"Apocalypse" will reanimate anybody who enjoyed "Resident Evil"

Rating: 8/10 (21 June 2007)

The biggest problem with some movie sequels is that you need to know what happened in the original to appreciate what occurs in the sequel. Fortunately, ''Resident Evil: Apocalypse " (*** out of ****) recaps "Resident Evil" during its first few minutes, creates an even bigger crisis for another motley crew of characters, then this exciting video-game inspired sequel resumes where the original left off and goes for the jugular. In other words, if you missed "Resident Evil" or don't recall it well enough to fill-in-the-blanks, the filmmakers do it for you, bringing you up to speed for the sequel. Happily, L'Oreal international spokesmodel Milla Jovovitch reprises her athletic, gun-toting, butt-kicking role as Alice, ex-head of security at The Hive, while scenarist Paul W.S. Anderson provides some additional surprises for audiences since they last saw Alice. Brighter, bloodier, and more hyperkinetic than "Resident Evil," "Apocalypse" pulls out all stops with spectacular, high-octane combat, eye-catching photography, and charismatic characters. Although he falls back on the oldest plot in the apocalyptic genre: the rescue story (anybody remember "Escape From New York" or "Raiders of Atlantis?"), Anderson conjures up a new group of take-charge heroes that you don't often find in these bone-numbing, written-by-the-numbers, chiller thrillers. Meaning, a larger number of good guys survive "Apocalypse" than their ill-fated counterparts in "Resident Evil." Whereas "Resident Evil" took place underground in the top-secret Hive Viral Research Facility, "Apocalypse" transpires above-earth in the city around normal, everyday, urban surroundings where the scares get scarier. For example, after the contagious T-Virus infects the city, a Catholic priest struggles to save a zombified woman by roping her down to a chair and feeding her the human body parts of less fortunate victims. Veteran second-unit action director Alexander Witt, who cut his teeth helming big-scale action sequences for "Black Hawk Down," "Gladiator," "XXX," "Daredevil," and "Speed," takes over for "Resident Evil" director Paul W.S. Anderson. Anderson departed for the opportunity to call the shots on the new "Alien Vs. Predator" sequel. As the first "Evil" epic did, "Apocalypse" indicts corporations who imagine themselves exempt from the rules that govern society.
As the action unfolds, Raccoon City--which sprawls above the Umbrella Corporation's underground testing facility the Hive--has been infected by a T-Virus that kills people then transforms them into flesh-feasting zombies. Scene for scene, "Apocalypse" surpasses the original. The mutant Dobermans pinchers in "Apocalypse" put those pups in "Resident" to shame. The only drawback is the Umbrella Corporation's newest monster, the towering Nemesis figure who resembles Chewbacca, the "Star Wars" wookie but with a severe case of the mange. Once the T-Virus spreads throughout the city, everybody panics and wants out. Umbrella officials with corporate armed security guards block all exits and prepare to nuke the city. Not only do they want to cover-up their debacle, but also they want to eliminate any witnesses. Caught on the wrong side of the wall are supercop Jill Valentine (sexy British actress Sienna Guillory of "The Time Machine") who wears a tube-top and a miniskirt and can out-shoot the Lone Ranger; Umbrella policemen Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehur of "The Mummy"); and smart-aleck African-American street hustler L.J. (Mike Epps of "Next Friday"). A wheelchair-bound Umbrella Corp. scientist Dr. Ashford (Jared Harris of "Happiness") who lost his junior high school aged daughter, Angie (Sophie Vavasseur of "Evelyn"), during the evacuation, tracks down Alice and company. If they find his daughter, the good doctor will direct them to safety.
Unlike "Resident Evil," "Apocalypse" isn't all about the reanimated corpses. Again, scenarist Anderson furnishes more revelations about the contagious T-Virus, while he lets the heroes get away with the darnest things. The mile-a-minute action sequences will spin your head, and watching Jill and Alice blast away with their mega-weapons at hordes of these evildoers really ramps up the adrenaline factor. Of course, it's as far-fetched as flying rabbits, but wow how those rabbits do fly! Witt makes an impressive directorial debut, orchestrating elaborate action scenes with occasionally jolting blood & gore. "Apocalypse" will reanimate anybody who enjoyed "Resident Evil."