The first Resident Evil movie was highly successful at the box office, so of course Sony Pictures wanted another film to be in the works as fast as possible, so in 2004 we saw Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse, which added several more elements from the actual games and incorporated them into it's all new original story, this mix of faithfulness and creative liberties will continue throughout the subsequent films. Director Paul W. S. Anderson stepped down from the director's chair and instead the project was helmed by Chilean-American director Alexander Witt, who had plenty of experience as a cinematographer. Milla Jovovich returns as Alice and plays well alongside a cast consisting of Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Thomas Kretschmann and Sophie Vavasseur.
The film picks up with the devastating zombie outbreak the original film ended with. Raccoon City has been overrun by flesh eating zombies and is now under quarantine, the people inside are then violently repressed and trapped by the Umbrella Corporation. A group of survivors (including former S.T.A.R.S operative Jill Valentine, a reporter and Umbrella soldiers) attempt to escape the city now at the mercy of the zombies. Alice appears to save them from the undead menace, she meets a little girl named Angela Ashford, whose father is a key player in the creation of the virus currently causing mayhem.
Mix Aliens with Escape from New York and you get the somewhat uneven but ultimately incredibly fun Resident Evil Apocalypse. It features chaotic editing with some stylish and very apparent visual flair, and an even more noticeable convulsing montage than in the original, the constant movement and stimulation also help to make the film just as energetic as the first film.
We also have some gorgeous cinematography that envelops you with its moody and very skilled technical work and appealing textures and lighting. The direction doesn't have the same control of the shots and the frame as W. S. Anderson did but it's still a very commendable work.
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The first film was very focused and captivating because we followed a very limited group of characters that were attractive or striking even if some of them were archetypes, all inside a confined space that trapped them and was filled with elaborate hazards, constantly coming up with new surprises. This one has the advantage of having a wider scope and more variety in settings and locations by going around the city but perhaps this buries the characters a bit which could hurt it, at least when compared to the relatively straightforward storytelling of the first one.
I do enjoy the spectacular cgi shootout violence with practical effects that are just as visually remarkable. Nemesis is another highlight that's well treated by having him be featured in some stand out moments like when he fights Alice hand-to-hand or when he decides to take sides and help him. Those imaginative and ingenious moments give the film some vitality and entertainment factor.
Milla Jovovich still has a very commanding and photogenic presence, doing her action sequences with flair and skill, these are very enjoyable and intense with a tireless sense of unrelenting action. In fact, the entire movie is a forceful roller coaster of crude and simple-minded but impactful shoot outs, roars, other loud noises and unstoppable movement/violence.
Recommended if you want a heavy and harsh dose of horror action cinema that’s mostly unseen nowadays. The two leading ladies also make it more than worthwhile and were sort of groundbreaking for action blockbusters at the time, even today it’s rare to have two action heroines in one franchise movie.
