Siraj Syed reviews Resident Evil 6-The Final Chapter: Horror is terrific business

There has to be something about it. It’s the first film franchise of the horror genre to cross a billion dollars, since its genesis 15 years ago. If you are from the gaming generation of the new millennium, you are probably aware that it all began as a game, and the eponymous first edition in the series was released in 1996, as a survival horror video game, but the franchise has since grown to encompass other genres. The series is a mix of action and horror film-inspired plot-lines, exploration, and puzzle solving. As of January 27, the video game series had sold 75 million units worldwide. Resident Evil 7 has been launched a few days ago, and the 100 million mark is not remote. Horror is horrific...nay, terrific business!

In the CapCom (Japan Capsule Computer Company) copyrighted game, the first Resident Evil ushered in a new generation of survival horror, as the dwindling numbers of Raccoon City’s S.T.A.R.S. team investigated the mysterious Spencer mansion in the Arklay Mountains. When it came on screen, in 2002, it was Resident Evil an R-rated, 1h 40min, version, classified as Action, Horror, Sci-Fi. We saw a special military unit fight a powerful, out-of-control super-computer, and hundreds of scientists, who had mutated into flesh-eating creatures, after a laboratory accident.

Written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson it starred Milla Jovovich (then called the 'reigning queen of kick-butt'). She was 27 at that time. In 2017, at 41 going on 42, she reprises her role in three age-stages, playing two of them herself while her daughter essays the third. It is written and directed by Paul William Scott Anderson again, and obviously, age does not matter for behind the screen duties. Just for the record, he is now 52. And just for the record, Milla and Paul are husband and wife.

Picking up three weeks after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, Alice is searching for survivors, when she is attacked by the BOW (not a dog, by any means; a giant Bio Organic Weapon; quaint acronym, that). Alice destroys the flying ‘predator’, after which The Red Queen (Ever Gabo Jovovich-Anderson) appears and tells Alice that she must return to the Hive in Raccoon City within 48 hours, to procure the air-borne anti-virus that the Umbrella Corporation has developed, if she wants to save the few humans still alive. This anti-virus can kill every organism infected by the T-virus, thereby neutralising the carnivorous humans who are preying upon the enduring ones.

During flashbacks, it is revealed that Dr. James Marcus, the original founder of the Umbrella Corporation, had a daughter, who was dying of premature aging (progeria). Marcus, desperate to save her, developed the T-virus, as a way to cure her. After having had his creation taken away from him, Marcus' business partner, Dr. Alexander Isaacs, tried to convince Marcus to use the T-virus for military purposes. When he refused, Isaacs had Markus killed.

On her way to Raccoon City, Alice is captured by Isaacs (Iain Glen), long thought to eliminated by Alice. Isaacs tells her that the one she killed was a clone, and decides to toss her to a horde of zombies, trailing his armoured vehicle, but Alice escapes via a motorcycle carried within it. Alice later arrives in the now-destroyed Raccoon City, and is captured by a group of survivors, consisting of Doc (Eoin Macken), Abigail (Ruby Rose), Christian (William Levy), Cobalt (Rola), Razor (Fraser James), and Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), who is revealed to be have survived the attack on Arcadia.

Anderson (Pompeii, The Three Musketeers and four of the Resident Evil series; he nevertheless wrote the remaining two that he could not direct) revels in hand-held camera shots but eschews slow motion completely. He shot the film in 2D, using his 3D crew. Having a female lead in an action story was taboo, but to use his own words, “Milla became the audiences’ way into the story”. Much more than that, as we see on screen. Not too many female leads have had, and pulled off well, so many long-drawn bouts of hand-to-hand combat, usually fighting a genetically enhanced foe. There is blood-letting galore and more violence of the chopping-off kind. Anderson seems to be in a big hurry to reach the 106 minutes of ‘allotted’ time, with cuts racing near four frames per shot frenetic pace, a decision that precludes you from ingesting and digesting the CGI in 3D with due cathartic pleasure.

A clutch of such gory films in recent times can do little except further de-sensitise successive generations, in epidemic proportions, but there is no law against making gruesome content, either for hand-held video, or the giant 3Dimensional screen. Resident Evil 6 leans on the Bible to justify a man made flood of horrific disease, as a modern day, wannabe Noah, takes it upon himself to cleanse the world. Ominous? Hope not.

There is too much happening in terms of loose, and fore-knowledge required, narrative, which might be ‘a given’ to fans. Besides, too many clones tend to steer the film towards the ludicrous rather than techno-crous. Technology overload is de rigueur in ventures like these, yet a benign, statutory warning is in order: Do not approach cinemas showing Resident Evil 6—The Final Chapter if you do not possess at least a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence, or, at the very least, a diploma in appreciating gadget-gizmo nerdology.

Okay, we give it to her--Milla Jovovich is the queen of kick-butt, in 2017 too! Butt, so what? Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker is cool, though used as a plot decoy in the film.Lee Joon-gi as Commander Chu is cast probably with only the Chinese market in mind, as he has no reason to be Chinese, nor anything to really act out. That even a despotic ‘clonomaniac’ can both act and fight convincingly is proven by Iain Glen. Ever Gabo Jovovich-Anderson, who turned all of ten last November, is a talent to keep a tab on. What have they raised her on? Shakespeare?

Disappointed that this was the last chapter? Take heart--there’s always the epilogue.

Rating: ***

Trailer: https://youtu.be/79Sd4GtOXuI