For those of you who like the typical fast action, cheesy death scenes, under-developed plot and slapstick jokes; check out “Resident Evil: the Apocalypse.”
The movie opens with a good introduction, summarizing the prequel. The basic story line involves the typical evil business unleashing a cannibal-creating virus onto innocent people.
When the heroes come to know this, one has to ask, why walk through a graveyard? For more fast moves and to emphasize how svelte women gyrate to well choreographed dancing with fisticuffs. The unexpected slapstick provoked cheap laughs, (but most of the audience laughed).
When it seemed the villains were casted as heroes, the audience groaned. They also clapped when the villains got their just desserts.
Some parts of the movie were very cheesy but one had to accept it.
Who would live in “Raccoon City?” How can a heroine who ripped off her finger not bleed to death, much less face off against a killing machine and hold her own much less re-grow a new finger in less than 24 hours?
It’s a special virus she got that “makes the dead live again.” How did the virus that spread so easily to dogs, not effect insects or birds?
Some of the special effects, like worms coming out of a skull were banal. The tilted camera angle happened once at the beginning of the movie, but added nothing to it. Similarly the profanity, while expected, sounded empty and hollow. Also, if a cop is facing off against the undead that can infect one with a small scratch, why show lots of skin?
Will the undead be turned on and not bite her? There were a few climatic fighting scenes, and the slow motion interlude helped one battle. However, the special effects hurt a chase because the change from close up to far away made the viewpoint less realistic. The point of view was not so bad that the hero morphed into a blob of jelly, but a closer view would have been more gratifying to see the heroine narrowly escape the jaws of death from gun shots, and exploding glass.
The last few parts of the movie were very action packed and make the expected Resident Evil: III appear to have more of a plot. Intrigue and betrayal can be more developed than this typical shoot-em-up flick.
Twenty-first century vampires fight scantily clad women with shotguns is a short description of the movie.