It was our buddy TK’s childhood dream to watch an IMAX 3D movie. In this dream of his, the theater would have a dome shaped ceiling. We would lean back and watch the movie projected high above us. That visualization reminded me of my childhood memory inside a Space Museum in Hong Kong. So I said yes to a S$22 door ticket – double of what I usually pay – for a movie that is likely to suck.
There was no dome shaped ceiling. For future reference, it would have been called OMNIMAX instead. The screen was gigantic though. The image was crisp. The color seen through the cheap 3D glasses at Shaw Cinema was surprisingly vibrant. In one particular scene, Milla Jovovich entered from the far side of the tunnel, where the light source was. The tunnel was long, dark, and the floor was wet. The 3D effect was so good that I could feel the depth of the tunnel. As though the silver screen was eaten by a giant black hole.
In fact, the 3D effect of this zombies infested movie was so good that I could not sleep well that very evening. Mind you, these are not household zombies. These are mutated zombies with four large and gruesome tentacles coming out from their mouths. Die zombies. Why don’t you just die?!
And hence the problem. Zombies don’t die easy, if at all it dies. I have no idea what would kill a zombie. The violence taken towards the zombies are extreme. From close quarter combat to close range shooting, it is violence to the power of violence. I was so concerned that Cynthia could not take it. To my surprise, after the show ended, she exclaimed, “This is actually good!”
And she added, “Girl power!”
Perhaps that is what makes Resident Evil: Retribution entertaining to some: Girl power. Come to think on it, this genre is quite rare. Blood the Last Vampire is one. The Thai action movie Chocolate is another. I love seeing girls taking the leads on an action film. Not the type of action like Charlie’s Angels. But real action like Resident Evil.
The problem I have with Retribution is that the story line has become too simplistic and unrealistic. It was a straightforward rescue mission. Alice (played by Milla Jovovich) is captured by Umbrella Corporation. A squad is sent in for the rescue. And then we have Ada Wong (played by Li Bingbing) who would have been great had she actually become Alice’s true sidekick and stuck with Alice. But she disappeared halfway. Alice has to fight against the artificial intelligence Red Queen who commands an army of zombies. Now, why does Umbrella Corporation so hellbent in eliminating mankind while, I suppose, they profit from selling weapons to the human? I have no idea. Retribution is one bizarre movie. I don’t even know how the film title was derived.
Another problem I have with Retribution is that most main characters, except Alice, speaks in a one dimensional voice. Like robots. Like zombies if zombies could talk. I read that Li Bingbing is a good actress. It does not show in Retribution. That was a disappointment.
Retribution reminds me of Twilight 4. The whole movie is somewhat depressing. Just when something exciting happens, just when I could smell the advent of an epic plot, I was slammed with ‘the end’. Or rather ‘stay tuned’. I gasped in disbelief. TK turned around trying to comfort me, “Resident Evil never ends. It is like that!”
I have thoroughly enjoyed the IMAX 3D effect (though TK highlighted to me that most scenes are not presented in 3D) and at the same time, I was thoroughly disappointed by the plot and the presentation. This movie is a half-half for me.
