“Resident Evil: Retribution” disappoints fans with confusing plot

When the new “Resident Evil” movie came out, there was a lot of hype for those of us familiar with the franchise. With popular characters like Leon Kennedy and Ada Wong, we were expecting a movie filled with violence, CGI monsters and an awesome ending to a great movie series. What we got instead was a poorly-made movie only redeemable by the intense violence and hot girls in tight leather jumpsuits.

Definitely a poor way to end the horror-action series that had us enthralled for more than a decade.

The Resident Evil movies are based off of the huge gaming franchise of the same name. The game series genre is horror survival, pitting the player against zombies, mutants and a dangerous cooperation. With a combination of third and first person shooting, memorable terrifying moments and intricate puzzles, the “Resident Evil” games are one of the most well-known and played horror games of this day, standing right up there with the likes of “Silent Hill”, which was also made into a movie.

The movie starts off where the last one ended, with the survivors being attacked by Umbrella Corporation agents on a research cruiser. Shortly afterward the survivors are recaptured and find themselves fighting to escape both the Umbrella Corporation as well as the monsters and troops under their control. Old faces from all the previous movies make appearances, including the dreaded Red Queen from the first movie. This latest of the “Resident Evil” series was set to be the best of them all, and finish out the series with a large anticipated fight to the death.

The plot jumps around multiple locations in the world from Tokyo to Moscow, without much transition between them. The plot line is at best confusing, and even those familiar with both the movies and the video games would have had a hard time seeing the elements added in. For someone not familiar with this game, it’s likely they’d find themselves hopelessly lost.

The acting is not terrible, but many of the lines or situations seem horribly clunky and don’t flow well. Some of the most exciting moments of the movie are the CGI monsters and the group’s fights against the Umbrella Corporation; these moments are able to distract you from the terrible plotline of this movie.

The battle involving two axe men is one of the few memorable parts of that film, but most of the fights just don’t have that gritty “struggle for your life,” feeling that you got in the first two movies. Still, some fight scenes are acceptable and don’t make you want to laugh. Plus, Milla Jovovich is still as good looking as ever, so it’s not too bad.

The final verdict for this movie would be 4.5 out of 10. The movie has all the fighting and sheen to it, but is lacking in plot and dialogue. The movie would be best in theaters to get that full experience, but I wouldn’t recommend buying it once it’s out on DVD.