness and shoot-‘em-up carnage, all of which centers around the ogling of Jovovich, who – whether decked out in Amelia Earhart-style aero-duds or encased in an all-black jumpsuit (with matching slicked-back hair) – remains a preeminent object of carnal desire.
Ah, we have finally hit the point where crush defeats common sense. Christ, was this movie boring. All the stuff you normally savage (the circular idiocy of a plot going nowhere slowly, by-the-numbers action that takes place almost entirely in slow-mo, wooden smirk-tastic heroine, characters with less-than-one dimension), and this sh*t gets a B, huh?
Plus, if you've even seen interviews with your crush, she is a smug child of obscene privilege and a nigh-unbearable interview.
Posted by: Blue Sullivan | January 25, 2011 at 11:05 AM
I agree that it has lots of elements that normally rub me the wrong way. But I think the film has style to burn, is shot well (in 3D, no less), and delivers decent B-movie cheese.
As for Milla, as long as she's not some crazy racist/political nut/criminal, I don't care what she's like in real life. It has no effect on my enjoyment of her action-film performances.
Posted by: Nick | January 25, 2011 at 12:49 PM