Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Theatrical poster
Directed by Alexander Witt
Produced by Paul W.S. Anderson
Jeremy Bolt
Don Carmody
Written by Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring Milla Jovovich
Sienna Guillory
Oded Fehr
Sophie Vavasseur
Sandrine Holt
Mike Epps
Music by Jeff Danna
Cinematography Derek Rogers
Christian Sebaldt
Editing by Eddie Hamilton
Studio Constantin Film
Davis Films
Impact Pictures
Distributed by Screen Gems
Release date(s) September 10, 2004 (2004-09-10)
Running time 94 minutes
98 minutes (extended version)
Country Germany
France
United Kingdom
Canada
Language English
Budget $45 million[1]
Gross revenue $129,394,835[1]
Preceded by Resident Evil
Followed by Resident Evil: Extinction

Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a 2004 apocalyptic horror science fiction film, the second installment in the series of film adaptations based on the Capcom survival horror game series Resident Evil. Borrowing elements from the video games Resident Evil 2, 3: Nemesis, and Code: Veronica, Resident Evil: Apocalypse follows heroine Alice, who has escaped the underground Umbrella facility, who must band with other survivors including Jill Valentine and escape Raccoon City alive. The film was directed by Alexander Witt, from a screenplay written by producer Paul W.S. Anderson.

Contents

Plot

The film begins with Alice (Milla Jovovich) recalling 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. The entire team is slaughtered by zombies and Lickers who have been sealed within the complex. With the entrance now open to the surface Umbrella establishes a security perimeter around Raccoon City to keep citizens in a quarantined area safe.

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. Awakening in an empty hospital and recognizing the virus has escaped she arms herself from an abandoned police car and enters the city onfoot.

While Umbrella is evacuating civilians at the only bridge leading out of the city, police officer, Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) meets with her friend, Sergeant Peyton Welles. However, the T-Virus begins to affect citizens at the checkpoint, and Peyton is bitten by a zombie. Umbrella supervisor Timothy Cain seals the exit and orders his soldiers to fire rounds at the sky, scaring the civilians to return to the infected city. Elsewhere, Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and two other Umbrella soldiers, Nicholai Ginovaeff (Zack Ward) and Yuri Loginova, link up with multiple Special Tactics And Rescue Squad units 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, bitten during the battle. Jill, Peyton and a news weather lady named Terri lock themselves in a church full of lickers; they are saved by the heavily armed Alice at the last minute.

Umbrella soon dispatch their Nemesis program (Matthew G. Taylor) to kill all remaining S.T.A.R.S. operatives and as many of the undead as possible. 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 the S.T.A.R.S down but spares L.J's life when he drops his weapons. Dr. Charles Ashford (Jared Harris), an Umbrella scientist and creator of the T-virus, has refused extraction until he has located and rescued his daughter Angela (Sophie Vavasseur). He soon determines she is hiding out in her school. He informs Alice and her team that Umbrella's method of sanitizing Raccoon City is by nuking it, but offers to arrange an evacuation in exchange for rescuing Angela. Alice is separated from the group when Nemesis appears and kills Peyton. Jill and Terri make it to the school, picking up L.J. on the way, and encounter Carlos and his team, acting under the same offer. After encounters with zombie dogs and infected children who respectively kill Nicholai and Terri, Alice surprisingly saves the group again and they succeed in finding Angela.

Dr. Ashford gives Alice the location of the extraction point, before being intervened by Major Cain. The group makes it to the point but are cornered by Major Cain, holding Dr. Ashford who kills him to force 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; they join forces and attack the Umbrella troops. Nemesis is killed in the ensuing fight whilst Alice and the others escape in the helicopter, leaving Major Cain to be eaten alive (the first bite by the re-animated corpse of Dr. Ashford) just before the city is nuked.

The helicopter is caught up in the blast radius and crashes into the Arklay Mountains. Alice is impaled by a loose metal pole, before being recovered by Umbrella. She is taken to the Detroit Umbrella research station. After several weeks, she awakens in a giant water tank, regenerated from her injuries. Led by Umbrella scientist Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen), the doctors begin questioning her. At first, she appears to have no memory, but soon states with contempt "My name is Alice… and I remember everything." She fights her way out of the facility, only to be surrounded by dozens of armed guards. Suddenly, Jill, Carlos, Angela, and L.J. pull up in an SUV, disguised as Umbrella employees. Carlos shows the guards a written order placing her in his custody.

