Resident Evil: Apocalypse

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Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Theatrical poster
Directed by Alexander Witt
Produced by Paul Anderson
Jeremy Bolt
Don Carmody
Written by Paul Anderson
Starring Milla Jovovich
Sienna Guillory
Oded Fehr
Mike Epps
Sandrine Holt
Thomas Kretschmann
Jared Harris
Iain Glen
Music by Jeff Dunnom
Cinematography Derek Rogers
Christian Sebaldt
Editing by Eddie Hamilton
Distributed by Screen Gems
Release date(s) USA September 10, 2004
United Kingdom October 8, 2004 Australia October 21, 2004
Running time 94 minutes / 98 minutes
Country Canada
Germany
United Kingdom
France
Language English
Budget $43,000,000 [1]
Gross revenue $129,394,835 [1]
Preceded by Resident Evil: Genesis
Followed by Resident Evil: Extinction
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a 2004 science fiction action horror film. It is the second installment in the series of film adaptations based on the Capcom survival horror series Resident Evil. Borrowing elements from Resident Evil 2, 3: Nemesis, and Code: Veronica, the film follows the amnesiac heroine Alice, who has escaped the underground Umbrella facility, and must band with other survivors including Jill Valentine and escape Raccoon City, before it's too late. The film was directed by Alexander Witt and produced by Paul W. S. Anderson.

The film was released in the United States on September 10, 2004 and was commercially successful, grossing $129,394,835 worldwide,[1] however, it received many negative reviews from critics such as Roger Ebert.[2]

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

The film begins with Alice (Milla Jovovich) recalling the key events from the first film. On September 29, 2002, thirteen hours after the initial T-Virus outbreak in The Hive, the Umbrella Corporation sends in a research team to re-open the complex. As the team enters The Hive through a secret insertion point beneath Raccoon City, the entire team is slaughtered by zombies and Lickers who have been sealed within the complex. Realizing the entrance is now open, and the virus and infectious zombies will make their way to the surface, Umbrella establishes a security perimeter around the city to keep the citizens in a quarantined area.

As civilians reach the checkpoints, Umbrella operatives screen them for traces of any infection, until Major Timothy Cain (Thomas Kretschmann), orders all checkpoints to be closed as the infection already reached the gates and informs remaining citizens to return to their homes. Meanwhile, Alice wakes up in a downtown hospital, and recalls her recent memories. After surviving The Hive, Alice was recovered by Umbrella and used for experimentation. She has gained superhuman powers because the T-Virus bonded with her blood on a cellular level. As she exits the hospital, she recognizes the virus has escaped causing devastation in the streets and makes her way to a police car where she grabs a shotgun from the front seat.

Elsewhere, Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and two other Umbrella soldiers Nicholai Ginovaef (Zack Ward) and Yuri Loginova link up with multiple Special Tactics And Rescue Service units in an attempt to hold against an onslaught of zombies in the street. However they are overrun, causing Carlos and his team to fall back with an infected Yuri who was bitten during the battle. Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) (a S.T.A.R.S. unit member) together with Terri Morales (Sandrine Holt) and Peyton Wells (Razaaq Adoti) retreat to a church, where they are attacked by Lickers before being saved by Alice.

When the infection reached critical stages, Umbrella dispatched their Nemesis program (Matthew G. Taylor) to kill all remaining S.T.A.R.S. operatives, and when he encounters L.J. (Mike Epps), and thirteen other members of S.T.A.R.S, they open fire on him, before he guns them down, sparing only L.J.'s life when he drops his weapons. Dr. Charles Ashford (Jared Harris), a key Umbrella scientist and creator of the T-Virus, has refused extraction by Umbrella until he has located and rescued his daughter Angela (Sophie Vavasseur). As he hacks into Raccoon City's network of closed circuit cameras, he determines she is hiding out in her school and contacts Alice and her group. He informs them that Umbrella's method of sanitizing Raccoon City is by nuking it, but he offers to arrange for an evacuation in exchange for rescuing Angela. Inside the school, the group encounter Carlos and his team, who have also been given the same offer. After various encounters with zombie dogs and infected children who kill Nicholai and Terri respectively, they succeed in finding Angela, leaving the remaining survivors to escape and head towards the extraction point.

