Fifth time's a charm~

Or is it, really?

”Resident Evil” Retribution premiered in cinemas a few weeks ago, and even though I’m not really a fan of the movies, I decided to watch it. I had seen the earlier films in the series a few days earlier, to freshen up my memory of them – but it just made it all more obvious that they are full of plot holes. Two years ago, my friends and I dressed up in our cosplays for the premiere of “Resident Evil” Afterlife. Though, this time with Retribution, we did not really bother. It was partly because we were not the same gang that went to see Afterlife, but also because it simply felt unnecessary. 

The premiere of Afterlife.

I’m not going to complain “too much” about Retribution – after all, it was better than Extinction and Afterlife (which, sadly, makes it top three). The thing about the movies it that they are so very different from the universe in the games, even though the beloved characters and scenes are freely copied. How they have managed to create Majinis, Executioners and Las Plagas from the T-virus is another story. I will be honest – I have actually liked the first movie since the first time I saw it on a borrowed VHS many years ago. As a Zombie-movie, it is quite okay (one of the few ones that have actually kept the traditional versions), and it is so much different from the story of the now 16 years old game. It is with the second part, Apocalypse, the first problems arise. Jill Valentine has been suspended from her job at the Raccoon City Police Department after the death of her partner, Leon S. Kennedy. Sure, it is up to Paul W.S Anderson if he wants to kill the classic characters – but Leon still looks very healthy in Retribution.

During yesterday's press conference, Captain Henderson
noted that Officer Valentine had been suffering from post-trau-
matic stress disorder due to the recent death of her partner, Leon
Kennedy.
– Newspaper clip from Jill’s wall in Apocalypse.

Johann Urb as Leon in Retribution.

If I liked the new movie? When one looks away from the videogame series I have loved almost my whole life, it is okay. It contains action, Executioners as skinny as the ones in Afterlife (I guess it is due to the fact that they are created with the T-virus instead of Uroboros – a whole new “diet”) and a story that makes one think. A little. At least. What I mean is that I like the games way too much to be able to fully accept the movies – it is partly because of that reason that I have decided to write “Resident Evil” in quotation marks as soon as the movies are mentioned. I you happen to mention to a fan of the videogames (who probably does not like the movies) that you began playing the games after have seen Paul W.S Anderson’s interpretations of the series, you may very much regret it. After all, I have used about 500 words (up until now) to explain why I not exactly jump up and down with joy when a new “Resident Evil”-movie is announced.

I may have been mistaken, but one of the lines in the latest movie at least gave me a little hope. One of the characters (I do not remember exactly, excuse me for that) said “Next floor: mens’ wear, sportswear” (or something like that), which I see as a “salutation” to Stephani Danelle Perry’s Resident Evil-novel Underworld, which is the fourth in her series, as well as the second that is not based upon a specific game. In this book, the character named John Andrews (who also happens to be a personal favourite) "First floor, shoes, meanswear, Umbrella assholes." followed by ’John said, not particularly bothered that he didn't get a laugh.' Since I have the book at my parents’, I had to ask a friend what he says exactly. Thanks for helping me, Lara!

Through the use of the fans’ of the videogames favorite characters and memorable scenes, the creator of the movies might think he pleases them. For me, this falls flat when said characters are not portrayed right (a Claire without a ponytail and vests, for instance) and Alice steals the spotlight in those scenes. No, Paul W.S Anderson – redo and make it right. If that is even possible.

Lastly, I would like to mention a game that a friend of mine suggested – a drinking game where one drinks whenever a “facepalm” is an appropriate reaction. “You would be completely wasted after the second or third movie.”