Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Paul W. S. Anderson |
Written by | Paul W. S. Anderson |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Glen MacPherson |
Edited by | Doobie White |
Music by | Paul Haslinger |
Distributed by | Screen Gems |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 106 minutes[1] |
Countries |
|
Language | English |
Budget | $40 million[2] |
Box office | $40.2 million[3] |
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is a 2016 science fiction action horror film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. It is the sequel to Resident Evil: Retribution and the sixth and final installment in the Resident Evil film series, which is loosely based on the Capcom survival horror video game series Resident Evil. The film stars Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts, Ruby Rose, Eoin Macken, William Levy and Iain Glen. In the film, Alice and her friends are betrayed by Albert Wesker, who gathers the entire forces of Umbrella into one final strike against the apocalypse survivors.
It was released on December 23, 2016 in Japan[4] and on January 27, 2017 in the United States in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.
Plot
![]() | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (January 2017) |
Picking up three weeks after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens in the now-ruined White House, after being betrayed once again by Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts). While searching for survivors, The Red Queen (Ever Gabo Anderson) appears and tells Alice that she must return to The Hive in Raccoon City within 48 hours, where the Umbrella Corporation has developed an airborne antivirus, which will kill every organism infected by the T-virus, before all humankind will be lost. When asked why she betrayed her creators, the Red Queen simply says that she will tell Alice once she arrives at The Hive.
While on her way to Raccoon City, she is captured by Dr. Alexander Issacs (Iain Glen), long thought to be dead. Issacs tells her that the one she killed was a clone. He decides to strap and toss her to a horde of zombies on an armored vehicle, but Alice escapes through a motorcycle carried within the armored vehicle. Alice later arrives in the now-destroyed Raccoon City. While exploring the streets, she is knocked unconscious and 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), the latter revealed to be alive after the attack on Arcadia. Christian initially doesn't believe Alice, and attempts to shoot her, but Claire stops him. Revealing that a group of armored vehicles and a horde of zombies is coming their way, the group prepares to make their last stand. With the help of Abigail, they manage to defeat the enemy forces, although Cobalt is killed in the process. The group later realizes that a second horde is coming to their direction.
With no defenses left, Alice and the crew decide to get to The Hive entrance, located on the bottom of a crater. However, Wesker, having taken control of The Hive, releases the mutated dogs, killing Christian. Upon arriving at The Hive, the Red Queen appears again and explains the reason of her betrayal. It is revealed that someone uploaded a video recording of the Umbrella executives, including Issacs, talking about the end of the world, and that the Umbrella Corporation had released the T-virus on purpose in order to cleanse the world, save the rich and powerful with cryogenic capsules in The Hive, and later rebuild the world how they desire. The Red Queen, although programmed to never hurt an Umbrella employee, was also programmed to value human life, which is why she enlists Alice's help in order to stop Issacs. The Red Queen also warns Alice about one of the group being a spy for the Umbrella Corporation.
Upon entering The Hive's air chamber, Wesker activates the electricity, causing the fan to spin and resulting in the death of Abigail. In the ventilation ducts, Alice and Razor fall into a trap, pitting them against a BOW. Razor is devoured by the BOW, but Alice kills it. Meanwhile, Claire fell into a glass confinement but manages to escape. Alice reunites with Doc, plants a bomb in The Hive, and comes face to face with the real Dr. Issacs. It is revealed that Doc is the Umbrella's spy. Claire also appears, held at gunpoint by Wesker. A cyrogenic capsule opens, containing Alicia Marcus, leader of the Umbrella Corporation and daughter of Dr. Marcus, Issacs' associate whom Wesker killed due to rejecting the T-virus proposal. It is revealed that Alice is a clone from Alicia, which explains her loss of childhood memories. Issacs also reveals his plans to overthrow Alicia as the leader of the Umbrella Corporation. However, as Alicia is still in control, she "fires" Wesker, causing the security to recognize him as a civilian and cut his legs. Alice attacks Issacs, but Issacs escapes. Doc tries to shoot Alice, but his gun is empty, and Doc is shot dead by Claire.
