Slightly Better Than the First Film

Rating: Null/10 (4 September 2012)

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
The second film in the series is a slight improvement over the first but there's still no question that we've seen this type of thing way too many times. Raccoon City is about to be blown up with a nuclear missile after it's discovered that it has another zombie outbreak. Alice (Milla Jovovich), a survivor from the first flick, leads a group of people as they try to make it out of the city before its destruction. RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE is a film that I found to be slightly better than the first and for the first fifty-minutes or so I was having a decent time but the thing eventually ran out of gas and led to a pretty boring final act where deja vu was running ramped. Again, the first portion of the film is slightly entertaining even if we've basically got a NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD type of situation where our group tries to find shelter to defend themselves but then they learn that they're going to be dead no matter what if they stay in the city. The entire zombie or missile thing should have been used to a much better effect but very little is done with this aspect. The final thirty-minutes or so of the picture pretty much has a bunch of plot twists going on but none of these really work or are all that interesting. The zombie attacks are more memorable here and I think we're given a couple good sequences. The big addition here is a giant creature who actually makes for a nice villain, although in the end he's under used. Once again Jovovich is in fine form in the lead role and she's certainly fun to watch as she kicks one butt after another. The supporting players are also a bit better here, although no one really stands out. When the film runs out of gas it's simply because we've been down these roads so many times before and this here just isn't giving us anything new. The second portion of the film turns into a rehash of the first movie and while fans might enjoy that it just left me cold.