Better than the first?

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2004)

I always expected the worst from this movie. It's not the sort of movie that does well in the eyes of its fan base, it always seems to fall short and this is exactly what has happened here. 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse' is bigger and better than its predecessor ('Resident Evil: Biohazard'). However, it is not completely perfect. Not by a long shot. For starters, the whole movie completely looses any sense of tension present in the first 'Resident Evil' movie (when they were trapped in a large underground laboratory along with hordes of the undead) and replaces it with full-on action. The result is a movie which is more like a computer game, and which follows the line of the 'Resident Evil' games much more (which is a bonus for fans of the games who felt disconnected with the first movie) but isn't scary or shocking in the slightest. The movie also has a lot of plot holes. These can be overlooked but some parts of the movie really do ask you to be almost brain-dead to enjoy it (and also ask forgiveness for the inclusion of completely stereotypical characters which seem to be lifted from a computer game with absolutely no character development at all). Saying this, the movie is also partly confusing. It tries to follow too many stories and doesn't explain anything in a great detail. The ending will also test even the smartest of brains. The movie just doesn't get the balance right. Perhaps this can be chalked up to the first-time director Alexander Witt, but it seems for likely to be from trying to please everyone, and ultimately pleasing no one. Despite being different from the original, it still manages to include throwback references including an outline of the plot from the first movie, and a few ideas which were used in the original are used here again. If your looking for a movie like 'Biohazard' in the sense of tension, then look elsewhere. If your a fan of the game or the first movie, then there is still plenty here in order to keep you entertained. All we have to do now is wait patiently for the third movie installment of 'Resident Evil' (names which have arisen so far include 'Aftermath' and 'Afterlife') to determine whether this turns out to be a cohesive unit when placed together as a trilogy ('Apocalypse' ends on a great cliff-hanger which will leave you hungry for the next movie and gives little hints about what the next movie will be about). It's a shame that in a year seemingly filled with great zombie movies such as 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse' doesn't manage to bring anything new to the genre, but still manages to be entertaining.