Henry and Kristl chat about Resident Evil: Afterlife

Rating: Null/10 (16 May 2013)

"I like that plane sequence where Alice flies with her companion over a desolate zombie infested country side. I can imagine doing that. It feels safe but eerie at the same time. A bit like when in The Mist they are in the car driving through that mist. On the one hand you feel safe in that car, but on the other you know you are not," Kristl said, "And I like small propeller planes."
"And Milla Jovovich looks great.," Henry added.
"Like Kate Beckinsale does in Underworld, huh? Ladies with guns that kick ass. At the start those Alice clones are even wearing some kind of suit that reminds me of Selene. Is that a reference to Underworld perhaps?"
"There is a lot of 'referencing' being done in this movie. That monster with the big axe walked right out of Silent Hill. And bad guy Wesker looks and behaves like Mr Smith from the Matrix. And the dogs and zombies with tentacles somehow remind me off The Thing."
"I didn't quite understand where that big axe guy came from and why it attacked those people in that prison. Did someone send it? And why?" Kristl tapped her underlip with a finger.
"I guess the Umbrella people sent them. Maybe to try them out or to chase those people out of the prison. "
"I also don't quite understand why Umbrella keeps on experimenting. What for? There is nobody alive to kill anymore, except for a handful of survivors, who hardly pose a threat or have the will and means to buy whatever Umbrella makes. "
"I think that there isn't much reason in the movie; just spiffy combat sequences. That is all that matters for this kind of movie. It needs to deliver some hectic fighting scenes with Milla in the middle whacking zombies and other creeps, and in the end she kills the head baddie in a spectacular way. Although in this movie he finally kills himself, which is actually funny, but the effect is a bit lost as it seems too far fetched to rely on him to escape in a plane containing the bomb he sets off himself. Spectacular, but unbelievable."
" The prison sequence reminds me of dawn of the dead, where they are cornered in a mall or the walking dead where they are isolated in a prison.The writer of the script was mostly borrowing from other movies. Seems like lazy writing. Lazy as when Alice and that other girl go somewhere with a third person, you know that third person is going to get killed."
"And wham it happens," Henry grins..
"All the time! I wonder how long they can keep on making Resident Evil in this fashion. Dish up some action scenes with barely a story to stitch them together or have some kind of character development. An Umbrella stronghold gets blown to bits with every movie, even two at times, how many are there left?"
" No worries, I think the next Resident Evil installment will play on Mars. Perhaps Alice even discovers they have been on Mars all the time." Henry laughed, "No doubt it will be referencing Aliens, Doom and Ghosts of Mars."
"But you know what I think is the best reference of all?," Kristl said.
"Do tell!"
"That Hollywood sign they fly over and is shown as partly damaged and partly burning. It captures exactly what Hollywood is and delivers with Resident Evil: Afterlife: a smoking pile of junk that looks cool."
"Amen to that."