If you’re a big gamer, or just a nerd like me, chances are you’ve heard about “that one zombie movie” that came out in September. Yes, Resident Evil, the infamous video game turned movie hit the big screen with Resident Evil: Afterlife.
The main focus of the movies is on the T-Virus, which is an experiment controlled by the Umbrella Corporation. The T-Virus eventually gets out of control and society turns into a world of ‘undead.’
Alice, the main character in Resident Evil, is tasked with finding a safe place to escape from the ‘undead.’
For starters, I highly doubt the beginning of Afterlife was necessary at all. The scene begins with a story telling how the T-Virus spread, eventually turning the whole world black and almost lifeless.
From there, they hide underground in Asia where Umbrella Corporation is located. This part blew my mind because it was so unreal. Alice’s superhuman clones fight Umbrella Corporation’s workers to retrieve Albert Wesker, the chairman of Umbrella Corporation. Whenever you see Wesker, portrayed by Shawn Roberts, movie goers are instantly reminded of The Matrix. The graphics were very good, it’s just how frustratingly awful and unrealistic this whole scene was. For instance, once a clone died, it seemed like they would never go away because one would just, miraculously, come out of no where.
I felt like I wasn’t going to appreciate this movie, what-so-ever. After seeing that Alice’s superhuman powers were taken away during the first 10 minutes of the movie, I continued to watch it and give it the chance to prove that it could be a decent movie.
After watching the movie, the plot does, in a way, catch you by surprise. For instance, if you hear the background music of a scary movie getting louder and louder, you usually know what’s about to happen. However, in Afterlife, the music would catch you by surprise because the music would get loud, but then change back to softer music. Then BOOM! It hits you like a ton of bricks and makes you jump out of your seat like you just sat on a hot stove.
The movie being in 3D just made the shock three times as powerful. Even though watching the movie in 3D added some surprise, it’s not a good idea to watch it in 3D because it’s so strenuous on your eyes and will probably give you a headache with the action being so brutal.
The cast did a good job at keeping the action suspenseful, like where they have no choice but to go in dark, creepy places such as the sewer, or murky waters.
Final Thoughts: for me, movies either rank as “Don’t Watch It”, “Rent It” or “Buy It”. I would definitely say Resident Evil: Afterlife is a “Rent It” type of movie. There were some very good parts in the movie that really blew me away. However, I wouldn’t buy it because I wouldn’t want to waste money on something I’d watch once or twice.
