the Plot Overview:
Resident Evil is based upon the Capcom video games of the same name. Currently, it was made into 5 film installments. the first one being Resident Evil (2002), followed by Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) and Resident Evil: Retribution (2012).
The Umbrella Corporation acts as the main antagonist in the series, a bioengineering pharmaceutical company responsible for the zombie apocalypse as a result of creating the T-virus.
The films follow franchise protagonist Alice, a completely original character created for the films portrayed by Milla Jovovich, who was once the chief security operative working for Umbrella and is now the ultimate enemy of the corporation. Through her battle with Umbrella, she eventually meets with the main antagonist, Chairman Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts). A number of video game characters also make an appearance in the films, including Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory), Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr), Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller), Leon S. Kennedy (Johann Urb) and Ada Wong (Li Bingbing).
the Films:
Resident Evil (2002)
The Umbrella Corporation operates a top-secret genetic research facility named The Hive. Located deep beneath Raccoon City, The Hive has been sealed by The Red Queen (the AI that controls the Hive) due to the release of the T-Virus into the facility. The Red Queen kills every living thing in the facility to ensure the T-Virus doesn't reach the surface, but the T-Virus reanimates them, transforming the humans into ravenous zombies and the animals into highly aggressive mutants.
Alice (Milla Jovovich) was once a security operative working for the Corporation until her memory was wiped by the Red Queen's nerve gas. She is led underground, along with prisoner Matt Addison (Eric Mabius), into The Hive by a team of Umbrella Corporation commandos, including Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez). While the team is searching for survivors, they turn the power off, unknowingly releasing the re-animated corpses of Umbrella's workers that the Red Queen had sealed. When confronting the Red Queen, Alice discovers that the T-Virus spreads through a bite or scratch and that severe trauma to the head will permanently shut down the attacker.
As the team attempts to escape The Hive, an Umbrella test subject called the Licker escapes and pursues the team. When they reach the train that leads them to the exit, the Licker attacks and scratches Matt before Alice can kill it. When they reach the surface, Matt is taken away by Umbrella workers and he eventually transforms into Nemesis. In the conclusion, Alice wakes from a coma to a ravaged Raccoon City after a T-Virus outbreak.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
The viral outbreak reaches the surface and in an effort to contain the infection, Major Timothy Cain seals all exits to and from Raccoon City. Among the people trapped in the city are Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) and her partner Peyton Wells. After Alice awakens from her coma, she rescues Jill and Peyton from a group of Lickers who escaped The Hive. They are then contacted by Dr. Charles Ashford who claims to know of an evacuation point in the city in exchange for the rescue of his daughter Angela Ashford, who is trapped in Raccoon City Junior High School. The group also learns Umbrella plans to incinerate Raccoon City to get rid of the T-Virus.
On their way to rescue Angela, Nemesis attacks the team after it is commanded by Cain to kill all STARS members. After Angela's rescue, they then make their way to the evacuation helicopter with Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr), who has been dropped into Raccoon City and abandoned by Umbrella. After Alice's confrontation with Cain and Nemesis, which leaves the latter two dead, the team flies away from Raccoon City as it is being sanitized by a nuclear bomb. The helicopter, however, crashes in the Arklay Mountains.A wounded Alice is taken to the Detroit Umbrella research station where she is healed and experimented on by Dr. Sam Isaacs (Iain Glen). When she awakens, she escapes the facility and displays extraordinary powers, she is then driven away by Jill and Carlos who are disguised as Umbrella employees. As they drive away, the Umbrella logo flashes in Alice's eyes and Isaacs's computer states "Project Alice Activated".
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
The world has been consumed by the T-Virus and Umbrella develops clones of Alice in hopes of finding one who displays Alice's powers. Elsewhere, Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) leads a convoy of survivors across the Nevada desert, including Raccoon City survivors Carlos Olivera and L.J. Wayne (Mike Epps) along with K-Mart (Spencer Locke), Nurse Betty (Ashanti), and Mikey (Chris Egan). A secluded Alice roams the country for survivors. After failing to find any living people, she comes into contact with Claire's convoy after she rescues them from mutated crows using her super-human abilities.
