After the surprise hits that parts one, two and three of the Resident Evil movie series were, Sony wasn't going to let the cow alone and eventually they decided to milk it once again, this time bringing back original director Paul W. S. Anderson, who functioned as producer and writer for the previous films and decided to make this a 3D affair after watching Cameron’s Avatar. It's a no-brainer that star Milla Jovovich would return, this time sharing screentime with Ali Larter, Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts, Spencer Locke, Boris Kodjoe, and Wentworth Miller.
Alice, along with her deadly clones, visits Albert Wesker, the Chairman of the Umbrella Corporation, in Japan only to be attacked and bested by Wesker and his new superpowers. Alice survives and travels to the safe place in Alaska that was the destination of the survivors in the previous film, only to find a memory-wiped Claire who attempts to strike her down only to be defeated by the heroine. She takes Claire to California and lands the plane on a prison where another group of survivors take refuge. They try to reach Arcadia, a supposedly safe cargo tanker that's their only hope.
This is where the fun begins. The very interesting delirium that progressively envelops this franchise reaches another level with this entry as Paul W. S. Anderson's style becomes less and less conventional. The incredible opening sequence in Japan that has the camera pull back on the infection spreading around the city (in delightful slow motion) only to pull back into it and show the effects of the now Umbrella-controlled metropolis really sets you up for what's to come. From the architectural designs stripped down to pure lines to the focus on space and time we can see the auteur's mind at work.
The frenetic and overly fragmentary style of typical action movie madness is sort of gone here, as Anderson works towards a total control of the background, the movements and the performances on screen, all with careful lighting and camera set ups and framing. You can really feel the weight and impact of the action but not as a very simple event, but rather as a stylized act in itself, which is further emphasized by the constant use of slow motion so that everything registers.
If there are major problems then that would be the middle of the storyline since once we reach the disposable group of survivors looking for the "promised land," or something along those lines (a cliche at this point), the film becomes routine and treads on derivative and familiar territory. Most of the characters, as usual, are one dimensional and uninteresting by themselves. Granted, they are fodder for the blood and guts scenes to take place but still. Alice outshines them all and when the movie focuses on her and her relationship with Claire the movie becomes captivating.
Totally recommended, if anything for the initial act and the climax, which are more than worth the buy.
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