Encouraged by Alicia's words, Alice and Claire fight Issacs. Alice detonates a grenade in Issacs' pocket, causing it to explode and severely injure Issacs. Alice retrieves the antivirus and heads outside. As she tries to drop the antivirus, Issacs, still alive, stops her, but one of his clones kills him before being devoured by the zombies. With a few seconds to spare, Alice releases the antivirus, killing all the zombies, and presumably herself. The bomb planted within The Hive explodes, killing Alicia, Wesker, and everyone within it.
Claire later wakes Alice, revealed to be alive. The Red Queen explains that the antivirus killed the T-virus within Alice's body, ensuring her survival. Later, the Red Queen gives Alice an eyepiece containing all the memories of Alicia during childhood, stating that the clone (Alice) is more human than the Umbrella executives. The film ends with Alice riding a motorcycle to places unknown while being chased by BOWs, stating that her job isn't finished yet and that it will take several years for the antivirus to circle the globe.
Cast
- Milla Jovovich as Alice / Alicia Marcus[5]
- Ali Larter as Claire Redfield[5]
- Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker[5]
- Ruby Rose as Abigail[5]
- Eoin Macken as Doc[5]
- William Levy as Christian[5]
- Iain Glen as Dr. Alexander Isaacs[5]
- Lee Joon-gi as Commander Chu[6]
- Rola as Cobalt[5]
- Ever Gabo Anderson as Young Alicia / Red Queen[7]
- Fraser James as Razor[5]
Production
In September 2012, following the box office success of Resident Evil: Retribution, a sixth film in the "Resident Evil" series was confirmed by the head of Sony Pictures distribution, Rory Bruer, with Milla Jovovich attached to reprise the role of Alice.[8] In October 2012, in an interview with Forbes, producer Samuel Hadida stated that a sixth and seventh installment were being planned and a reboot of the series was possible.[9] In December 2012, director Paul W. S. Anderson confirmed that he would be directing "Resident Evil 6,". He stated that it would be the last film in the series and some characters from the first two films would return.[10] In June 2013, Jovovich tweeted that the sixth film, which had been scheduled for a September 12, 2014 release, would not be released before 2015.[11] The film was scheduled to start shooting in late 2013 as soon as Anderson had finished work on his disaster/romance film Pompeii.[12]
In February 2014, Anderson told Collider that "we'd like to do another Resident Evil movie. Definitely. But the wheels aren't quite in motion yet,"; the film was reportedly planned to be released in 2015.[13] In April 2014, while speaking at the Beijing International Film Festival, Anderson revealed that he would soon be writing the screenplay for the sixth film in the series. He also confirmed that the film would be in 3D and that actress Li Bingbing would be returning to play Ada Wong.[14] In June 2014, Anderson announced the film's working title to be "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" and confirmed that it was intended to be the final film in the series. He also revealed that half the script had been completed, but, as yet, there were no shooting or release schedules.[15] Filming was set to begin in South Africa in August 2014 but was delayed for a year because of Jovovich's pregnancy.[16][17]
On July 15, 2015, Jovovich posted a photo on Instagram announcing that shooting was about to start in South Africa.[18] Actors from previous films: Sienna Guillory (Jill Valentine), Li Bingbing (Ada Wong), Aryana Engineer (Becky), Spencer Locke (K-Mart), Michelle Rodriguez (Rain Ocampo), Wentworth Miller (Chris Redfield) and Johann Urb (Leon S. Kennedy) were not invited to return for the last movie. On August 3, 2015, it was confirmed that Ali Larter would be back for the sequel in the role of Claire Redfield, and filming would begin in late August or early September.[19] Larter confirmed the sixth film would be the last in the franchise.[20] On September 18, 2015, other cast members were announced including Iain Glen as Dr. Alexander Isaacs, Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker, Ruby Rose as Abigail, Eoin Macken as Doc, William Levy as Christian, Fraser James as Michael, and Rola as Cobalt.[5] On October 19, 2015, Lee Joon-gi joined the film to play Commander Lee of the Umbrella Corporation.[21]
Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel created the song "Don't Be Afraid" specifically for the Japanese theatrical release.[22][23]
Filming
Principal photography on the film began on September 18, 2015 in Cape Town / Hartbeespoort Dam, South Africa.[5][24] During filming, Jovovich's stunt double Olivia Jackson was severely injured when her motorcycle collided with a camera crane, leaving her in a medically-induced coma for two weeks. Among Jackson's injuries were cerebral trauma, a crushed face, a severed artery in her neck, a paralyzed arm, several broken ribs, a shattered scapula, a broken clavicle, torn fingers with a thumb that needed to be amputated, and five nerves torn out of her spinal cord.[25] Jackson announced in December 2015 that her paralyzed left arm will need to be amputated.[26] A second accident occurred during filming on December 3 when crew member Ricardo Cornelius was crushed to death by one of the film's props, a U.S. Army issue Hummer, while on set.[27][28] Filming ended on December 9, 2015.[29] According to Paul W. S. Anderson, the director, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was fully shot with 2D cameras and post-converted to 3D by the company: Legend 3D. It's the first time that a movie from the Resident Evil saga has a 3D post-conversion, since the last two installments were shot in 3D. [30]
