Quick Reviews!!

Rating: 7/10 (6 April 2005)

Like Alien and Aliens, if the first Resident Evil was all about atmosphere, the second is all about action. The film takes off from exactly where the first film ended, with Alice waking in a hospital of some sort, alone, walking out into the city street with a shotgun to find that Raccoon has been decimated. Cars are overturned, on fire, bodies are strewn, and there are no signs of life. This, like the first had potential. Unfortunately it does not live up to expectations, but still manages to be decent.
Residents of Raccoon are trying to flee the city, but are being stopped by soldiers who will shoot anyone who approaches. They are trapped, and the zombie infection is spreading quickly. As night approaches, the survivors try to find refuge, led by Jill Valentine! STARS member and character from the game she takes a reporter, a taxi driver and others into her protection. Also sent in are an elite group of ex-criminal marines who are mostly wiped out. The survivors Nicholi and Carlos join the group, and they also meet Alice, who seems to be slightly different. Dr. Ashford (?) is outside the city, and via cameras watches the survivors. His young daughter is still alive somewhere in the city and he phones them with an offer- if they can rescue her, he will airlift all of them to safety. However, an evil army dude has other ideas, and the powerful NEMESIS has been sent in to kill all remaining STARS members.
The film has a good amount of action, but unfortunately the director decides to use that useless fast cut style which is one of the most awful inventions in cinema meaning we rarely see what is going on. The introduction of a few game characters is good, but they do not get the emotion from us that they do in the games, and in truth the script does not give them the chance. The black character is completely pointless and from the start we want him to die, though his energy is good and he does get a few laughs. Alice has become super-human and her relationship with the Nemesis is the main reason for watching. It does get better towards the end, and a few twists at the end add some quality. I was almost misled towards the end, when the copter crashes in Arklay, that perhaps now the characters would find a mansion and the real Resident Evil would begin. Something else happened though, setting up another sequel which again looks to have potential. Johovich is good again, but because of her new found power we feel less for her. The renegade survivors could be better in any following film, and Fehr and Guillory are both OK. With some better editing and direction, and more blood this could have been better. Still, it's worth seeing.
7 out of 10