“Resident Evil: Afterlife” an improvement on previously flagging series formula

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3/5 stars

Milla Jovovich returns as the super-powered, zombies’ worst nightmare Alice in “Resident Evil: Afterlife.”

Written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, it is the fourth installment of the franchise originally inspired by the “Resident Evil” video game sensation; Unlike the lackluster and often outrageous second and third films we actually begin to see again the presentation that made us fall in love with the games.

The film continues the story of Alice as she attempts to exact revenge on Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts) and the Umbrella Corporation, a bio-engineering company responsible for the genetic experimentation that led to the global zombie apocalypse.

The first 45 minutes of the film are the equivalent of Anderson taking a red pen to everything that made the previous “Resident Evil” installments slapdash and soulless — a lot of the more absurd threads get purged and the story settles into a more manageable narrative: Alice’s investigation of Arcadia – a zombie-free zone, where survivors attempt to rebuild human civilization. In her search, Alice is reunited with Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and the two travel to Los Angeles where they meet the film’s supporting cast of one-dimensional Hollywood types, but luckily this doesn’t affect much of Afterlife’s purpose as the films are more about intense, over the top, ways to kill zombies than apocalyptic survival.

That said, Anderson succeeds in building intrigue and complexity around a late addition to the group, a man trapped in a Hannibal-like glass isolation box in the basement of the prison where Alice and the survivors barricade themselves, whom we discover is Claire’s brother, Chris (Wentworth Miller).

The second half of the film builds a “Resident Evil” narrative non-dependent on the soulless butt-kicking Alice provided to the series – which gives it some room to grow, as well as reflect last “Resident Evil 5’s” more-action-than-survival-horror aesthetic.

Once the survivors attempt their escape, the plot doesn’t offer many surprises but at least manages to stay on the rails. Compared to the previous films, the story follows a sensible progression and offers some fun moments along the way as well.

“Resident Evil: Afterlife” was shot in 3D and doesn’t suffer from a terrible post-production 3D retrofit like we saw in “Clash of the Titans.”

However, that doesn’t mean the 3D effects add anything to the experience; in fact, it is at times distracting and head-aching thanks to the ninja stars, swords, and limbs constantly being thrown into our faces.

For those who are fans of the Resident Evil films, this is sure to entertain; and be sure to stick around after the credits for a peek at the next movie.