Release
Sony first scheduled the film for release on September 12, 2014 before delaying it over two years.[31] The film was released in Japan on December 23, 2016 and in North America on January 27, 2017 by Screen Gems.[32]
Box office
As of January 27, 2017[update], Resident Evil: The Final Chapter has grossed $5.1 million in the United States and Canada and $35.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $40.2 million, against a production budget of $40 million.[3]
In North America, the film was released alongside A Dog's Purpose and Gold, and is projected to gross around $13 million from 3,050 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] It made $1 million from Thursday night previews and $5.1 million on its first day.[33]
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 41% based on 33 reviews, and an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter may prove mind-numbingly chaotic for the unconverted, but for fans of the venerable franchise, it offers a fittingly kinetic conclusion to its violent post-apocalyptic saga".[34] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 53 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[35] On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[36]
Alex Welch of IGN was critical of the film, giving 3/10 and calling it "a pointless mess from beginning to end", and "nothing more than a barrage of cliched character beats, unbearable CGI action, and headache-inducing editing".[37] Glenn Kenny for The New York Times writes, "This is, I think, the weakest picture in the franchise".[38]
In contrast, Bill Zwecker of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 stars out of 4, saying it "[gets] the storyline right off the bat". He adds, "For fans of Resident Evil, I believe this final film will not disappoint, but it also will likely encourage newcomers to the saga to go back and play a bit of catch-up by watching the earlier movies".[39]
References
- ^ "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter [2D] (15)". British Board of Film Classification. December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ a b "Box Office: Can 'A Dog's Purpose' Still Win the Weekend After Canine Controversy?". Variety. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- ^ a b "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ "'Final' Live-Action Resident Evil Film Opens First in Japan on December 23". Anime News Network. April 26, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter Cast Revealed". ComingSoon.net. September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ "'Resident Evil: The Final Chapter". Sony Pictures. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ "'Resident Evil: Milla Jovovich reveals her daughter plays new Red Queen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ Stewart, Andrew (September 21, 2012). "'Evil' sequel plays well overseas". Variety. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ Gaudiosi, John (October 29, 2012). "Silent Hill Sequel Bombs At Box Office, Producer Promises More Resident Evil Movies". Forbes. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ Alan Orange, B. (December 21, 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Paul W.S. Anderson Confirms 'Resident Evil 6' Will End the Franchise". MovieWeb. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ Barton, Steve (June 19, 2013). "No New Resident Evil Movie Until 2015?". Dread Central. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ Wakelin, Simon (June 19, 2013). "Paul W.S. Anderson on filming Pompeii in Toronto". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ Weintraub, Steve (February 1, 2014). "RESIDENT EVIL 6 Update: No Release Date. No Script. But Director Paul W.S. Anderson and Screen Gems Want to Make it". Collider.com. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ "Paul W.S. Anderson Updates on Resident Evil 6, Confirms Returning Cast Member". ComingSoon.net. April 21, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ Chitwood, Adam (June 16, 2014). "Exclusive RESIDENT EVIL 6 Updates: Tentatively Titled RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER, Planned as the Last Film, and First Draft Is Currently Being Written". Collider.com. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ Perry, Spencer (August 18, 2014). "Resident Evil: Final Chapter Delayed as Milla Jovovich Reveals Second Pregnancy". SuperHeroHype.com. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
- ^ "Milla Jovovich – So the countdown to our new baby begins,..." Facebook.
