Resident Evil: Retribution {Movie Review}

It begins with a flashback scene from Resident Evil: Afterlife that leads into {*sarcastic spoiler alert*} Alice waking up naked in a strange room. I’ll let them have that since it has become an iconic event to see Mila Jovovich’s side-boob. It would be a deal-breaker if they left it out, actually. A repetitive detail that DID turn me off, however, is that the film opens (once again) with the “My name is Alice” recap story. It’s old. And quite frankly if you don’t know what has happened thus far you should not be watching the FIFTH movie.

Plot wise, Retribution keeps its tradition of game-play, similar timing, and content. As with all of the Resident Evil movies, the viewer tends to watch it with the same intensity a player has unlocking each scene in the game. Though the plot is not exactly the same as the game the approach makes this movie far less cheesy than the “call-back” method used in other video game-based movies (raise your hand if you remember that perversion they called “Street Fighter”!). It did get a little over-the-top, though, early in the film when an outfit conveniently pops out of a secret drawer in the interrogation room where Alice wakes up naked. But, hey, it’s not a video game world unless necessary pieces of equipment are laying around in random unlikely places.

The fight scenes in Retribution do not disappoint. The boys start off the main action with a pack of militant heroes that shoot and punch their way through an umbrella facility in an attempt to extract Alice. Alice and Ada (played by Bingbing Li) hold their own in the game of awesome fighting skills with some martial arts and fancy marksmanship. In the end, it’s a woman’s world. An all-out ass-whooping-fest showcases Rain (Michelle Rodriguez) beating down two guys at one time with boxing moves that would make Mike Tyson shiver while Alice and Jill (Sienna Guillory) take cat fighting to a whole new level.

Topping off the positive attributes of the movie are the characters. Retribution features almost every character featured in previous movies and *bonus* they were played by the same actors. I tend to find it hard to get into a character when the actor playing that role is constantly being changed. Thank you, Resident Evil, for keeping the continuity after all these years.

Retribution will be best enjoyed by those who appreciate simple qualities of a movie. It doesn’t have particularly brilliant writing or the most complex plot. It’s zombies, explosions, sexy outfits and nerd fun. Overall, I enjoyed watching it. There were a few minor weak points but its strengths definitely outweighed them.