Upgrade version of the prequel and ROCKS!

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2005)

There are movies which, especially if you shut down your brain cells, can really rock. Resident Evil, both of them, are definitely two of those. Although this time around you don't really have to minimize your brain activity or intellectual in order to have fun watching this movie, and it's also enjoyable for those also, who have never played the video game. And it's definitely suggested for those who like to watch hard and beautiful girls kicking a$$. Resident Evil: Apocalypse is by far the best video-game-into-movie project I have seen so far. It's a tough area for movie-makers to write a decent plot and make a watchable movie of a video game.
This story, again, takes place in Raccoon City, which is obviously Toronto... I had an inner smile while watching the opening scenes showing the unmistakable Toronto skyline with US flags all around, and I was wondering that whether A) the USA invaded Canada and renamed the city (maybe as a retaliation to the continuous humiliation in ice hockey), B) Americans loved Toronto so much they copied it, or C) the German director and actors were not able to make a difference between Canada and the USA anyway. Well, it's not Chicago at least, for Toronto played Chicago in that overrated cheesy award winning musical hype... Besides Vancouver, Toronto is probably the most occupied Canadian figure in US movies. :-)
The first part had a cliff-hanger ending, which became the starting point of the sequel. This one is definitely an upgrade version of the prequel, I guess the director and co. learned a lot since finishing the first part of the series. Which is a lot better in the sequel is definitely the casting. Since it's a zombie movie and resurrection is possible, I was wishing that Michelle Rodriguez, one of the least-talented actresses in Hollywood by my opinion, wouldn't come back to life. (Wonder why she hasn't yet won any Razzies...) And YES, she won't! It was fun watching her character die ugly in the prequel, and her character (No.2. hard-a$$ chick) was replaced by Sienna Guillory, who's a very talented actress, played Helen of Troy and had a heart-breakingly wonderful performance in Sorted. I wouldn't have thought she fits in this character this much, but she's really convincing! She's been a good pick for the role. Mike Epps adds a new color to the movie and it was great to see Sandrine Holt again in an action movie, even if her character is a little drawn back this time. And Milla Jovovich (Alice) delivers the same good quality as in the prequel, but this time the acting skills of the characters are more balanced, thus the movie is more enjoyable. The only irritating thing regarding the actors is the constant German accent by a bunch of actors. It's especially irritating when it comes to a US government official... At least you cannot say it's not multicultural enough: US government officials with a German accent in a (ex-?)Canadian town...:-)
Other bad things I can mention: the zombies are so lame and boring. They move the same, look the same, and the same extras are used in different street shots... The other one is the lame and a bit cheesy final showdown between two main characters (I'm not telling their names in order to avoid spoiling).
To sum it up: it's a great and enjoyable movie, definitely suggested for those who want 90+odd minutes of action and entertainment.
Can't wait for the third one, especially since this one has a cliffhanger ending too.