- ^ Lesnick, Silas (July 15, 2015). "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is Gearing Up!". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (August 3, 2015). "'Resident Evil' Sets Ali Larter To Reprise Opposite Milla Jovovich". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
- ^ Collura, Scott (August 14, 2015). "Ali Larter Says Resident Evil 6 Really Is the Final Chapter of the Movie Series". IGN. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ Hyo-won, Lee (October 19, 2015). "South Korean Star Lee Joon-gi Cast in 'Resident Evil: The Final Chapter'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2016/11/08-1/larc-en-ciel-provides-theme-song-for-resident-evil-the-final-chapter-japanese-dub-edition
- ^ Ni Nyoman Wira (September 16, 2016). "L'Arc~en~Ciel to release new song for 'Resident Evil'". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
- ^ Butler, Karen (September 20, 2015). "'Resident Evil: The Final Chapter' starts filming in South Africa". United Press International. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- ^ Robb, David; Busch, Anita (October 13, 2015). "'Resident Evil' Stuntwoman Injured On Set Out Of Coma – Update". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ Wareing, Charlotte (December 21, 2015). "Star Wars Stunt Double Reveals She Will Lose an Arm After Horrific Accident on Resident Evil Set". Daily Mirror. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ^ "Cape man dies on Hollywood movie set". ComingSoon.net. December 17, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ "Crew member crushed to death on Resident Evil: The Final Chapter set". The Daily Telegraph. December 24, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ^ Perry, Spencer (December 9, 2015). "Production Wraps on Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, More Photos Debut". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
- ^ http://www.rue-morgue.com/single-post/2016/10/12/NYCC-%E2%80%9916-Paul-WS-Anderson-says-RESIDENT-EVIL-THE-FINAL-CHAPTER-is-the-most-horrific-sequel-yet
- ^ Turek, Ryan (March 5, 2013). "Sony Sets a Release Date for Resident Evil 6". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (August 5, 2015). "Sony Dates 16 Films Including Two More 'Bad Boys' Sequels, 'Jumanji' Remake". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ "Is Controversy Impacting 'A Dog's Purpose' At The Box Office?". Deadline.com.
- ^ "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
- ^ Welch, Alex (January 27, 2017). "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter Review". IGN. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ Kenny Glenn, Glenn (January 26, 2017). "Review: Alice Returns in 'Resident Evil: The Final Chapter'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ Zwecker, Bill (January 26, 2017). "Like the zombies, 'Resident Evil' finale keeps moving forward". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
External links
- 2016 films
- 2010s action thriller films
- 2010s science fiction horror films
- 2016 3D films
- 2016 horror films
- American science fiction action films
- American science fiction horror films
- Auro 11.1 films
- British science fiction action films
- British zombie films
- Canadian sequel films
- Constantin Film films
- Films about viral outbreaks
- Films directed by Paul W. S. Anderson
- Films shot in South Africa
- German science fiction films
- German sequel films
- Girls with guns films
- IMAX films
- Post-apocalyptic films
- Resident Evil (film series)
- Screen Gems films
- Zombie films