Far better than the dismal original

Rating: 8/10 (12 December 2004)

I was appalled by the first Resident Evil film. As a big fan of the games it was based on I hoped for something which tied in with it. Indeed, George Romero agreed with this philosophy and coined a script featuring recognisable characters from the franchise, and a similar setting. This script got him fired and the final movie bore pretty much no resemblance to the games bar the locale of Raccoon City and the name of the Umbrella Corporation. If alienating the fans wasn't bad enough, the actual quality of the picture was quite dismal, and though it was successful on the name, the film content left the majority of neutral viewers fairly apathetic, and actual fans mildly annoyed. Bearing this in mind, the sequel would have to rectify a lot of the mistakes the first one made, and contrive something far better than the original.
They succeeded admirably.
Apocalypse picks up exactly where the original left off, with Milla Jovovich's Alice staggering out of some kind of Umbrella medical installation to be greeted by the chaos of the town of Raccoon City under the state of emergency the outbreak of T-Virus has left it in.
However, Umbrella have plans to use the situation to their advantage by way of the Nemesis program, and endeavour to test their bio weapons within the carnage.
Meanwhile the S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Squad) members are still in Raccoon City and trying to escape, but after Nemesis slaughters a crew of them, it is left to the few remaining ones to try and escape. They are flanked by Alice who doesn't feel quite herself any more...
Resident Evil Apocalypse succeeds on the vast majority of levels the original feebly capitulated at. Firstly, and very importantly, there are far more references to the actual games in evidence. Carlos Oliveira, Jill Valentine, Nemesis, an Ashford reference; there are more than enough superficial homages to the games to satisfy the connoisseurs. Moreover, the 'feel' of the movie is vastly more akin to the games. Rather than the slightly sci-fi sanitised original which felt a million miles from the games, this one gets the scenarios and general ambiance closer to what purists wanted. Also in evidence here is the fact it's a mix of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis video games. Jill has her Nemesis outfit on, Carlos from 3 is here, the underground lab from 2 is featured. There are plenty of game links to satisfy. Sure, there are some slight modifications to the game plot, with certain details quite different, but you don't find yourself holding such facts against the film.
Secondly, and crucially, the actual movie itself outside of being faithful to anything is a genuinely enjoyable tale. Sure, it's hardly realistic, with plenty of gravity-defying stunts and absurd moments of combat, but it demands you suspend your disbelief for the duration and assuming your compliance you'll get a kick out of the action and explosions et al.
Then we have Alexander Witt's far more engaging direction compared to Paul Anderson's drab attempt in the first movie. Witt achieves an engaging ride here, always making each scene buzz with life. Never a dull moment in this one.
The cinematography is more than competent as well, with some great aerial shots and some effective street scenes. You feel part of the action at all times, and you're certainly never bored. Set layout is especially good, so good you actually don't notice it.
Finally the acting. OK, that's always going to be a weakness here, but besides the corny accents and overdose of cheesy dialogue the actors do a decent job of getting on with proceedings. Hell, they even manage to look like they're enjoying themselves.
But this film is not about acting; clearly the narrative is centre stage. And as a result of a reasonable script, good direction, and close ties to the game, Resident Evil Apocalypse manages on every level its predecessor failed at.
If you're a fan, highly recommended. If you're not, you will probably still get a blast out of it.