This hexquel opens with a story-so-far recap that retcons elements from five earlier Resident Evil films – not to mention the game franchise and sundry animated spinoffs – to streamline things to allow for a simple set-up and some last-reel resolution of mysteries all but diehard series fans will have forgotten about.
Here, Jovovich’s unkillable tough chick has to recruit a team of literal expendables (watch out for that giant fan!) and fight her way back into the facility she escaped from all the way back in Resident Evil (2002) for a final reckoning with the series baddies – Iain Glen, playing several clones of evil mastermind Isaacs, edges Shawn Roberts’ blander minion Wesker off screen – and loopy revelations about her origins. Old pals (survivalist sweetie Ali Larter) and menaces (the zom-dogs, the laser-grid corridor) are reintroduced, and there is – of course – a get-out clause finish which would allow resumption of service if this Final Chapter gives way to a New Beginning or Next Generation.
Paul W.S. Anderson directs good, imaginative action – punched up by loud noises and jittery edits – but writes terrible word balloon dialogue (nail-on-the-head department: ‘I feel like I’ve been doing this my whole life – running and killing’). For what it’s worth, this saga is a brand-leader in its field – consistently more entertaining than the Underworld films and leaving non-starters like Aeon Flux, Ultra Violet and Priest in the dust. This entry, however, finds the invention flagging – one plot twist is a blatant lift from a well-remembered RoboCop moment – and winds up hurrying through its supposed end-of-an-era finish just to get it over with.
