In an era of resurgent zombie-flick creativity that has seen the likes of 28 Days Later and this year's remake of Dawn of the Dead, the leaden mindlessness of this limp sequel is nothing short of pathetic. Having burned through most vague ties to its videogame roots in the inept, logic-impaired, plot-less and unwatchable first Resident Evil, this picture picks up sometime later during a genetically engineered über-zombie outbreak. Apparently there are only two people who really know how to kill these hoards of buffed-up walking dead--slinky, half-naked, heavily-armed 105-lb. hotties Milla Jovovich (the original movie's survivor) and Sienna Guillory (Love Actually). Devoid of personalities but always ready to mow down or kung-fu kick any loping flesh-chompers coming their way, they join forces when Jovovich jumps a motorcycle through an abandoned church's stained-glass window for no apparent reason. Overflowing with such off-the-shelf action-hack staples and directed without any narrative or cinematic common sense, this is not recommended. [Note: DVD extras on this double-disc special edition include three audio commentaries (one by director Alexander Witt, producer Jeremy Bolt, and executive producer Robert Kulzer; the second by costars Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, and Sienna Guillory; and the third by Bolt and writer-producer Paul W.S. Anderson), the six-part "making-of" featurette “Game Over: Resident Evil Reanimated” (49 min.), the featurette “Game Babes” on female action stars (10 min.), the seven-minute special effects and storyboard comparison montage “Symphony of Evil,” the three-minute Umbrella Corporation featurette “Corporate Malfeasance,” 20 deleted/extended scenes (12 min.), three minutes of outtakes, a poster gallery (with winning submissions by finalists on an online poster design contest), and trailers. Bottom line: a whole lot of razzle-dazzle extras for a hack horror flick.] (R. Blackwelder)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Columbia TriStar, 93 min., R, VHS: $107.99, DVD: $28.99, Dec. 28 Volume 20, Issue 1
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
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