When contacted by Alice about their success, Ashford gives them the location of the extraction point, before being intervened by Major Cain, who had been aware of his plan, and captures him before killing him forcing Alice to fight Nemesis. As she defeats Nemesis, she realizes his true identity (her former friend, Matt Addison) and refuses to deliver the killing blow. Her mercy appears to rekindle a trace of Nemesis's former humanity, and they join forces and attack the Umbrella troops. Nemesis is killed in the ensuing fight, and Alice and the others escape in the helicopter, leaving Major Cain on the ground. Major Cain picks up a pistol and fires it into the rapidly growing crowd of approaching zombies several times, then tries to kill himself with the pistol, only to find that it is out of bullets. He is eaten alive just before the missile reaches the city, and destroys it.

The helicopter is caught in the blast radius, and during that time, Alice is impaled by a loose piece of metal, that was dislodged as the shock wave hit the helicopter. The helicopter then crashes into the Arklay Mountains. Alice is recovered by Umbrella, while the rest of the occupants in the helicopter escaped before the crash site was located. Alice is then taken to the Chicago Umbrella research station, where, after several weeks, Alice awakens in a giant water tank, completely regenerated from her injuries. Led by Umbrella scientist Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen), the doctors release and begin to question her. At first, she appears to have no memory, but soon a rapid series of images of recent events come flashing back in her mind, and she states with contempt "My name is Alice… and I remember everything." She fights her way out of the facility showing some of her darkest powers yet, only to be surrounded by dozens of armed guards. Suddenly, Jill, Carlos, and L.J. pull up in a SUV, disguised as Umbrella employees. Carlos shows the guards a written order placing her in his custody. They allow Alice to go, and as she enters the waiting vehicle, she sees Angela in the back seat. As they drive away, Angela asks Alice if she is all right. Alice doesn't respond, and Dr. Isaacs is shown saying, "Program Alice Activated." A close-up of her eye shows a flashing Umbrella logo as the film comes to an end.

[edit] Cast

Actor/Actress Role
Milla Jovovich Alice
Sienna Guillory Jill Valentine
Oded Fehr Carlos Olivera
Thomas Kretschmann Major Timothy Cain
Jared Harris Dr. Charles Ashford
Sandrine Holt Terri Morales
Sophie Vavasseur Angela Ashford
Mike Epps L.J.
Zack Ward Nicholai Ginovaef
Iain Glen Dr. Sam Isaacs
Matthew G. Taylor The Nemesis

[edit] Production

[edit] Pre-production

Resident Evil: Apocalypse was first discussed by Milla Jovovich and Paul W. S. Anderson while promoting Resident Evil. Anderson stated that he began writing the screenplay for the second film after completing the first. He revealed an idea to have Jill Valentine meeting up with Alice,[3] however this idea was scrapped as he wanted two separate stories occurring at the same time.[4] Anderson mentioned the film would go ahead if the first film was a success and promised that "the sequel will be even better" stating that "there is more of the story to be told."[5] The sequel was officially greenlit by Sony in mid 2002,[6] however Anderson chose not to direct but rather stay on as the film's producer and writer due to commitments to Alien vs. Predator.[7]

Alexander Witt was hired by Sony to direct the sequel.[8] Milla Jovovich confirmed her character would return in the sequel if the first film was successful,[3] however when the film was officially greenlit, Jovovich officially signed on.[9] In March 2002, Eric Mabius (who played Matt Addison in the first film), confirmed the story would revolve around his character becoming Nemesis. He also revealed he would portray the character and study his movements whilst playing Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, however before production began he pulled out[6] and Matthew G. Taylor was cast as Nemesis.[7] It was reported that Gina Philips would appear as Claire Redfield and Natasha Henstridge as Jill Valentine, however both actresses left before production began.[10][7] Sienna Guillory was cast to portray Jill Valentine and Oded Fehr was cast as Carlos Olivera,[11] while Claire Redfield's role was scrapped after Emily Bergl dropped the role.[12] The role was later offered to Ali Larter in the film's sequel Extinction. Jason Isaacs was originally intended to return and portray Dr. William Birkin,[13] however passed on the role and the characters name was changed to Dr. Isaacs as a homage with Iain Glen being cast to portray the role.[7]

Jack Noseworthy was originally rumored to portray Brad Vickers, however was later revealed as a rumor.[14] Two weeks before production began, Jared Harris was cast as a new character called Dr. Ashford who developed and produced the T-Virus.[15]

[edit] Story development

In March 2002, it was revealed the film would borrow plot elements from Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, as the film's subtitle was revealed as being "Resident Evil: Nemesis".[6] It was also revealed the film would include new characters from the video game series such as Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, Carlos Olivera, Dr. William Birkin and Nemesis.[16][10][4] In April 2003, it was confirmed that the story would begin minutes after the ending of the first film, where Alice is a survivor lurking amongst the ruins of Raccoon City.[17]

