Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a Canadian-British^[2] 2004 science fiction action horror film directed by Alexander Witt, from a screenplay written by producer Paul W.S. Anderson. It is the second installment in the Resident Evil film series, which is based on the Capcom survival horror video 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.

Plot

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 team is slaughtered by zombies and Lickers. Since the Hive's entrance is not sealed, Umbrella establishes a security perimeter around Raccoon City and also evacuates the Umbrella scientists in the Raccoon City.

After surviving The Hive, Alice was recovered by Umbrella and experimented on. She now has superhuman strength, speed and agility. Waking up in an empty hospital, she wanders outside to find the virus has escaped and the city is a ghost town. She arms herself with a shotgun from a police car and starts walking. Meanwhile, she is disturbed by a man who keeps showing up in her visions, and who was experimenting on her.

While Umbrella is evacuating civilians at the last open bridge, police officer Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) confers with Sergeant Peyton Welles. The T-virus begins to affect citizens at the checkpoint, and Peyton is bitten. Umbrella supervisor Timothy Cain (Thomas Kretschmann) seals the exit and orders his soldiers to fire over the crowd's heads, scaring them back into the city. Elsewhere, Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and other Umbrella soldiers link up with Special Tactics And Rescue Squad (STARS) units to defend against an onslaught of zombies in the city. Their positions were overrun by zombies, causing Carlos and his team to retreat with a bitten Yuri, who turns into a zombie and infects Carlos before being killed. Jill, Peyton and a news reporter named Terri Morales (Sandrine Holt) lock themselves in a church, which turns out to be full of Lickers; they are saved at the last minute by the heavily armed Alice.

Umbrella dispatches their Nemesis program to kill all remaining STARS operatives, and plan to sanitize Raccoon City using a nuclear weapon. When Nemesis encounters L.J. (Mike Epps) a surviving citizen, and members of STARS, they open fire. He guns the STARS 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), and soon figures out she is hiding out in her school dormitory. He contacts Alice and the other survivors through the public telephone system, and offers to arrange their 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 Nicholai, acting on the same offer. After encounters with zombie dogs and infected children who kill Nicholai and Terri, Alice saves the group again and they find Angela in the school. She reveals that she was injected with T-virus; Dr. Ashford created the T-virus to remedy her illness, but he also created the anti-virus because of the T-virus's potential for mutations. Alice reveals she was injected as well. She injects Carlos with the anti-virus to save him.

Dr. Ashford gives Alice the location of the extraction point at the City Hall, where the helicopter waits, but after he talks with her he is confronted by Major Cain. The group makes it to the point, but are cornered by Major Cain, who has caught wind of Dr. Ashford's intentions and is also holding him prisoner. All but Alice are restrained, and seconds later Nemesis appears. Major Cain commands Alice to fight Nemesis. Alice refuses, until Dr. Ashford is shot. She relents and fights him, impaling him on a pole. Defeating Nemesis, she realizes he is Matt Addison.

Her stand rekindles a trace of Nemesis's former humanity and they join forces and attack the Umbrella forces. Nemesis is killed when he blasts an attacking helicopter and it crashes on him. They escape in the helicopter. Alice throws Major Cain out of the helicopter. He shoots a few infected people, but ultimately is overcome. The nuclear missile detonates over the center of Raccoon City, destroying it completely. Despite escaping the immediate area, the helicopter is caught in the blast wave and crashes. As the helicopter falls, a metal pole comes loose and is flung towards Angela. Alice moves in front of Angela and is impaled.

Some hours after the explosion, Umbrella employees locate the helicopter's crash site, deep in the Arklay Mountains. There, they find Alice's body, badly burned. The others are nowhere to be found. Umbrella employees take her body and leave the crash site, with the burned Raccoon City in the background. The media shows that Terri's footage has been shown to the press, saying that Umbrella released the zombies and the T-virus. Umbrella denies this, arguing that it is a hoax. Umbrella promotes a fake story about a nuclear power plant explosion near the city. The media announce that Jill and Carlos are wanted by the police for questioning.

Three weeks later, in the midwest Umbrella research facility, Alice awakens in a water tank. Led by Umbrella scientist Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen), the doctors begin questioning her. At first, she appears to have no memory, but soon she recalls events from Raccoon City and before. She realizes that the doctor who appeared in her visions is Dr. Isaacs. She attacks him, and fights her way out of the facility. She makes her way outside only to be surrounded by more Umbrella guards holding her at gunpoint. Suddenly, Jill, Carlos, Angela, and L.J. pull up, disguised as Umbrella employees. Carlos shows the guards a written order placing her in his custody.

