Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice, awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by new found allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.
Resident Evil: Retribution is widely considered one of the weakest entries in an already divisive franchise. The plot is essentially a thin excuse to string together set pieces across globe-trotting simulated environments, with little coherent narrative logic or character development. Acting is serviceable but unremarkable, with Milla Jovovich doing what she can with minimal material. Cinematography is a genuine bright spot — Paul W.S. Anderson's stylized slow-motion action and slick visual compositions give the film a polished, video-game-cutscene aesthetic that holds attention. Novelty is low; by this fifth installment the formula is well-worn, recycling familiar zombies, clones, and action beats with diminishing creative returns. The ending, while attempting a cliffhanger setup, feels arbitrary and unsatisfying, existing mainly to tee up a sequel rather than providing genuine resolution.