Rarely do I post only one single trailer, but I wanted to spend a little extra time and give this first look at Resident Evil: Afterlife, the attention it deserves (?). So, if you haven't seen the trailer (or even if you have), check it out, then I'll meet you right after to talk about what we saw! Kay?
Alright, there is quite a bit to take in with this one, so I'm going to go over a few key things that stand out for me in this trailer. Fittingly, these things are the definition of what the series is and has been, which can almost be broken up into two categories.
I'll start with the good…
Mila Jovovich: Of course, the first thing to mention is seeing the return of Mila Jovovich, who is maybe the biggest draw for most fans of the series. She still looks great and I can feel comfortable in assuming that she will be whopping dat ass in style, as she always does.
Style: Something else I noticed was the visual style of the film. There are a few key shots that look stunning, namely the shot of the Hollywood sign and the one when Alice is jumping from the rooftop. It's an awesome look and the colors and texture almost look like the mate painting backgrounds of yesteryear.
REAL 3-D: I have a major distaste for the need to use the third dimension in EVERY film that comes out. As it was in the 80's, it has become nothing but a gimmick and a means to get the unsuspecting to spend way too much money for a movie that gains nothing from the "next level in cinema!" However, most of these films that are so called 3-D, are imposter conversions of the format and look terrible, but when a movie is crafted specifically for 3-D, it will no doubt look fantastic. Plus, it is that super duper 3-D being used, which we'll be coming back to a little later on.
MONSTERS!: The last thing that really stuck out was that badass gigantic dude with that burly axe (who I believe is from the fifth game in the series), who looks like he could make up for the folly that was Nemises in Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
Now, those are some of the positive things about this trailer, next I'll go over the corny and very stereotypical, yet awesome, aspects of the trailer...
Blu Blockers: In a completely original move, there's a dude that throws his super-cool sunglasses at the camera and for the fullest effect, it's done in slow-mo. I am fully expecting that they will explode all up in, or land perfectly on, someone's face. Either way is fine with me.
Flip You!: I noticed that there's a run-up-a-wall to back-flip, to land-on-knee, look-up, ready-to-pounce move. Always a classic and a staple of any cheesy action movie.
Born to Run: I saw at least one shot with characters running away from an explosion. I have a feeling that this will happen at least 19 times in Afterlife…anything less, would be a felony.
Trinity Who?: Notice that jumping through a window, while shooting a gun in slow-mo Matrix move? Me too, but Afterlife is upping the ante by having TWO people jump through a window, shooting guns in slow-mo! Whoa.
We Will Rock You!: I'd be silly if I didn't mention there is some much needed, thumpin' techno rock music, just to add a little edge!
REAL 3-D: Now, how do I know that Resident Evil: Afterlife is doing 3-D the right way? Well, that might have something to do with the TRIPLE NAME DROP!!! of James Cameron, Vincent Pace and the Fusion Camera System. Shit is epic and so awful all at the same time.
In the end, Resident Evil: Afterlife looks like it will be ridiculous and silly, but completely fun and entertaining…which is the case with all the films in the series. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this trailer (and the film), whether or not you think I'm right, or that I'm completely out of my mind. I'll go with the latter based off the fact that I just wrote 700 words about a Resident Evil trailer.
I looked at this trailer and knew that I would spend $20 on the ticket. Cause it's filmed in proper 3D and looks well chessy awesome.
ReplyDeleteAlso you are right sir. Big Dude with an Axe is from the fifth game. I remember cause I shot him in the face with a magnum.
I didn't even watch the trailer because I honestly don't care (not about your post, but about the movie). I haven't even seen part 3 and I didn't care for the first 2 because I never played any of the games. I will say, though, that I'm glad Milla Jovovich has found her niche by playing the tough chick in these Action/SciFi/Horror movies. Good for her. Typecasting can be a bad thing, but in her case it pays the bills, so why not? I think she's great at it. As far as the 3D, though, that's another story. I also hate the fact that every fucking movie is coming out in 3D, but as usual with everything in theaters that I hate, I simply won't watch it instead of paying money to see it only to shit-can it which would not only make me a hypocrite but a contributor to the problem. Personally I think that this is a gimmick that will die off within the next couple of years because of the ridiculous amount of money that's being charged for ticket prices now. Chris and Frank actually had a good discussion about this on one of the more recent episodes of the Are You Serious podcast (plug). But hey, that's just my opinion. It could also do the complete opposite, and who knows... within the next couple of years (considering all theaters go digital), 2D films could be obsolete. Whatever the case, with AVATAR coming out (a movie which I will never watch because James Cameron is a douche) and now the whole 3D boom, cinema as we know it is changing drastically and it should be interesting to see what happens in a few years from now.
ReplyDeleteI also can't get too excited about the RESIDENT EVIL series; I stopped watching about halfway through the second one. I can appreciate your enthusiasm, though.
ReplyDeleteAs for Real-D or 3D or whatever, I'm not so sure the "fad" will slip away as quickly this time, considering the announcements that you can find all over the place now regarding true 3D television sets coming to homes in the near future. If suddenly, 3D is available in my living room, I'd think theaters would be hard-pressed to just forget it themselves.
Then again, who knows. It's still just a lot of hype right now.
Ratof: I never played that game outside of a demo and I kind of remember me being scared of him, then him killing me. He looks pretty cool though.
ReplyDeleteAaron: It's all good...I agree with your insanely long comment! I have only seen a handful of 3D movies and one of them was an actual 3D movie (Beowulf) and the other, a conversion (Coraline). Beowulf's looked amazing (and was the best part of the movie), while Coraline looked flat and the 3D added nothing to that film. Coraline didn't need it, and as the case with 95% of the 3D films that are coming out now, it serves no real purpose but to get more money out of movie goers.
I hate that once "they" figured out there was more money to be made, every film on slate is being announced as a 3D movie! It leaves a bad taste in my mouth that people are being charged the same for one movie with proper 3D, as they are for a movie with mediocre-to-shitty 3D. It's lying to the customer when something is billed as 3D because the average movie goer has no clue that they're being taken beforehand. It's similar to the fake ass IMAX theaters. Shit's weak, son.
And I'm like 5 episodes behind on Are You Serious?, so I look forward to hearing their take on the subject.
Astro: I think it will be around for a while, but even with 3D TV's, how much 3D can one person watch? I know when I see a 3D movie, my eyes are toast by the end and I'm sure prolonged 3D viewing must be bad for ones eyesight. I think it's something that is enjoyable in small doses, but too much and the gimmick will wear off.
I like the fact that Milla Jovovich has no qualms of being naked in CGI heavy zombie action films. She's got small boobies.
ReplyDeleteShe sure does get naked too! You can almost see her "Fourth Kind" in the first two R.E. movies! I think she is great...she is a pretty bankable actress, who does movies that are totally aimed at men for more than just her looks and she primarily does genre/cult films. Small boobs or not, she is one of ours!
ReplyDeleteIm hella out on the RE series, it only pisses me off. The only one I didnt mind was the third film, and ONLY because it almost had Tyrant. Sort of.. Im skipping the trailer for now because I dont want to make any prejudgments on the film that would make me not rent it when it comes out, otherwise I wont be able to run through the 4 films in sequence lol.. Yay real 3D!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you would even attempt to sit though four R.E. films in a row. Nevertheless, you have sat through worse franchises in the past I guess! I kinda figured that not very many people would be down with the R.E. series as I am, but they are so much fun when you let them be and it took me until the third film until I started to appreciate it and all it's awfulness!
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