Alice enters the vehicle, and as they drive away, Angela asks her 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.

Cast

• Milla Jovovich as Alice
• Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine
• Oded Fehr as Carlos Olivera
• Thomas Kretschmann as Major Timothy Cain
• Matthew G. Taylor as Nemesis
• Razaaq Adoti as Peyton Wells
• Sandrine Holt as Terri Morales
• Sophie Vavasseur as Angela Ashford
• Jared Harris as Dr. Charles Ashford
• Mike Epps as Lloyd Jefferson (L.J.) Wayne
• Zack Ward as Nicholai Ginovaef
• Iain Glen as Dr. Sam Isaacs
• Stefen Hayes as Yuri Loginov
• Dave Nichols as Captain Henderson
• Geoffrey Pounsett as Angus Mackenzie
• Megan Fahlenbock as Marla Maples

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,^[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 (2004).^[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] and when the film was 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.^[7][10] 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 (2007). Jason Isaacs was originally intended to return and portray Dr. William Birkin,^[13] however passed on the role and the character's name was changed to Dr. Isaacs, with Iain Glen being cast in the role.^[7]

Jack Noseworthy was originally rumored to portray Brad Vickers, however, this 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]

Story development

In March 2002, it was revealed that the film borrowed 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 that the film included new characters from the video game series, such as Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, Carlos Olivera, Dr. William Birkin and Nemesis.^[4][10][16] In April 2003, it was confirmed that the story began minutes after the end of the first film, where Alice is a survivor amongst the ruins of Raccoon City.^[17]

The film borrowed numerous elements from the game series, including re-enactments of certain scenes, 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 where Raccoon City is overrun by zombies and the police and Umbrella mercenaries are fighting back is reminiscent of the introduction 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 at the crash site of the helicopter being located in the Arklay Forest near the Arklay Mountains, where the Resident Evil series began.^[7] Other similarities include Jill's moves from the first game.^[7] The recording of Terri's death is similar to Kenneth's death.^[7] A white goddess statue can be seen in the church, with artwork of goddesses having a large role in the puzzles of 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 use a fixed camera perspective, which in most of the earlier games resembles a mounted camera's perspective.^[7] Another similarity includes a scene where Jill finds a gun under a pew, mirroring the game when the player finds ammunition 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 comes from the founders of Umbrella revealed in Resident Evil Code: Veronica. The film also references Resident Evil 3: Nemesis with Jill wearing the same outfit. Nemesis is a character taken directly from the game, and the "STARS" are mentioned on numerous occasions.^[7]

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 character's 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. Principal photography was slated 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.^[18] 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.^[19] It was originally feared that production would be shut down due to the 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto;^[20] however, production resumed, with filming ending in October 2003.^[21] The film was also shot at the Hamilton cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.^[22]

Marketing and release

The film was planned for an October 31, 2003 release,^[23] although was pushed back to September 10, 2004 due to the 2003 SARS outbreak.^[24] In late 2003, a teaser trailer was released titled Regenerate^[25] 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^[26] and Windows Media formats.^[27] In May 2004 It was later revealed the trailer would actually be part of the film.^[28] Milla Jovovich's official website later released promotional images that showed Alice in several scenes from the film.^[29]

The theatrical trailer was released on Yahoo! Movies on July 7, 2004^[30] 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.^[31] The second was the film's score, which was released in late 2004 and was composed by Jeff Danna^[32] 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.^[33] The film opened at number one in North America on September 10, 2004 and received an estimated $23.7 million on its opening weekend^[34] and $129,394,835 worldwide.^[1]

A novelization written by Keith R. A. DeCandido was published by Pocket Star on August 31, 2004. The novel is 288 pages long.^[35] DeCandido also wrote the novelizations for the first and third films.

Critical response

Reaction among critics was poor, but it was better received than the other movies. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 21% on based on 121 reviews.^[36] Metacritic gives the film a score of 35% based on on 26 reviews.^[37]

Leonard Maltin rated the film a "BOMB" in his book Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, and called it a "Tiresome follow-up to Resident Evil that plays more like a remake".

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."^[38]

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."^[39] 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."^[40] Nathan Rabin of 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."^[41]

Gregory Kirschling of Entertainment Weekly praised Jovovich but felt that "the rest of the cast is strictly straight-to-DVD."^[42] 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."^[43] 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."^[44] In 2009, Time listed the film on their list of top ten worst video games movies.^[45] 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 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.^[46][47]

References

External links

• Official website
• Resident Evil: Apocalypse at the Internet Movie Database
• Resident Evil: Apocalypse at AllRovi
• Resident Evil: Apocalypse at Rotten Tomatoes