Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
Director: Paul WS Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Later, Ian Glenn, Ruby Rose
Primary genre: Science fiction
Secondary genre: Action
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It is hard to believe that the “Resident Evil” series started back in 2002 when Paul WS Anderson adapted the beloved survival horror game for the big screen and introduced Milla Jovovich as Alice, an avatar for those uninitiated in the world of “Resident Evil”. Now four years after “Retribution” (2012), the appropriately titled “The Final Chapter” is here.
“The Final Chapter” discards most of the previous (surviving) cast to make way again for Alice and her solo battle against Umbrella. Attempting to tie all the previous films together while sending an appropriate send off for Jovovich’s character, Paul WS Anderson overstuffs the film with crossings and double crossings, a large number of monsters, a ticking clock and the end of world. At the hands of a more competent writer however, this could have been interesting but the sincere lack of continuity is jarring. Filled with one dimensional characters and incoherent plot decisions that emphasize situations rather than story logic, “The Final Chapter” races towards the end and throws everything it can to get your attention. You would think though that Anderson would be wise enough since this is the finale to propel Alice with a sufficient motivation and a certain amount of dramatic substance but no. He just moves from the one set piece to the next rarely pausing for breath and adding pseudo-moral motivations to present a more attractive package.
Anderson is evident that he has a sense for eye pleasing visuals despite the limited budget with some truly impressive shots and a strong emphasis in practical action. Despite the presence of some clever ideas – a fight on top of a moving tank surrounded by zombies – their execution does not feel organic and you could almost feel that “The Final Chapter” was ghost directed by someone else. Although he employs an interesting visual palette by placing the film against South African backdrops, his direction feels anemic failing to elicit any emotional response. With the employment of an ADHD editor (Doobie White (“Crank 2”, (2009) “Gamer” (2009)) - that seems to be Anderson’s response to the unfounded criticism of his stylistic slo-mo use in the previous two entries - comes at the expense of coherent set pieces and solid staging. It is hard to figure out any geography during the numerous action scenes and besides Milla’s commitment, he does not get anything meaningful from his cast either. The choice of utilizing a super-edit with a million cuts from every angle, zoom ins, zoom outs and hyperkinetic camera movements hurts the film in a tremendous degree rendering practically unwatchable. Choosing as the editor was perhaps
The actors try to do their best with the material, yet they barely have anything meaningful to do besides being uninspiringly dispatched. With the exception of Alice and Claire, pretty much everyone is interchangeable and while Jovovich gives it all in the more physically demanding action sequences and remains the primary reason of watching this series, Ali Larter is reduced to a glorified plant. Iain Glenn is clearly relishing his OTT villainous role snarling through his lines with appropriate sleaziness but he does not extend beyond an living exposition machine.
Instead of concluding the franchise with a bang, Anderson unfortunately goes out with a whimper. There are some stylistic flourishes scattered around, a variety of monsters, a few nifty action ideas and a pumped up Alice but these are not enough to save a messy film with atrocious editing along and a flat story. “The Final Chapter“ is only for the hardcore fans of the series.
A whimper of a finale
+ Milla Jovovich is an action queen!
+ Color palette
+ Variety of monsters
+ Interesting action ideas
- Worst editing in recent memory
- Wasted cast
- One dimensional characters
- Boring villain
- Wesker is reduced to a minion
- Story makes no sense