Resident Evil: Retribution

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Kevin Durand, Sienna Guillory, Shawn Roberts, Aryana Engineer, Oded Fehr, Bingbing Li
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Horror, Science Fiction
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Alice (Milla Jovovich) continues her fight against the Umbrella Corporation.

Review:

Tim: I cannot believe there are 5 Resident Evil movies. That blows my mind. This is the longest-running movie franchise based on a video game, right? Nothing else has even come close to five films. That is impressive, no matter the quality. What's also surprising is that none of these films are terrible (none are good, either, but that's another story). This franchise has been very consistent- we always know what we're going to get with each installment.

I do feel like these films are getting to be a bit redundant. They feature the basic same storyline in every one- Alice fights Umbrella and a host of crazy zombie monsters. That's basically the summary of all five movies. You really have to think to figure out the subtle differences. That being said, I liked that this film did feel a little different than the last few movies (by Resident Evil standards, anyway). This film harkened back to the original movie, and while it seems very similar to that film, this one at least felt a little fresh. I appreciated that aspect.

I have to admit I've probably forgotten quite a lot about this franchise. I have no desire to return to each film, and they all tend to blend together a bit. Characters show up, disappear, and I have no idea when that happens. I have only the vaguest recollections of certain characters (also, because they're not especially memorable). Still, it's fun to see so many characters together. We have Milla Jovovich as Alice, Michelle Rodriguez is kind of back, we have Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine, Bingbing Li as Ada Wong, and several others. It was pretty cool to see all these video game characters on screen (although I haven't played the games and don't know them. I do know Alice isn't in the games, though).

The movie moves along at the usual pace. This is the third time Paul W.S. Anderson has directed one of these movies, and he pretty much follows the same script every time. It's somewhat comforting to know exactly what to expect with these films, although they do get pretty predictable. One of my biggest complaints about all of these movies is that they aren't especially memorable. In this film, we see a host of zombies and zombie monsters, but honestly, none of them are particularly exciting. We've seen it all before. Like past films, this one is mildly entertaining, but certainly nothing to write home about.

Resident Evil: Retribution is your typical, average Resident Evil movie. It's exactly what you would expect, which is not a good thing. I rate this as one of the lower films in the franchise. This series badly needs a new infusion, it needs new blood, because this is really starting to get stale. I'm sure we will be watching more of these movies, and I pray they start to get better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Tomb Raider, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, The Fifth Element, Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Afterlife