Resident Evil: The Final Chapter isn't a movie - it's a ride! With skillful hyper-editing at a staccato rhthym that hurtles viewers beyond the point of conscious analysis to a direct visual visceral impact. The story takes a serious tone and is practically humor-free, which is exactly the right choice. The creatively staged horrific death scenes are all the leavening this Resident Evil requires. There's a brief after credit bit, and even before that we know that this is only the beginning of the end for Alice and now I can't wait to buckle up for the next ride, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 2. *B+*

Holy fucking shit at the amount of shaky cam in this movie. Usually, it doesn't bother me, but not since Taken 3 have I seen such jittery, epileptic action sequences in my life and honestly it might be even worse than those Taken sequels. Other than that there really wasn't much to this movie. Iain Glen has some great scenery chewing scenes, but that's about it. More than half of the movie is nonsensical, indistinguishable action sequences and you don't care anything for the characters even Alice, because at this point you already know she's indestructible. I'm just glad this franchise is over.

I am generally not a fan of shaky cam myself, but it was taken into the realm of stylistic art in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. I agree with this reviewer's observation:


I've only seen 3 of the 6 movies in the series - here is my ranking:

A ..Resident Evil: Extinction
B+ Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
D ..Resident Evil: Afterlife



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Resident Evil (2002)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)

The sixth and reportedly final Resident Evil film, sadly just subtitled "The Final Chapter" rather than another bold, tantalizing noun (Cataclysm? Revelation?), opens with erstwhile, oft-cloned heroine Alice rousing in a ruined Washington, D.C. Played with ease yet again by an agile, stoic Milla Jovovich, Alice encounters the nefarious Umbrella Corporation's central computer program, the Red Queen. The avatar has turned against the company and informs Alice of an airborne antivirus capable of saving humanity, precipitating a zombie- and henchmen-beset homeward journey toward an underground laboratory in Raccoon City. I watched every Resident Evil film upon their initial theatrical release—the first and third are the best—but I still have no clue how well the details and events of this film align with those in its five forebears; I suspect no other franchise, Terminator perhaps excepted, is more torturous for those highly invested in canon and continuity. But as a superficial, lightning-fast-paced exercise in car crashes, gunfire, lasers, creature viscera, and general mayhem and motion, this is a satisfying and almost absurdly kinetic ride. Paul W. S. Anderson is an unfairly maligned genre craftsman with a sharp visual eye and a playful, teenager-esque sense of on-the-fly, and-then-there-was-a-dragon! invention, and his brand of primitive exuberance comfortably brings this video-game-derived franchise to home plate.

B

I wonder if there is enough time between its release and this film going into production for Mad Max: Fury Road to have inspired Anderson. Clone Iain Glen reminds me of Immortan Joe with his wasteland vehicular armada and vague, post-apocalyptic religiosity.

I swear I remember the sunglasses-wearing antagonist being more powerful (an Umbrella executive?), whereas here he just registers as the chief henchman.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

What I like most about this franchise is how serious it takes itself. The sixth entry in the series isn't concerned with continuity or looking pretty. It is a choppily-cut post-apocalyptic actioner, and it excels within its own rules. The film is edited to the max, which makes the action difficult to decipher. Shaky cam is not at all the issue. But anyway, it's all still fairly enjoyable on a throwaway entertainment level. Jovovich is a great action heroine, and this series will be far from over despite its "Final Chapter" title. The film starts with an attempt at a recap before giving up and just saying "I am Alice, and this is the end of my story", which is basically code for "Just sit back and watch me kill more things and look cool, don't worry yourself with plot or what's gone before".

C+

Huh, I didn't write about this when I saw it. I actually thought The Final Chapter was pretty fun. Everyone seems to be having a blast making it and that comes across.

** / ***** (D)

It continues the same (tired) formula of the previous movies. Even if it nicely sums up the whole story so far it just doesn't really give a good enough reason for itself to exist besides earning some $$$$$ for everyone involved.

Its the same old movie with different action set pieces. Jovovich does great again and I wonder if this will be the last one given that this entry is so successful plus the ending still gives away room for sequels. It might be Jovovich's last I believe and they might get some other one to take the helm. It was nice to see Ali Larter back here. The movie is good for some god old action but nothing more.

5/10