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| Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
  
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Sienna Guillory, Mike Epps Director: Alexander Witt Rating: R Category: Action/Horror  |
Even in a generation that has experienced a sudden renaissance of the zombie flick with past winners like “28 Days Later” and the soon-to-be-released satire “Shaun of the Dead,” the cartoon-like sequel to the video-game-based surprise hit, “Resident Evil,” is a horrible step in the wrong direction. Pasting together two-dimensional characters with an endless montage of fast-paced shootouts and flesh-eating bio-zombies, the events that occur throughout “Apocalypse” would be ridiculous even to a 15-year-old gamer as he button-mashed his way through the latest installment.
Only days after the gruesome events of the original film, the dim-witted scientists of the notorious Umbrella Corporation reopen the Hive to search for clues leading to the brutal deaths of their fellow co-workers and unknowingly unleash the virus along with a moaning crowd of hungry zombies onto the streets of Raccoon City. Milla Jovovich reprises her role as the zombie-slaying heroine, Alice, a genetically-enhanced fighting machine who has been infected with the nasty T-virus since the audience last saw her in action.
One of only two survivors from within the Hive, Alice joins forces with some of Raccoon City’s last remaining residents: Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory), a renegade ex-cop; Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr), an expended member of the S.T.A.R.S. force team; and the token black guy, L.J. (Mike Epps), the film’s comedic relief who is just looking for refuge from the terror. When a behind-the-scenes Umbrella scientist offers the group salvation from the impending doom in return for rescuing his daughter trapped within the city, Alice and crew are forced to face-off with an ever-growing population of living dead and a biochemical assassin called Nemesis.
“Apocalypse” may just seem like another easy way to turn a profit during a dying season of big-budget flops, but even Paul W.S. Anderson (who directed the first film and recently bombed with last month’s “AVP”) chose to stick with the franchise as a writer/producer. Unfortunately, Anderson’s script is uninspired and newbie director Alexander Witt over-saturates the film with far-fetched action sequences that aren’t nearly as visually appealing as the original. Rent an old Romero video or hook up your Nintendo late at night; either one will be much cheaper and more satisfying than this latest video game adaptation.
~Jason Zingale
jzingale@bullz-eye.com