Alice is left to enter the vehicle, as they drive away, Angela asks Alice if she is alright. She doesn't respond, and Dr. Isaacs is shown saying, "Let them go," and then "Program Alice Activated." A close-up of her eye shows a flashing Umbrella logo as the film comes to an end.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

Resident Evil: Apocalypse was first discussed by Milla Jovovich and Paul W. S. Anderson while promoting Resident Evil (2002). 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,[2] however this idea was scrapped as he wanted two separate stories occurring at the same time.[3] 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."[4] The sequel was officially greenlit by Sony in mid 2002,[5] however Anderson chose not to direct but rather stay on as the film's producer and writer due to commitments to Alien vs. Predator (2004).[6]

Alexander Witt was hired by Sony to direct the sequel.[7] Milla Jovovich confirmed her character would return in the sequel if the first film was successful,[2] and when the film was greenlit, Jovovich officially signed on.[8] 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[5] and Matthew G. Taylor was cast as Nemesis.[6] It was reported that Gina Philips would appear as Claire Redfield and Natasha Henstridge as Jill Valentine, however both actresses left before production began.[6][9] Sienna Guillory was cast to portray Jill Valentine and Oded Fehr was cast as Carlos Olivera,[10] while Claire Redfield's role was scrapped after Emily Bergl dropped the role.[11] The role was later offered to Ali Larter in the film's sequel Extinction (2007). Jason Isaacs was originally intended to return and portray Dr. William Birkin,[12] however passed on the role and the characters name was changed to Dr. Isaacs, with Iain Glen being cast in the role.[6]

Jack Noseworthy was originally rumored to portray Brad Vickers, however this was later revealed as a rumor.[13] Two weeks before production began, Jared Harris was cast as a new character called Dr. Ashford who developed and produced the T-Virus.[14]

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".[5] 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.[3][9][15] 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.[16]

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.[6] 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.[6] Other scenes involve the launching a missile to destroy Raccoon City and the attack at the graveyard scene.[6]

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.[6] Other similarities include Jill basing her moves from the first game.[6] The recording of Terri's death is similar to Kenneth's death which is also recorded.[6] 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.[6] 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.[6] Another similarity includes where Jill finds a gun under a pew, mirroring the game when you find ammo or weapons in certain areas.[6]

The film references Resident Evil 2 such as when Alice visits the gun shop which is similar to Kendo's Gun Shop.[6] 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.[6] 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.[6]

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.[6] 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 character's body, such as the eye.[6] The Lickers were fully computer-generated, though the use of physical puppets was originally considered.[6] To avert issues faced during production, the CGI work of the lickers began early.[6] The film was filmed on location in Canada, with the film entering pre-production stages in mid 2003. Principal photography was slated to originally begin in July 2003,[16] before being bumped up to August 6, 2003.[8]

The film was shot in Ontario, Canada, with Toronto and its surrounding suburbs being a stand-in for Raccoon City.[17] 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 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]

Marketing and release

The film was planned for an 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 London Philharmonia Orchestra. A day before the film's release, numerous props from the film were auctioned on the website Premiere Props.[32] 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] and $129,394,835 worldwide.[1]

Critical reaction

Reaction among critics was poor, with Apocalypse holding a rating of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 122 reviews.[34] and a score of 35 out of 100 on Metacritic.[35] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a score of one half star out of four, saying: "The movie is an utterly meaningless waste of time. There was no reason to produce it, except to make money, and there is no reason to see it, except to spend money. It is a dead zone, a film without interest, wit, imagination or even entertaining violence and special effects. [...] Parents: If you encounter teenagers who say they liked this movie, do not let them date your children."[36]

Dave Kehr of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, saying: "Anderson's screenplay provides a steady series of inventive action situations, and the director, Alexander Witt, makes the most of them. His work is fast, funny, smart and highly satisfying in terms of visceral impact."[37] M. E. Russell of The Oregonian said: "The bad news? The movie is monumentally stupid. The good news? It's a fun kind of stupid."[38] Nathan Rabin of The Onion's A.V. Club said that the film "takes too long to get going to qualify unequivocally as a good movie, but when Jovovich finally starts kicking zombified ass, it becomes good enough."[39]

Gregory Kirschling of Entertainment Weekly praised Jovovich but felt that "the rest of the cast is strictly straight-to-DVD."[40] Ben Kenigsberg of The Village Voice said the film is "not without its moments of elemental dread [but] also obviously padded, too long on action, and painfully short on irony. The satirical element still packs a minor jolt."[41] Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer said that "those who want something more substantial from a movie than a vid-game script with centerfold appeal will not find it in this noisy, bone-crushing survivalist flick.".[42] In 2009, Time listed the film on their list of top ten worst video games movies.[43] It is understood, according to the DVD extras of Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), that Paul W.S. Anderson, the director of the first film and writer of the series was critical of director Alexander Witt's work.

Home media

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.

