DVD reviews
Immortals
"... a thundering example of style over substance."
Midnight In Paris
“...a delightful tribute to nostalgia and romance.”
The Illusionist
“...a film that generally brings warm smiles rather than belly laughs...”
Treasure Guards
"A willing suspension of disbelief should get most viewers across the line."
search the site
newsletter
Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter
Resident Evil: Afterlife (DVD)
Year: 2010
Rating: MA
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast: Mila Jovovich, Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts
Release Date: March 02, 2011
Distributor: Sony
The Film: 3.5
The Disc: 4.0
FILMINK rates DVDs and Blu-rays out of 5"This is pure entertainment."
The fourth in the Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife is completely unashamed of its gaming origins. To watch it is almost to enter a computer game; to become part of some virtual hyper-reality. A pumping soundtrack drives every choreographed fight scene and, right from the stylish aerial opening sequence, the visuals are spectacular. Resident Evil films present a stylised, glossy take on the zombie apocalypse theme, where beauty and harmony play as important a role as horror in a scene. Who cares if the plot's basic? This is pure entertainment.
In this instalment, Alice (Milla Jovovich) loses the superpowers she gained in the previous two films, becoming just another wall flipping, gun toting amazon who jumps off buildings to fell the zombie hordes. Once again, she's helped by a spunky offsider (Ali Larter, reprising the role of Claire Redfield from the third film), as they join the usual group of survivors under siege from legions of the undead.
The emphasis might not be on characterisation, but Afterlife's cast shows a dedication which is important in engaging the viewer; even CGI extravaganzas become tedious if performances are bad. The DVD extras are comprehensive.