Umbrella launching its Nemesis Program
Umbrella launching its Nemesis Program

The film borrowed numerous elements from the game series including re-enactments of certain scenes from the games, such as Alice running through a building with an Umbrella helicopter firing at her, up to the point where she drops her gun, falls, re-grabs it and fires, which is reminiscent to the introduction scene of Resident Evil Code: Veronica.[7] Another scene involves where Raccoon City is overrun by zombies, and the police and Umbrella mercenaries are fighting back, up to the point in which a zombie reflects off a fallen police helmet, which is reminiscent to the introduction scene of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.[7] Other scenes involve the launching a missile to destroy Raccoon City and the attack at the graveyard scene.[7]

The film references Resident Evil such as the crash site of the helicopter being located in the Arklay Forest near the Arklay Mountains, where the Resident Evil series first began.[7] Other similarities include Jill basing her moves from the first game.[7] The recording of Terri's death is similar to Kenneth's death which is also recorded.[7] A white goddess statue can be seen in the church as artwork of goddesses has a large role within the puzzles in the Resident Evil series.[7] Whilst walking on the Arklay Overpass, Jill speculates that there is no way out, and that Ashford may just be watching them on the cameras, as if the whole thing were some sort of sick game. The games themselves use a fixed camera perspective, and in most of the earlier games resembles a mounted camera's perspective.[7] Another similarity includes where Jill finds a gun under a pew, mirroring the game when you find ammo or weapons in certain areas.[7]

The film references Resident Evil 2 such as when Alice visits the gun shop which is similar to Kendo's Gun Shop.[7] Angela Ashford's character is based on Sherry Birkin, as they are both children, dressed in school uniforms, and in need of rescue. Both of their fathers are also researchers working for Umbrella.[7] The Ashford name, however, comes from the founders of Umbrella revealed in Resident Evil : Code Veronica. The film also references Resident Evil 3: Nemesis such as Jill wearing the same outfit. Nemesis is a character taken directly from the game, and also mentions "S.T.A.R.S." on numerous occasions.[7]

[edit] Production

Actors portraying zombies were trained at a zombie "boot camp" where they were coached to act as zen-zombies and liquid zombies. Anderson and other crew members intended to make the zombies move faster but decided that it would be breaking a fundamental element of the games.[7] The design for Nemesis' was to include an actor in a suit (Matthew G. Taylor) with only special-effects applied to certain parts of the characters body such as the eye.[7]

The Lickers were fully computer-generated though the use of physical puppets was originally considered.[7] To avert issues faced during production, the CGI work of the lickers began early.[7] The film was filmed on location in Canada with the film entering pre-production stages in mid 2003, with principal photography to originally begin in July 2003,[17] before being bumped up to August 6, 2003.[9] The film was shot in Ontario, Canada; with Toronto and its surrounding suburbs being a stand-in for Raccoon City. Toronto City Hall and Exhibition Place (namely the National Trade Centre) were used as Umbrella's worldwide headquarters, while the logos of Canada's largest banks feature prominently in the skyline shots of the city, and the Prince Edward Viaduct was used to represent Ravens Gate.[18] It was originally feared that production would be shut down due to fears of the 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto[19] however production resumed with filming ending in October 2003.[20] The film was also shot at the Hamilton cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[21]

[edit] Marketing and release

The film was planned for a October 31, 2003 release,[22] although was pushed back to September 10, 2004 due to the 2003 SARS outbreak.[23] In late 2003, a teaser trailer was released titled Regenerate[24] and was directed by Marcus Nispel. The preview was noted for being reminiscent of the Olay product Regenerist advertisements and can be viewed in RealMedia[25] and Windows Media formats.[26] In May 2004 It was later revealed the trailer would actually be part of the film.[27] Milla Jovovich's official website later released promotional images that showed Alice in several scenes from the film.[28]

The theatrical trailer was released on Yahoo! Movies on July 7, 2004[29] and prior to the film's release, two albums for Resident Evil: Apocalypse were released. The first was the soundtrack which was released August 31, 2004 and featured music from the film.[30] The second was the film's score, which was released in late 2004 and was composed by Jeff Danna[31] and performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra. A day before the film's release, numerous props from the film were auctioned on the website Premiere Props.[32]

[edit] Critical reception and box office

The film opened at number one in North America on September 10, 2004 and received an estimated $23.7 million on its opening weekend.[33] The film was generally panned by critics. It has a rating of only 20% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (22 out of 112 reviews are counted fresh).[34], and only a 35% approval rating on Metacritic.[35]

Tim Cogshell from the Box Office Magazine stated that Apocalypse is "superior to the original film." while Walter Chaw from Film Freak Central stated that Apocalypse is "An awful sequel to an awful film."[34] Roger Ebert gave the film one half of a star, calling it an "utterly meaningless waste of time", "a dead zone, a film without interest, wit, imagination or even entertaining violence and special effects."[2]

Despite being heavily criticized, the film grossed $51,201,453 domestically and $129,394,835 worldwide[1] spawning the sequel Extinction to be fast tracked and released in North America on September 21, 2007.

