Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is the sixth installment in the Resident Evil series starring Milla Jovovich and directed by Paul WS Anderson. Very few people would have guessed that the Resident Evil series would be a trilogy never mind a six part series. It's arguably the best video game to film adaptation, possibly owing to the fact that the character of Alice wasn't part of the original game, giving the filmmakers creative licence to create a film and character loosely based on Ridley Scott's Alien.
Who better to herald the series then Milla Jovovich, who had already proven herself worthy in The Fifth Element and continues to be an actress who can command the physicality of a demanding action role without compromising the allure of femininity in the process (Spling's Interview with Milla Jovovich). It's been more than a decade since the first Resident Evil set the franchise in motion and while the series hasn't always been met with critical acclaim, it's continued to satisfy zombie action junkies and fans of the game. Writer-director Paul WS Anderson and leading lady Milla Jovovich have a good understanding, which is just as well considering they are married!
This installment of the Resident Evil film series finds Alice and her friends betrayed by Albert Wesker as he summons the forces of Umbrella to launch a decisive blow against the apocalypse survivors. This sequel is a culmination of sorts, seeing the reprisal of Claire Redfield, played by Ali Larter, Dr Isaacs played by Iain Glen and Albert Wesker played by Shawn Roberts. New additions to Alice's ragtag crew include: Ruby Rose, Eoin Macken, William Levy and Fraser James.
"Don't make me come down there..."
The post-apocalyptic series has become more and more CGI heavy over the years. It's understandable, recreating Raccoon City and furnishing an environment which switches between futuristic technology, dilapidated urban sprawls and dusty wastelands is no easy feat. The filmmakers decided to shoot the film primarily in South Africa, yet it still has a universal could-be-anywhere feel to it. Being in post-production for over a year gives you an impression of just how much visual artistry is involved in completing the picture.
While typically stylish and replete with trademark Resident Evil shoot 'em up turned Matrix kung fu action, it does seem slightly more frenetic than usual. This in-your-face post-apocalyptic roadie action seems to have been partly inspired by Mad Max: Fury Road, which released a few months before The Final Chapter commenced shooting. The film does settle into its own rhythm, returning to some familiar set piece territory, although you do find yourself wishing you could slow down the action frame rate. Happening primarily at night, some of the nuances of the visuals are lost, heightening the realism but detracting from the overall spectacle.
While it features a promising and charming cast of up-and-coming talent, the real showdown is between cool heroine Alice and the evil Dr Isaacs, played by Milla Jovovich and Iain Glen respectively. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is first and foremost an action movie and it's no secret, relying on minimal dialogue and some fun one-liners to power home rivalries. Post-apocalyptic mayhem is all about the cool set pieces and cult appeal when it comes to appeasing Resident Evil fans. Being the sixth installment, Paul WS Anderson's latest actioner is dedicated to the fans. He sticks to his guns, delivers more of the Resident Evil carnage we've come to expect and ties things up with a big red bloody bow.
You're bound to find a number of flaws and a lack of emotional connectedness in the script and way they have mounted this production. However, if you're looking for anything more than mindless entertainment, a fun jaunt and an action sci-fi horror thriller blockbuster, you're probably forgetting it's based on a video game. While lightweight, Jovovich and Glen's star quality and performances go a long way to cementing the film's pop culture credibility and anchoring the visual overload and escapist fare.
Live by Night is produced by, directed by and stars Ben Affleck as Joe Coughlin in an adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel. Set in the 1920s and 1930s Prohibition Era, we journey with Joe, the troubled and wayward son of a Boston police captain, who becomes involved in a life of organised crime. After serving a prison sentence he's relocated to the neighbourhood of Ybor City in Tampa, to take revenge and build a rum-running empire in balmy Florida.
The first thing you'll notice about Live by Night is its amazing cast and first-rate production values. Ben Affleck headlines a film of superb character actors including but not limited to: Brendan Gleeson, Sienna Miller, Elle Fanning, Chris Cooper, Matthew Maher and Robert Glenister. In front of camera, behind the camera, on the front page and behind-the-scenes, Live by Night is a labour of love for Ben Affleck. Wearing so many hats, you can understand why his performance is diffused, almost trying to sidestep the spotlight like a circus conductor.
He does this to his own detriment, distancing us from the character and preventing Live by Night from becoming a true gangster classic. While Affleck shies away from the limelight, he opens the stage for his supporting cast flourish. Brendan Gleeson is always immense, so much so that you wish they had made more of the father-son relationship. Live by Night is further complemented by a host of fascinating character performances. Sienna Miller is feisty and poisonous as a mob boss's girlfriend. Elle Fanning is haunting as a prodigal daughter in a role that is complex enough to warrant a spin-off film. Her police chief father, played by Chris Cooper, also deserved more unpacking in his attempt to rise above a sea of hypocrisy and moral ambiguity. Then Matthew Maher deserves a special mention for his malevolent and unpredictable role as a diabolical Ku Klux Klan "clown".
While the story has an old-fashioned air to it, the finishes are modern. We are immersed in Boston, where vintage cars line the streets and old world charm abounds in the form of fashion and pop culture from the time. Then, we're transported to the balmy panache of Ybor City. The details in the pageantry are quite exquisite and the film is beautiful to look at, also largely thanks to its hand-in-glove cinematography. It's a tip of the hat to the Warner Brothers gangster films of the '30s and '40s as we chronicle the life of a reluctant gangster in this handsomely mounted crime epic.
"I said... we'll always have Ybor!"
Live by Night slots in somewhere between Public Enemies and The Untouchables. It matches Public Enemies for machine gun action and star quality, but dwarfs this film with its scope as a saga. It's not quite as involved, meticulous or weighty as The Untouchables, but carries a similar prestige and grandeur in terms of its visual poetry and sense of importance. While flawed, it's one of the better Prohibition era crime dramas to emerge from Hollywood over the last two decades, enchanting us with a sprawling tale, gripping performances and a vicious elegance.
It's refreshing for Live by Night to tackle the Ku Klux Klan and racial prejudices of the time. Unfortunately, while it splays these social anomies wide open, it fails to truly grapple with the underlying tensions in the same way A Time to Kill managed to exploit them. As a chronicle of Joe Coughlin's life, these forces seem like a series of hurdles rather than protracted local tensions. While a little slow in places, it's free-ranging enough to keep us constantly entertained, distracted and hungry to link characters and outcomes. There are many powerful moments and quotable quotes, but Live by Night seems content to circle greatness.
While it has tremendous scale, Live by Night would have benefited from a sharper focus on Joe Coughlin's inner struggles. The story would have maximised its dramatic tension by dwelling a little longer on the unresolved father-son issues, the strife caused by racial prejudice, his projected daddy issues and the inner turmoil of a man trying to shield his heart from the shadows of his criminal enterprise. While passable, Ben Affleck and Zoe Saldana's on-screen chemistry seemed a little underwhelming given the circumstances.
All in all, Live by Night's top production values, sharp cast, fascinating supporting characters, entertaining storytelling and elegant cinematography make it a cut above your average gangster crime epic. While it's not in the same league as The Godfather, Goodfellas or Gangs of New York, it shows glimmers of brilliance and amounts to more of a missed opportunity than a misfire. While somewhat sporadic, it has enough fine qualities to lean back on, making it fleeting yet enjoyable for moviegoers wanting to immerse themselves in a haunting, swirling and violent magpie of a gangster picture.
Interstellar is a messy masterpiece, an ambitious, inconsistent yet intermittently brilliant film with a stellar cast and many great influences. It's a deep space sci-fi drama with fine ingredients, and while it runs 169 minutes long, Nolan still manages to compel us, even when it becomes unwieldy.
As expected, Nolan's able to teleport us to another dimension along with his intrepid space-time travelers. We're enamored by the breathtaking visuals, witnessing surreal moments that have just enough real environment familiarity to keep the story grounded in the possible. Then the sound design and Hans Zimmer's futuristic soundtrack is equally incredible, combining to give us a unique and completely immersive sight and sound experience.Read more...
Spling reviews La La Land, Collateral Beauty and Lights Out as broadcast on Talking Movies, Fine Music Radio. Catch Talking Movies on Fridays at 8:20am and Saturdays at 8:15am every week on Fine Music Radio.
