Resident Evil: Retribution Review

Rated R (Sequences of Strong Violence Throughout)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 36 Minutes

Cast-

Milla Jovovich-Alice

Sienna Guillory-Jill Valentine

Michelle Rodriguez-Rain Ocampo

Li Bing-Bing-Ada Wong

Johann Urb-Leon S. Kennedy

Boris Kodjoe-Luther West

Kevin Durand-Barry Burton

Oded Fehr-Carlos Olivera

Colin Salmon-James 'One' Shade

Shawn Roberts-Albert Wesker

Aryana Engineer-Becky

Megan Charpentier/Ave Merson-O'Brian-The Red Queen

Ali Larter-Claire Redfield (archive footage only)

Wentworth Miller-Chris Redfield (archive footage only)

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson

Milla Jovovich suits up again to kick some zombie butt for "Resident Evil Retribution," the fifth installment in this never-ending series.

Like clockwork, Activision releases a new Call of Duty video game annually every November with only the smallest of changes between new installments; only the time period in which the game takes place in changes. Despite the increasing disillusionment among gamers with the franchise, Call of Duty continues to sell millions of copies around the world and it's due to the fact that there are many people out there who only play this one game year after year. Just to put this in perspective, last year's Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 sold over 6.5 million copies across all platforms in the first 24 hours in the U.S. and U.K. alone, grossing a massive $400 million and making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time. Call of Duty is a series that will never end so long as there is money to be made. Similarly, the "Resident Evil" film franchise, based upon the video games owned and published by Capcom, continues to soldier on like the Energizer Bunny with the latest installment "Resident Evil Retribution." The series has always managed to turn a profit at the box office for Screen Gems/Sony Pictures thanks to the modest production budgets, with 2010's "Resident Evil Afterlife" earning $296 million worldwide. The previous four films have grossed $754.5 million combined. Frankly, I'm amazed that "Resident Evil" managed to even last this long and while it has always provided some cheap thrills thanks to the action scenes, the series is now way past its expiration date. Lacking any coherent plot or even worthwhile characters, "Resident Evil Retribution" offers more of the same and not much else. Those who are already fans of the films will be satisfied but for everyone else, this is just a lazy, cynical cash-grab. 

Picking up immediately after the events of "Afterlife," Alice (Milla Jovovich), Claire and Chris Redfield (Ali Larter and Wentworth Miller) are under attack by soldiers employed by the unscrupulous Umbrella Corporation, led by a mind-controlled Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory). They storm the freighter Arcadia and during the ensuing battle, Alice is knocked unconscious into the ocean while Claire and Chris are captured. Waking up deep inside an Umbrella facility, Alice is interrogated by Jill but a sudden power failure allows her to escape. Alice finds herself in downtown Tokyo and is forced to battle with a horde of zombies. She makes her way to the facility's control room and encounters Ada Wong (Li Bing-Bing), an assassin for Umbrella who now works for Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts). Wesker explains to Alice that she is currently trapped in an underwater facility in what was formerly Russia where Umbrella would run simulations for prospective customers who were curious in how people would react to a particular outbreak. However, the facility is now under the control of the Red Queen (voice of Ave Merson-O'Brian), an advanced artificial intelligence now hell-bent on destroying the remnants of humanity. Despite his sinister intentions, Wesker wants to help Alice escape and has a sent a small strike team, led by Leon S. Kennedy (Johann Urb), to assist her. To prevent their escape, the Red Queen sends Jill and a group of Umbrella soldiers consisting of clones of Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr), Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez), and James 'One' Shade (Colin Salmon) to recapture Alice: dead or alive. 

Written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (not Paul Thomas Anderson!), "Resident Evil Retribution" has absolutely zero plot and is basically a string of repetitive action scenes. The whole affair comes off as labored because the film spends an inordinate amount of time recounting all the events of the previous installments while setting this one up, resulting in clunky scenes of exposition that buckle under the weight of all that back-story. Obvious logic gaps are peppered throughout the film, such as the fact that there's a combat suit located within a drawer in Alice's cell or the inexplicable two hour time limit before Umbrella's reinforcements arrive. You would think such an important facility would have a standing army or something but Umbrella's security measures have always been confusingly lax. Anderson even rips off of "Aliens" by throwing a deaf little girl (Aryana Engineer) who believes Alice is her mother but its inclusion just feels ham-fisted and pointless because there is no attempt at developing any of the characters. 

Structured like the video games it's based on, "Retribution" puts Alice in a massive underwater Umbrella facility that is able to produce lifelike simulations of New York City, Moscow, and Tokyo, all populated by clones. In order to escape, Alice must advance through each simulation like levels in a video game, complete with obligatory boss battles. However, Anderson just recycles the same old monsters from the previous installments. Instead of one Executioner, now there are two but both are beaten just as easily, along with an Uber-Licker that makes an appearance late in the film. The set-pieces also feel rather constrained despite its attempts to aim for a bigger scope. To appease the fans, Anderson randomly throws in a couple of characters from the video games like Ada Wong and Leon S. Kennedy but they're just dropped into the plot with little to no introduction. The action is non-stop and while Milla Jovovich looks good in her form-fitting suit, these scenes ultimately grow tedious because it's the same damn thing we've been watching for the past ten years! The only element that I can praise without reservation is the score from Tomandandy, which is reminiscent of Daft Punk's work on "Tron Legacy." "Retribution" was shot in native 3D using the cheaper Red Epic camera instead of the Sony F35 like in "Afterlife" but I opted for the 2D version. I could still tell that the 3D is nothing more than a gimmick as all manners of blood and projectiles fly out of the screen. The entire film also exhibits a cheaper vibe despite having a similar production budget as the previous one. 

Besides looking good during the numerous shootouts, none of the cast is really required to actually act. Li Bing-Bing's Ada Wong is a victim of some poor voice dubbing but Milla Jovovich continues to be a bad-ass and prove she has good genes thanks to her youthful appearance. Her 'performance' leaves much to be desired yet she's still the best out of the bunch as everyone else is reduced to shouting all their dialogue. Since Anderson can't be bothered to include at least some character development, the cast is left with very little to work with. 

Opening in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D, "Resident Evil Retribution" was released on September 14, 2012 to largely negative reviews (to no one's surprise) with 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics once again wrote if off as 'another predictable entry in the Resident Evil franchise that seems to get more cynical and lazy with each film.' Due to the slow box office, "Retribution" underwhelmed during opening weekend with only $21.05 million, down from the $26.7 million that "Afterlife" earned two years ago. It also plummeted by 77% during its second week, which means the film will barely top 2002 original but sell far fewer tickets. Audience attendance was also rather sparse during the afternoon showing I attended. If you're in the mood for some mindless action, "Resident Evil Retribution" will scratch that itch but this is a series that should've been put out to pasture long ago…but it won't so I'll see you all back here in two years for "Resident Evil 6."

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

"Everyone I've ever known, everything I've ever done, it's being used against me and now Umbrella can manipulate the world. And only I can stop them. My name is Alice and retribution is here."