[edit] DVD releases

The film was released on DVD in North America on December 28, 2004. Releases on UMD and Blu-ray Disc formats followed on April 19, 2005 and January 16, 2007, respectively. The film was released in Australia and New Zealand on March 16, 2005 and February 2005 in UK. The release included an audio commentary by the director Alexander Witt, producer Paul W.S. Anderson, and actress Milla Jovovich. The release included 20 deleted scenes with numerous outtakes and a featurette titled "Game Over: Resident Evil Reanimated". 6 other featurettes were included which covered behind the scenes of the film's production. The blooper reel included on the DVD edition is not included on the Blu-Ray edition of the film.

A special "Resurrection Edition" of both Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse were released in a two-disc set on September 4, 2007. An exclusive sneak peek scene for Resident Evil: Extinction was included, along with several other bonus features including Diary of an Apocalypse and The Evolution of Resident Evil: Bridge to Extinction.[36][37]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004). Box Office Mojo.
  2. ^ a b Ebert's Most Hated. rogerebert.suntimes.com (2005-08-11). Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
  3. ^ a b MSN Talks to Director Paul Anderson and Actress Milla Jovovich (Spring 2002). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  4. ^ a b Director Paul Anderson's Update on Casting (Spring 2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  5. ^ Second Resident Evil in the Works (Spring 2002). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  6. ^ a b c Eric Mabius Talks Resident Evil 2 (2002). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Paul W.S. Anderson. 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse Commentary' [DVD]. Sony Entertainment.
  8. ^ Resident Evil: Apocalypse Production Notes. movieweb.com (Spring 2004). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  9. ^ a b Milla Jovovich To Return With New Director. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  10. ^ a b Director Paul Anderson Announces New Cast Members. countingdown.com (Spring 2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  11. ^ Oded Fehr and Sienna Guillory Join the Cast. countingdown.com (2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  12. ^ Emily Bergl Joins the Cast. countingdown.com (2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  13. ^ Jason Isaacs Playing The Villain?. countingdown.com (2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  14. ^ Jack Noseworthy Joins The Cast. countingdown.com (2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  15. ^ Jared Harris Joins the Cast. countingdown.com (2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  16. ^ Resident Evil 2 has a Subtitle. countingdown.com (2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  17. ^ a b Production To Begin In July. countingdown.com (2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  18. ^ Filming Locations. imdb.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  19. ^ SARS alert: Toronto-based Resident Evil sequel at risk. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  20. ^ Filming Dates. imdb.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  21. ^ Internet Movie Database - List of Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
  22. ^ Release Date for Nemesis. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  23. ^ Release Date Changed. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  24. ^ See the RE2 Trailer Online!. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  25. ^ Real Media Player Trailer. sonypictures.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  26. ^ Windows Media Player Trailer. sonypictures.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  27. ^ Teaser Trailer TO Be Part of Film. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  28. ^ Behind the scenes photos from Resident Evil 2!. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  29. ^ Resident Evil: Apocalypse Trailer Online. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  30. ^ Resident Evil: Apocalypse Soundtrack Info. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  31. ^ Jeff Danna To Score Apocalypse. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  32. ^ Props and Wardrobe Auctions!. countingdown.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  33. ^ Resident Evil Sequel Infects Weekend Box Office. countingdown.com (2004). Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  34. ^ a b Rotten Tomatoes. rottentomatoes.com (2004). Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
  35. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/residentevilapocalypse?q=resident%20evil%20apocalypse
  36. ^ Resident Evil/Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Double Feature)
  37. ^ Deadly Bundle: Resident Evil Flicks Resurrected

[edit] External links

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Preceded by
Hero		 Box office number-one films of 2004 (USA)
September 12, 2004		 Succeeded by
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
v • d • e
Resident Evil series
Main Series
Survivor Series
Outbreak Series
Mobile/Handheld Games
Novels
Live Action Films
Resident Evil • Apocalypse • Extinction
CG Animated Films
Characters and Creatures
Soundtracks
Locations