Paul Brian McCoy">
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      Paul Brian McCoy
      December 31, 2018
      News, PDI Press, PDI Press Catalog
    Recent
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      psychodr
      December 31, 2018
    • VOICES FROM THE NIGHT: The Living Dead Tell Their Stories

      John E. Meredith
      October 31, 2018
    • American Carnage: Tales of Trumpian Dystopia

      psychodr
      March 24, 2018
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Psycho Goreman (2021)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      February 12, 2021
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • Psycho Goreman (2021)

      Nate Zoebl
      February 12, 2021
    • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      February 9, 2021
    • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

      Nate Zoebl
      February 2, 2021
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      The Final Girl
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 30, 2019
      DVD/Blu-ray, News
    Recent
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13

      psychodr
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • Psycho Goreman (2021)
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)
  • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
  • Promising Young Woman (2020)
  • Possessor: Uncut (2020)
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
Movies

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)

Paul Brian McCoy
January 30, 2017
Movies, Reviews, Zombies 101

The Resident Evil film franchise is made up of perhaps the guiltiest pleasure films that anyone ever guiltily pleasured. Or something like that. The films aren’t great. They lack in-depth characterizations, believable emotional responses, and an understanding of how physics and science work. The action is over-the-top and cartoonish, the monsters are rarely presented with state-of-the-art CG effects, and the backstories change at the whim of the series writer, producer, and sometime director, Paul W.S. Anderson. The plots are simplistic, the dialogue wooden, and the twists defy logic.

But none of that really matters.

Because the whole goddamn franchise is built on a conscious embrace of the ludicrous and the ass-kicking charisma of its star, Milla Jovovich.

resident-evil-final-chapter-01

In preparation for watching and reviewing Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, I sat down and marathoned my way through the entire film series and I noticed that even though there were minor retcons made along the way, overall, thanks to Anderson’s scripts, the series maintained a consistent internal logic that made each installment work as a solid continuation of what had come before. Characters might drop out of one film only to return in another (or to never be mentioned again), and Anderson’s enthusiastic embrace of crazy fringe science (mutant viruses, clones, superpowers, not to mention the ever-present zombie threat) helped to create a world where the soul-crushing reality of a worldwide plague killing off almost all of humanity could be blithely ignored as Milla kicked, punched, shot and stabbed her way across the screen, always looking good and cracking wise when prudent.

Basically, they made the apocalypse fun.

So it was with a heavy heart that I sat down to watch what everyone involved is saying is the real, actual end of the franchise.

If you don’t remember, the fifth film in the series, Resident Evil: Retribution, ended with Milla’s Alice and all of her surviving allies being brought to the White House by her arch-nemesis Albert Wesker to team up and stage one last stand against the zombie/mutant hordes that filled the countryside, swarming forward.

resident-evil-final-chapter-02

That didn’t end well for anyone.

After an extended prologue that rewrites the history of the T-Virus plague (and retcons out of existence, original characters Dr. Charles Ashford (Jared Harris) and his daughter Angie (Sophie Vavasseur) – from the second film, Resident Evil: Apocalypse – and replaces them with the video game’s Dr. James Marcus (Mark Simpson) and his daughter Alicia (Ever Anderson), our new Red Queen), we discover that Alice is the only survivor of the attack on the White House and Washington D.C. is a desiccated wasteland only partially as devastated as Trump is working toward as we speak.

Soon, we are graced with the return (after sitting out the prior installment, Resident Evil: Retribution) of Ali Larter as Claire Redfield – conspicuously missing her brother, played by Legends of Tomorrow and Prison Break star, Wentworth Miller. He, like all the other survivors of Retribution, apparently died off-camera and nobody is really all that broken up about it. Alice never even mentions or sheds a tear for the clone daughter she rescued/adopted last time out.

resident-evil-final-chapter-04

It’s this sort of lack of real human emotional reaction,  mentioned earlier, that in any other film series would be a devastating critical flaw, but here, we just keep moving. Apparently, Alice and Claire disassociate like bosses, and we’re all cool with that.

This is the third Resident Evil film in a row that Anderson has directed (after filming the first installment) and is a marked visual departure from the last two. The Final Chapter uses a darker palate with heavier shadows, more jump scares (seriously, a shit ton of jump scares), and a more frenetic editing style that unfortunately undercuts the impact of the action scenes. There’s a conscious effort to make this film more of a horror film than the superhero films the last two had become. It’s also the most filmic looking entry since Russell Mulcahy‘s Resident Evil: Extinction, but is ultimately less satisfying.

But with that said, it is still a solid ending to the franchise.

It brings back the best villain the series has had, with the return of Iain Glen‘s Dr. Isaacs, in both clone (a religious fanatic) and original (cybernetically upgraded Umbrella part owner/board member) form, while teaming him up with perpetual annoyance Wesker (Shawn Roberts). Ruby Rose continues her campaign to be in all the cool shit, showing up and kicking ass for what is a sadly short time. The action sequences are original and exciting, although that commitment to quick cuts is tedious and frustrating. I miss the clean action of the last two films. It’s very difficult to keep track of what’s going on in this one.

resident-evil-final-chapter-05

Jovovich’s performance is spot on, as is Larter’s. They’re so good together that I wonder what ever made Anderson decide to go in any other direction. But while Larter is awesome, this is Jovovich’s film and she carries it with grace, wit, and a take-no-prisoners attitude. The fight scenes – what we can see of them – are brutal and bone-crushing. There’s very little attempt to prioritize making sure she looks good with making sure she looks fully engaged, right down to the cuts and bruises from every ultra-violent fight (although her make up is always perfect underneath, don’t get me wrong).

Of all the Resident Evil films, I’d have to rank this one as on par with the last two. It’s better than Apocalypse (entry 2), but not better than the original or Extinction (entry 3). Afterlife (4) and Retribution (5) were so closely related that it’s hard to see them as separate films, and come in just barely under Extinction in my opinion. So for those keeping score, my official ranking of all the films is Extinction at the number one spot, Resident Evil at number two, followed by Afterlife, Retribution, and the Final Chapter all in the number three spot, with the disappointing Apocalypse bringing up the rear (thanks to a truly horrible first hour or so).

Feel free to let me know your rankings below or over on Facebook!

APPIP ERROR: amazonproducts[
AccessDeniedAwsUsers|The Access Key Id AKIAIIK4RQAHE2XK6RNA is not enabled for accessing this version of Product Advertising API. Please migrate your credentials as referred here https://webservices.amazon.com/paapi5/documentation/migrating-your-product-advertising-api-account-from-your-aws-account.html.
]
(Visited 99 times, 1 visits today)

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Ali LarterIain GlenMilla JovovichPaul Brian McCoyPaul W.S. AndersonResident EvilResident Evil: The Final ChapterRuby RoseShawn RobertszombiesZombies 101

POPCORN CINEMA 37: BACK TO THE FUTURE AGAIN
Cahiers du Horror 01: Introduction

About The Author

monsterid
Paul Brian McCoy
Co-Founder / Editor-in-Chief / Dreamweaver

Paul Brian McCoy is the Editor-in-Chief of Psycho Drive-In. His first novel, The Unraveling: Damaged Inc. Book One is available at Amazon US & UK, along with his collection of short stories, Coffee, Sex, & Creation (US & UK). He recently contributed the 1989 chapter to The American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s (US & UK). He also kicked off Comics Bulletin Books with Mondo Marvel Volumes One (US & UK) and Two (US & UK) and PDI Press with Marvel at the Movies: 1977-1998 (US & UK), Marvel at the Movies: Marvel Studios (US & UK), and Spoiler Warning: Hannibal Season 1 - An Unauthorized Critical Guide (US & UK). Paul is also unnaturally preoccupied with zombie films and sci-fi television. He can be found babbling on Twitter at @PBMcCoy.

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Daily Top Ten

  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
  • Sick Flix: Guinea Pig - Devil’s Experiment (1985)Sick Flix: Guinea Pig – Devil’s Experiment (1985) by Corin Totin
  • All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero (2016)All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero (2016) by Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
  • If It Ain't Funk He Don't Feel It: Howard the Duck (1986)If It Ain’t Funk He Don’t Feel It:… by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Women in Horror: Sydney's Revenge in ScreamWomen in Horror: Sydney’s Revenge in Scream by The Final Girl
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • Sense8 1.06 "Demons"Sense8 1.06 “Demons” by Mike Burr
  • I Had a Bloody Good Time at House Harker (2016)I Had a Bloody Good Time at House Harker (2016) by Fred L. Taulbee Jr.

