I never played any of the
Resident Evil games. However, I have quite a soft spot for this movie franchise.
I still like the first movie for what it is: a free and fast-paced video game adaption. The claustrophobic atmosphere is just brilliant! The action is great, and the Zombies (especially the mutated dogs) are still scary.
The second (
Apocalypse)...well, at first I felt exactly like Pete, I didn't like it at all. Why? I don't know, it simply didn't feel right after the first part, although many people say that this movie is the one that comes as close as possible to the video games (something I can neither deny nor confirm). However, I have to admit that I quite liked it when I watched it on Blu-ray a few weeks ago - with the scenes in the church and on the graveyard being well-staged and genuinely creepy.
The third (
Extinction) is an excellent movie. It's not only the best part of the series so far, it's also a great film on its own. It has great cinematography, great characters, and fantastic action.
Number four (
Afterlife) is the weakest film of the series, if you ask me. It seems as if almost all the money went into the 3D effects, and nothing was left for a good story or more atmosphere. It just looks too much like one of those modern action films that have been springing up like mushrooms for quite a while now. But, as Kyle has already implied - it's quite entertaining anyhow.
My expectations are pretty low at the moment - as the trailer for
Retribution looks pretty similar to
Afterlife - new ideas, anybody?
Greetings!