Special "Resurrection Editions" of both Resident Evil (2002) and and Resident Evil: Apocalypse were released in a two-disc set on September 4, 2007. An exclusive sneak peek scene for Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) was included, along with several other bonus features including Diary of an Apocalypse and The Evolution of Resident Evil: Bridge to Extinction.[44][45]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=residentevilapocalypse.htm. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "MSN Talks to Director Paul Anderson and Actress Milla Jovovich". Spring 2002. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/13839/news?item_id=554777. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Director Paul Anderson's Update on Casting". Spring 2003. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=744323. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  4. ↑ "Second Resident Evil in the Works". Spring 2002. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/13839/news?item_id=554793. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Eric Mabius Talks Resident Evil 2". 2002. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/13839/news?item_id=561721. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 Paul W.S. Anderson. (2004). Resident Evil: Apocalypse Commentary. [DVD]. Sony Entertainment. 
  7. ↑ "Resident Evil: Apocalypse Production Notes". movieweb.com. Spring 2004. http://media.movieweb.com/galleries/953/notes.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Milla Jovovich To Return With New Director". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3033782. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Director Paul Anderson Announces New Cast Members". countingdown.com. Spring 2003. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=661071. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  10. ↑ "Oded Fehr and Sienna Guillory Join the Cast". countingdown.com. 2003. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3140439. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  11. ↑ "Emily Bergl Joins the Cast". countingdown.com. 2003. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3118555. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  12. ↑ "Jason Isaacs Playing The Villain?". countingdown.com. 2003. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=2918360. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  13. ↑ "Jack Noseworthy Joins The Cast". countingdown.com. 2003. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3033797. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  14. ↑ "Jared Harris Joins the Cast". countingdown.com. 2003. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3033797. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  15. ↑ "Resident Evil 2 has a Subtitle". countingdown.com. 2003. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/13839/news?item_id=567433. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Production To Begin In July". countingdown.com. 2003. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3030369. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  17. ↑ DAVE KEHR, "Call to Arms, With Trouble Right Here in Zombie City: Review of RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE," The New York Times (September 10, 2004).
  18. ↑ "Filming Locations". imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318627/locations. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  19. ↑ "SARS alert: Toronto-based Resident Evil sequel at risk". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3105534. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  20. ↑ "Filming Dates". imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318627/business. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  21. ↑ "Internet Movie Database - List of Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario". http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Hamilton,+Ontario,+Canada. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  22. ↑ "Release Date for Nemesis". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=743900. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  23. ↑ "Release Date Changed". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3304692. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  24. ↑ "See the RE2 Trailer Online!". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3217236. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  25. ↑ "Real Media Player Trailer". sonypictures.com. http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/residentevilapocalypse/video/trailer/trailer_high.ram. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  26. ↑ "Windows Media Player Trailer". sonypictures.com. http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/residentevilapocalypse/video/trailer/trailer_high.asx. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 
  27. ↑ "Teaser Trailer TO Be Part of Film". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3457886. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  28. ↑ "Behind the scenes photos from Resident Evil 2!". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3251470. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  29. ↑ "Resident Evil: Apocalypse Trailer Online". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3509152. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  30. ↑ "Resident Evil: Apocalypse Soundtrack Info". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3515655. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  31. ↑ "Jeff Danna To Score Apocalypse". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3482259. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  32. ↑ "Props and Wardrobe Auctions!". countingdown.com. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3547067. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  33. ↑ "Resident Evil Sequel Infects Weekend Box Office". countingdown.com. 2004. http://www.countingdown.com/movies/567549/news?item_id=3548898. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  34. ↑ Resident Evil: Apocalypse reviews, Publication
  35. ↑ Resident Evil: Apocalypse reviews, Metacritic
  36. ↑ Review, Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, September 10, 2004
  37. ↑ Review, Dave Kehr, The New York Times
  38. ↑ Review by M. E. Russell, Portland Oregonian, September 2004
  39. ↑ Review, Nathan Rabin, The A.V. Club
  40. ↑ Review, Gregory Kirschling, Entertainment Weekly
  41. ↑ Review, Ben Kenigsberg, Village Voice
  42. ↑ Review, Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
  43. ↑ "Top 10 Worst Video Game Movies". Time Magazine. 2008-10-20. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1851626_1851846_1851680,00.html. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
  44. ↑ Resident Evil/Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Double Feature)
  45. ↑ Deadly Bundle: Resident Evil Flicks Resurrected

External links

Resident Evil series
Main series
Resident Evil • 2 • 3: Nemesis • Code: Veronica • Zero • 4 • 5 • Revelations • 6
Spin-offs
Survivor series
Survivor • Dead Aim
Outbreak series
Outbreak • Outbreak: File #2
Chronicles series
The Umbrella Chronicles • The Darkside Chronicles
Portable games
Gaiden • Confidential Report • The Missions • Genesis • Portable • Degeneration • The Mercenaries 3D
Novels
Caliban Cove • Underworld
Films
Anderson films
Resident Evil • Apocalypse  • Extinction  • Afterlife
Capcom films
Biohazard 4D-Executer • Resident Evil: Degeneration • Resident Evil: Damnation
Characters
Albert Wesker • Jill Valentine • Chris Redfield • Leon S. Kennedy • Claire Redfield • Ada Wong • Nemesis • Alice • Red Queen and White Queen
Music
Game soundtracks • Film soundtracks
Wikipedia book Book:Resident Evil series • Category Category:Resident Evil • Portal Portal:Video games