PDI Press Bestsellers

Entertainment Earth

Weekly Top Ten

  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Sick Flix: Guinea Pig - Devil’s Experiment (1985)Sick Flix: Guinea Pig – Devil’s Experiment (1985) by Corin Totin
  • The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • The Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about Racism, Rape, and RemorseThe Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about… by Thom V. Young
  • If It Ain't Funk He Don't Feel It: Howard the Duck (1986)If It Ain’t Funk He Don’t Feel It:… by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Cahiers du Horror 08: Director Roundup February 2021Cahiers du Horror 08: Director Roundup February 2021 by Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
Entertainment Earth

Latest Reviews

  • Psycho Goreman (2021)

    Nate Zoebl
    February 12, 2021
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    February 9, 2021
  • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

    Nate Zoebl
    February 2, 2021

Latest Columns

  • Anything Joes: UNBOXING: GameStop Exclusive Funko Box – Transformers Vs GI Joe

    Greg Engle
    February 28, 2021
  • Cahiers du Horror 08: Director Roundup February 2021

    Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
    February 26, 2021
  • Lost in Translation 372: X-Men, The Anime

    Scott Delahunt
    February 26, 2021

INSTAGRAM

psychodrivein

Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: UNBOXING: GameStop Exclusive Funko Box - Transformers Vs GI Joe

Greg tests his luck with the new GameStop Funko Box.
---
Watch the new video at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #Transformers #FunkoPop #GameStop #Unboxing
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Cahiers du Horr Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Cahiers du Horror 08: Director Roundup February 2021

Trollhunter (2010) combines some great special effects with a mythical monster concept.
---
Read more of Fred's article at the link in our profile!

#CahiersDuHorror #DirectorsRoundup #AndreOvredal #JonathanGlazer #MattBettinelliOlpin #SCraigZahler #TylerGillett #BoneTomahawk #BrawlInCellBlock99 #DraggedAcrossConcrete #ReadyOrNot #SexyBeast #ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark #Southbound #TheAutopsyOfJaneDoe #Trollhunter #UnderTheSkin
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transla Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 372: X-Men, The Anime

The series uses a different villain than seen in other X-Men adaptations, which makes for a refreshing change of pace.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #XMen #Anime
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Everybody Dies: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)

The fact that Hamlet at Elsinore was filmed at the ACTUAL Elsinore castle creates a striking verisimilitude.
---
Read more of Rick's article at the link in our profile!

#ShakespeareOnFilm #Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #Hamlet #HamletAtElsinore #ChristopherPlummer #MichaelCaine #DonaldSutherland #RobertShaw
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E11 - G.I. Joe #3 / The Trojan Gambit

Greg and Jaren discuss the giant robot invading The PIT, and explore how science fiction fits into the G.I. Joe universe.
---
Listen to the guys discuss this comic at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #MarvelComics @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Psycho Goreman Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Psycho Goreman (2021)

Psycho Goreman is like a gloriously inappropriate Power Rangers episode for adults.
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#PsychoGoreman #StevenKostanski #OwenMyre #MatthewNinaber #NitaJoseeHanna #AdamBrooks
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Advance Review: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)

Bad Girls is a kaleidoscopic fever dream of rapid-fire cuts, over-the-top violence, psychedelic drug orgies, raging punk metal screams, and dashes of existential angst.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#BadGirls #TheThetaGirl #ChristopherBickel #MorganShaleyRenew #SenethiaDresch #ShelbyLoisGuinn
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Judas and the Black Messiah

The standout performance in Judas and the Black Messiah is Kaluuya as Fred Hampton.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Sundance #Sundance2021 #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival #JudasAndTheBlackMessiah #ShakaKing #DanielKaluuya #LaKeithStanfield #JessePlemons
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: Adroit Theory G.I. Joe Glass Set Unboxing

Greg takes a quick look at the recently released Adroit Theory 7 piece glassware set.
---
Watch Greg's unboxing video at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #AdroitTheoryBrewing #Beer #Glassware #GIJoe @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Ailey (2021)

Ailey might not break any narrative and cinematic ground as a documentary, but it is a gorgeous evocation of artistry.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Ailey #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival2021 #Sundance2021 #JamilaWignot #AlvinAiley
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: Top 10 G.I. Joe Classified Figures of 2020!

Greg & Jaren share their thoughts on the top 10 best releases from the G.I. Joe Classified line last year.
---
Watch Greg and Jaren count them down at the link in our profile!

#GIJoe #GIJoeClassified #AnythingJoes @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Shadow in the C Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

Shadow in the Cloud would have been better with a little more pruning, a little less Max Landis, and some tonal consistency.
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#ShadowInTheCloud #ChloeGraceMoretz #RoseanneLiang #MaxLandis
Load More... Follow on Instagram

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

Amari Wolfe
Amari Wolfe - 12/11/2020
Popcorn Cinema: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Don't know why, but the mention of Whammo Air Blasters made me laugh until it hurt. Very nicely...
mega leo
mega leo - 12/5/2020
Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
To torture someone takes a cold kind of sadism. One that exceeds rage or revenge. One that shows a...
Dignan
Dignan - 10/29/2020
Nosferatu (1979)
Thanks for that, I can never seem to nail down that movie!
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: