The opening for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter begins where Retribution left off. We find our heroine, Alice, alone in a ruined Washington, D.C. and it’s revealed that Wesker had been lying about everything from the previous film; he had not left Umbrella and the White House was a trap, it was not the last human outpost, and it has always been Umbrella who was trying to wipe out the human race, not the Red Queen. We are told by the Red Queen that Wesker betrayed everyone at the White House fortress, decimating the city, leaving Alice as the only apparent survivor. The Red Queen convinces Alice she has changed allegiance after it being revealed that the T-Virus was released into the world on purpose by Umbrella and sends Alice after Wesker, who has taken refuge in the Hive in Racoon City, where the saga began. She has 48 hours to stop Wesker and Umbrella from destroying humanity for good this time and release an airborne antidote to stop the T-Virus once and for all.
The Resident Evil franchise is known for its plot holes, and as expected many are revealed in this latest instalment. Without going into spoiler territory, this time there is confusion over the creator of the T-Virus, the ownership of the Umbrella Corporation, and the mystery of what actually happened in Washington in-between the two films. We are given no explanation for these discrepancies and without reading the novelisation of the series that tackles some of this issues, the film proves to be a contradiction to its predecessors. Previously, the series has answered inconsistencies with the use of clones of key characters, which may be the resolution to some of the newest conflicts, and is actually referenced in this film when Alice comes face-to-face with Dr Issacs, whom she believed she had killed in Apocalypse. But this negligence to continuity is something that easily takes away value from the franchise and causes confusion when watching.
But despite these inconsistencies, The Final Chapter proves to be an entertaining spectacle. Taking the film out of the context of the series, which to some extent we are encouraged to do with the recap Alice gives us at the start of every sequel, it fulfils audience genre expectations. Opening with a couple of sharp jump scares, and a fight between Alice, a mutated zombie and a flying creature, it provides the attention-grabbing action expected from the start. As teased in the trailer, there are plenty of these sequences, which are a spectacle to watch, and we are also able to revisit where it all began in the Hive. This gives us throwbacks to the first film, using original footage, sets, monsters, and, of course, the iconic phrase “you’re all going to die down here”. If fans are able to get by the narrative questions created by The Final Chapter, then it is a gratifying spectacle that, as the previous films have proven, may ironically turn out not to be the final chapter.
RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: PAUL W. S. ANDERSON / STARRING: MILLA JOVOVICH, IAIN GLEN, ALI LARTER, SHAWN ROBERTS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Expected Rating: 5 out of 10
Actual Rating:
