From its breathtaking opening sequence to its shocking panoramic conclusion, Resident Evil: Retribution dazzles audiences with a stunning combination of the unique action sequences that have made the franchise a global hit and some new and unexpected twists. Director, writer and producer Paul W.S. Anderson has imagined a terrifying future world devastated by an unthinkable plague and realized in state-of-the-art 3D.
Resident Evil: Retribution finds iconic action heroine Alice (indelibly portrayed in all five films by Milla Jovovich) right where she was last seen at the end Resident Evil: Afterlife—on the deck of the mysterious ship Arcadia, where she hoped to find more survivors of the plague. Instead, Alice is in the fight of her life as her former ally Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) and a fleet of the nefarious Umbrella Corporation’s V-22 helicopters swoop in with orders to shoot to kill.
“We start where the last film left off,” Anderson says. “The end of that film was an epic cliffhanger and we really wanted to make it pay off at the start of this one, then go somewhere completely different. We have taken a huge conceptual leap with this movie. It’s got global scope and the action is bigger than ever.”
Jeremy Bolt, Anderson’s longtime producing partner, notes that the director has to some extent reinvented the franchise with each installment. “As a filmmaker, Paul keeps pushing himself further each time out to make it as entertaining as possible with new elements that surprise the audience. This film has even more twists and turns than ever before. We tried to give it a video-game spirit that will engage fans more.”
According to Anderson, the films give him an opportunity to indulge his own fan-boy obsessions. “I love making ResidentEvil movies,” he says. “They’re everything I loved about movies growing up—sexy girls, big action, cool sets. They’re fun films to watch and fun films to make. We’ve become more adventurous with each movie, but with this one we’ve done something really spectacular.”
As always, Anderson includes references to the Resident Evil games, while at the same time developing entirely original story lines and characters. “The movies have borrowed very freely from the games,” he says. “Some of our sets were taken from the video game, so players will recognize those and get a kick out of them. And there has been some reverse influence as well. For example, the Laser corridor from the first film and the Red Queen have found their way into the gaming franchise.”
Moviegoers new to the saga won’t feel left out, however, assures the director. “This is a stand-alone movie. We try and tell a self-contained story each time. Certainly you get more out of it by seeing the others, but even a first-timer will enjoy it. Resident Evil : Afterlife set records for the franchise in terms of audience around the world and many of those people really enjoyed the film without having seen the previous movies.”
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