Resident Evil: Retribution: Review By The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

The Resident Evil film series is a highly hated franchise... And yet still profitable. People say the writing is bad... And some of it is. They say it is not accurate to the games... Which it isn't. But what is it about the Resident Evil series that keeps it going? That keeps the box office numbers flourishing? Is it the visuals perhaps? The action? I am not sure why other people enjoy these movies. For me, I realize the flaws, and forgive them. I know these movies are not perfect, yet still see the good in them.

Anyways... Onto this installment of the series. I thought this could be the best one yet! The visuals were incredible; the best CGI that this series has seen! The editing is tight, and spot on. The fight scenes are long, and satisfying. All the little flaws that were slightly irritating in the previous installments are fixed in Retribution.

The story, however, is really the weakest. It has the longest running time of the series (so far), yet has the least going on. There is always action, and little plot. There is great character development happening, but this movie is more about from getting from point A to point B, safely... But that is pretty much what the others are about as well. There is so little going on, yet so much... The specific details of the plot are actually confusing! They explain things rather fast, so you must pay close attention. But unlike previous sequels, this one had the best ways of tying it in with the previous films in the series.

The acting is as always, just average. Some of the lines come off rather cheesy. But Milla Jovovich was as always, a badass. She is the perfect role for Alice in so many ways. They could not have pulled off the series without her, honestly. She is not just good as Alice, but a good actress in general. She is absolutely gorgeous, and can really fit into whatever roles she tries to accomplish. As for the co-stars, well some of the new cast members were not all that great. But I think they were picked more so based off their looks. They made the characters look a lot like how they do in the video games. Especially Jill Valentine. In this one she is under Umbrella's control, and she looks very much the way the animated character of Jill did in the video game Resident Evil 5. They did it right down to her outfit, and the weapons she carries. Same with characters Leon and Berry.

Paul W.S. Anderson is a hated person, it seems like. I obviously enjoy his Resident Evil series, but I also liked Death Proof, and Alien VS Predator was alright. I do not see his flaws in directing. Writing, yes. But the directing of Paul Anderson is just fine. Especially for this movie! I thought all the fight scenes were directed fantastically. Directing a movie like this is incredibly tough, to make it look good. Especially in the editing process.

I did not see this film in 3D, because I think 3D is retarded. However, if 3D must exist, then this would have been the perfect candidate for 3D technology! The fight scenes were epic, and the music was perfect for the scenes.

Now, as for these movies and the games. Well, these movies are action films. Where the first 4 Resident Evil games are horror. These movies are horrible adaptations of the games, I am sad to say. It is more like Paul Anderson makes up his own stories and throws main, essential characters in the games, and makes them co-stars in the movies. Alice is not in the games, and look, she is the main character of the film series! Very saddening, indeed. At least Paul Anderson sort of makes the plots semi-alike... The first Resident Evil movie took place in a mansion, like the game... Resident Evil: Apocalypse was like the game of Resident Evil 3 (I think it was 3... Don't hold me to that statement).

Well folks, I am running out of things to say about this movie. But let me re-state that I loved this installment. I know I'll more than likely get a lot of sh*t for it, but oh well. See this if you are a fan of the previous four films. If you are not, then skip it, because it is pretty much along the same lines as the others!