Resident Evil Retribution

I've always thought Resident Evil movies are like Star Trek movies. By that, I mean that the even numbers tend to be better than the odds. Retribution follows this rule, mainly because the plot was a bit weak, and I found the trailer misleading after having seen the movie. As it turns out, almost the whole movie takes place in an underground facility with massive chambers that simulate a zombie outbreak in various countries around the world. The trailers said nothing about an underground testing zone, and lead me to believe that the movie took place outside, which I think I would have preferred. The Red Queen was the main villain and it took place in a subterranean Umbrella facility. Sound familiar? It should, since that's the basic plot of the first movie, which I liked, but it was their first attempt. By the fifth movie, I expected a little more originality and a little more umph. The other thing is that the trailer showed an awesome scene with Alice standing on a ruined White House, but as it turns out, that's where the movie ends, so that whole scene of awesomeness I was expecting doesn't happen until the next movie, assuming they make one, which I'm betting they will. Don't misunderstand me though; the action is awesome and the movie is still worth seeing. It was a lot more video gamey, since it had levels and boss battles, like the Tokyo level, the Moscow level, the New York level, the two huge guys with hammer/axes boss battle, the Evil Jill boss battle, etc. I actually didn't mind that though. Plus all the bosses were cool, the Moscow level had undead soldiers with guns and motorcycles and stuff. Plus one of them chainsawed a dude, so that was pretty intense. It also had more characters from the video game and brought back some old ones. The opening scene was also pretty cool: it picked up right where the last movie left off, with all those helicopter things converging at the Arcadia, but it starts with Alice looking kinda deadish in the water, then plays the whole action scene backwards and in slow motion while the credits are on the screen, which takes a couple minutes, then once they finish, it shows the scene normally, and it all happens in a matter of seconds. I thought that was pretty cool. My overall verdict is this: Don't expect a masterpiece, but go see it if you're looking for a cool action movie.