The Wheel and Axle

Evil Ends. We Think.

by on Feb.10, 2017, under Film & TV, Geeky

Share Button

Resident Evil, the film series at least if not the games, finally comes to an end (as far as we are promised this time) with the recent release of the sixth installment, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.

It’s been around for fifteen years, this franchise, and while it has had its ups and downs, it remains a guilty pleasure for me. Despite certain installments being less than stellar and prone to some mediocre moviemaking, the entire saga just compelled me to watch every single one of them on the big screen. Aside from having a fun premise, it features kickass characters – primarily women – and cool action.

I swear, Milla Jovovich will continue to live a wealthy and secure life long after this is over. And she deserves to.

This last movie, while still clunky in parts, wraps up the epic fairly well. It finally answers the question of who Alice really is, even if it meant retconning parts of Resident Evil: Apocalypse and other established film lore. That said, the answer is satisfactory and makes sense in the overall arc of the series.

It’s quite a bummer, though, that they glossed over the cliffhanger of the prior movie (Resident Evil: Retribution) and had all that action happen offscreen between films. That said, a good portion of the action that does happen is exciting (if dark at times), and we also finally get to see and understand Umbrella’s actual goals.

Now, quite honestly, with the exception of Claire Redfield (who is already a fully-established recurring character), none of this movie’s supporting protagonists are memorable in any way. All of them are new, and it is disappointing we never really see the final fates of Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield. And perhaps that was deliberate: ultimately, this is Alice’s story, and we get to focus on Alice’s ultimate destiny.

And if this was indeed her destiny, then it was a destiny well-earned.

Should there be more films?

Perhaps, perhaps not. I will definitely miss Milla in this role – fifteen years is a long time! However, there are still a lot of loose ends which can potentially become spin-offs or even reboots that focus on other parts of this intriguing universe.

That said, this is a worthy ending to a fun franchise, and I recommend you go out there and watch it on the big-screen.

My Rating: 8 out of 10 Stars

Starring: Millia Jovovich, Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts, Ruby Rose, Eoin Macken, Lee Joon-gi, William Levy, Rola, Fraser James, Ever Gabo Anderson, and Iain Glen.

Directed By: Paul W. S. Anderson

Share Button
:

Comments are closed.

Visitors

Since June 2016