Resident Evil: Retribution also contains some of the biggest visual effects ever created by Toronto-based Mr. X, according to the film’s special effects supervisor, Dennis Berardi. “We’ve got creatures the size of dinosaurs,” Berardi says. “We’ve got a rockin’ car chase with a Rolls Royce that basically gets destroyed. We’ve got tidal waves running through Red Square and taking out New York. Every scene, every sequence we made, we were looking for opportunities to take it to the next level. It’s epic stuff.”
Berardi—whose previous collaborations with Anderson include Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Afterlife and The Three Musketeers—and his team were in charge of seamlessly integrating the more than 900 computer-generated shots into the heart and action of the film. “Special effects are very important in the Resident Evil series,” says Jeremy Bolt. “They are the glue that brings everything together. They are the essence of the film, taking us into the Umbrella Corporation world in a way that otherwise would be impossible.”
But visual effects are irrelevant if they can’t be realistically integrated into a movie, says Berardi. “Audiences spot them in a second and it cheapens the experience. We knew we had to do a photo-real version of Red Square, so we went to Moscow. We did the same for New York. Because we got involved from the script level, we are able to work out all the bugs early. By the end of principal photography, we’d already been working on the movie for about six months.”
Berardi is looking forward to fan reaction to the shocking final scene of the film. “In keeping with tradition, it is a cliffhanger ending that hints at what will happen in the next movie,” he says. “It’s as big as any I’ve ever seen. It probably was the most complicated shot we ever did.”
The Resident Evil franchise has become synonymous with high-octane action from beginning to end, and Resident Evil: Retribution is packed with heart-pounding, adrenaline-charged sequences. In a nod to the fifth game, Anderson builds on a chase in the game to create one of the films standout scenes.
“The characters are driving in a Hummer though the desert and they’re being chased by zombies shooting machine guns on motorbikes,” he says. “We’ve taken that and we’ve run with it. Instead of a Hummer, we’re using a Rolls Royce Phantom because no one’s ever done a car chase with a Rolls Royce before.”
Anderson amps up the scene even further by relocating it to the streets of Moscow. “There are zombies coming at us and they’re not the regular ones,” says Johann Urb, who spent five days filming the hair-raising sequence along with Jovovich, Durand and Kodjoe. “They’re firing weapons and bazookas. We run out of bullets and I have to take them out hand-to-hand, which was fun. There are also Uber-Lickers coming at us at the same time. It’s pretty unbelievable.”
Veteran stunt-coordinator Nick Powell, whose credits include The Bourne Identity, Gladiator and The Last Samurai, previously worked with Anderson and Jovovich on The Three Musketeers. The complexity and scope of the stunts required two full crews to work simultaneously, with Powell helming the stunt unit while Anderson shot with the film’s principals.
“Resident Evil has a signature style that Paul has established over the years,” says Powell, “The audience expects there to be a lot of over-the-top action sequences, but I was amazed at the number in the film. Action-wise, this is the most ambitious Resident Evil yet.”
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