Beginning of the End

The post's title quotes Albert Wesker from the latest Resident Evil film (and from a thousand other films). This could possibly be my last post while I'm still at Indonesia. Sad, huh? Kinda. Leaving the place I know more than I know the back of my hand. But, life should go on. Right at this point, you start to wonder whether you're in the right blog about films or not. Fear not, I will talk about films. In fact, right now.


In this what seems to be my last Indonesian-based post of the year 2012, I'm reviewing Resident Evil: Retribution. Talk about anti-climax, I thought I would be reviewing Looper or Dredd 3D. That aint gonna happen. I'm starting to doubt myself that I would see those films in a damn cinema. Back to business, RE: Retribution is the fifth entry in the franchise. I'm not a gamer, but I'm a moviegoer. I won't be raving about that Leon guy (who looks a lot like Jaime Lannister) because he's a badass from the game series. I'm simply watching Resident Evil films for the thrill and for the badass girls (y'know Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Sienna Guillory and Michelle Rodriguez). Once again directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the film sells the tagline Evil Goes Global. Sounds very cooooool. But is it? Like the last film, RE: Afterlife, this one is like a stretched out action scene that actually could last maximum 30 minutes. Even Afterlife has more story than this one, really. The main story from this one is Alice being rescued by Albert Wesker from evil computer Red Queen. I know right, WTF? Red Queen is still alive and suddenly Wesker is playing the good guy? It seems that Anderson has ran out of ideas. Also, he resurrected a couple of dead characters, like Carlos (Oded Fehr/Medjai from The Mummy), Michelle Rodriguez and also that tough guy from the first RE that still holds the title 'Best Death in RE films' by being cut to dices by a laser. Also, he brings back a 'lost' character, my personal favorite, Jill Valentine. Unfortunately, these characters are quite expendable (excluding Jill). And there seems to be no sign of Claire & Chris Redfield (Ali Larter & Wentworth Miller) which is a bummer and also K-Mart is left out! BOO! Although we get new characters, Becky (played by a girl with a super cool name Aryana Engineer), clone Alice's daughter and the quite useless but impeccably costumed Ada Wong, still Claire & Chris are great characters and it would be great to see em in action too. Dammit.

As for the tagline, Evil Goes Global, it is deceiving in every way. Evil Goes Global...... in a f*cking facility! Tokyo, Moscow, New York are merely sets used by Umbrella to sell T-Virus. How is it that the virus that wiped out United States are still at large at the market? Because screw logic.  I think the Goes Global thingy is a wasted opportunity. I was thinking epic battles in various corners of the Earth, not an underwater facility. And the repetition of creatures and plot (giving back Alice's powers? Really?) are signs of no more originality. What's with the title Retribution anyway? There's no sign of Retribution. It will be better suited if titled Resident Evil: Escape. RE: Retribution is pointless and to be honest, a bit time-wasting. I was kinda hoping that there is a bigger story than just escaping from the Umbrella facility, but sadly there isn't.  However, the action scenes are super cool because they are expertly choreographed and shot. Especially the last fight between Alice and Jill is amazingly brutal and intense. Also the music provided by Tomandandy definitely helps the coolness of the scenes. Paul WS Anderson is definitely an expert in action scenes but not story tellling. He has vision, a great one, but he needed assistance to maximize that vision with an amazing story as well. Because with this rate of RE: Retribution, he may as well turn the franchise into an expensive TV series. The next film is reportedly the last entry, I hope it will be satisfactory in every level. As of this film, the best Resident Evil film is still the original 2002. Resident Evil: Retribution: rated 1.5 stars out of 4. Sorry Milla, but you're still the most badass girl right now.


What's the significance of the title's post? It's my fear of going into new environment. I'm afraid I'm taking the wrong decision of moving to a place I barely knew. I guess it's time to quote Star Trek: My voyage, my mission: to boldly go where no man has gone before.

In a related topic, the new Star Trek film is titled Star Trek Into Darkness! Although we can still expect lens flares in the dark too.