At least not as bad as the first...

Rating: Null/10 (31 October 2004)

I didn't have very high hopes for Resident Evil: Apocalypse. I thought the first Resident Evil was a typical Paul W.S. Anderson outing. Meaning an action film making a lot of noise and really trying to be cool and heart-pumping, and failing in every respect. The first movie was in my opinion slow, rather boring and with special effects that needed a lot of work.
I don't know if it's because Paul W.S. Anderson has given the directing job to someone else this time around (he was too busy destroying the promising "Alien Vs. Predator) but something has at least changed for the better here. The action scenes actually seem to have a pulse! We are still quite a distance from what i would call "blood-pumping", but we're closer than in the first movie.
The story here should be pretty easy to guess for anyone who saw the first movie. The first Resident Evil ends with Alice (Milla Jovovich) standing in what's left of Raccoon City. And basically this is the plot, the virus is loose in the city. To make things worse another Umbrella creation, the Nemesis, is also loose in the city and looking for Alice. Oh well, the story seems to be more or less besides the point here.
So, what's good and what sucks? Well, as i said the action scenes do have a bit more punch in them than in the first movie. Also they are longer and seem to be made with a larger budget. The setting is also a bit more interesting this time, an abandoned city is almost always a good place to set an action movie. So what sucks? Well, Milla Jovovich is still one of the worst actresses ever to star in a major Hollywood outing. Also, and more importantly, i'm still looking for that sensitivity from the director. That little special gift that makes the action scenes leave you breathless. You know, that thing James Cameron has?
Anyway i guess for popcorn-entertainment a Friday night this is not too bad. But don't expect to remember it more than a few minutes. I rate it 5/10 for effort.