The convoy, along with Alice, heads to Las Vegas to gather supplies so they can reach Alaska in an effort to get to a place called Arcadia, thought to be a safe haven and free of the T-Virus. Whilst there, they are attacked by super zombies who kill most of the convoy. After L.J. is bitten and hides his infection from the rest of the group, he transforms and bites Carlos. Isaacs himself is bitten and in an effort to cure himself, injects himself with large doses of the Anti-Virus which causes him to transform into Tyrant.
Claire and K-Mart with the rest of survivors leave for Alaska in an Umbrella chopper, whilst Carlos sacrifices himself in an explosion to aid their escape. Alice confronts Isaac, in Tyrant form, in the underground Umbrella station where she is aided by a clone of herself. After his defeat, Alice looks on with the clone into a room full of pods as thousands of Alice clones awaken.
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
After the events of Extinction, Alice and the clones attack the Tokyo Umbrella station. Wesker escapes and destroys the facility, killing the clones. Wesker is confronted by the original Alice aboard his escaping helicopter. He injects Alice with a serum that removes her super-human abilities. The helicopter crashes, and only Alice is seen emerging from the rubble.
After months of a failed aerial search for other survivors, Alice heads toward the supposed location of Arcadia. She lands on an abandoned airfield in Alaska, where she finds Claire in an animalistic state. Claire has an Umbrella device attached to her chest and her memory has been wiped; she begins to recover after Alice removes the device. Claire and Alice fly to Los Angeles where they stumble upon a prison surrounded by zombies. Among the survivors in the prison are Luther West (Boris Kodjoe) and Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller), Claire's brother. The survivors explain that "Arcadia" is a tanker off the coast which has been broadcasting a looped message and is picking up survivors. During an attempted escape, Alice, Claire and Chris are the only ones to emerge and they reach the tanker only to find it abandoned. Claire's memory begins to return when she remembers Umbrella workers attacking her group of survivors and removing them to the tanker. The ship is really an Umbrella research facility which is conducting experiments on the survivors. Among the prisoners is K-Mart.
The three then meet Wesker, who has been granted super-human abilities due to the T-Virus in his system. After a victorious battle, Alice transmits a message to survivors calling them to the tanker and hopes to create a new haven.
In the conclusion, Luther emerges from a sewer drain alive. A fleet of Umbrella Corporation aircraft led by Jill Valentine, thought to be missing since the events of Resident Evil: Apocalypse, prepares to lead an assault on the survivors.
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
Alice and the others on Arcadia face an attack by a fleet of airships led by Alice's former ally, Jill Valentine, who has been brainwashed by Umbrella through a red scarab device attached to her chest. When Alice causes an airship to crash into the ship, the resulting explosion knocks her out and throws her into the water.
The story then switches to a suburban housewife who appears to be Alice living with her husband Todd (Oded Fehr) and deaf daughter Becky (Aryana Engineer). However, this idyllic life is disrupted when zombies attack and kill Todd.
Alice and Becky escape to the streets and are rescued by Rain, who lets them ride in her car. As the three escape, they are hit by a truck, knocking Rain unconscious while Alice and Becky escape. Alice runs and is attacked by a zombified Todd.
In the next scene, Alice awakens in an Umbrella base. Jill interrogates Alice, who unsuccessfully pleads with her to remember her true identity. During an unexpected power failure, Alice escapes from her cell and encounters Ada Wong (Li Bingbing), an associate of Albert Wesker.
Ada explains that she and Wesker no longer work for Umbrella. Wesker plans to aid Alice's escape and battle the base's supercomputer Red Queen, in order to save what's left of mankind. Ada also reveals that the base is underwater and serves as a testing ground for experiments.
Additionally, Wesker has organized a team of freelance operatives to infiltrate the base and help Alice and Ada escape, including Leon S. Kennedy (Johan Urb), Barry Burton (Kevin Durand), and Luther West.
Along the way, Alice finds a clone of Becky, who believes Alice is her mother. They also face clone versions of Carlos Olivera, One, and Rain, who are all under the direction of Jill. After Alice meets up with the rescue team, Jill's soldiers catch up to them, causing a shootout that kills Barry, Carlos and One. Alice, Luther, Leon, and Becky reach the surface; however, they are met by a submarine, from which Jill, the clone Rain, and a captured Ada emerge.
With new orders from the Red Queen to kill Alice, Jill battles Alice while a now "T-Virus enhanced" Rain, fights Leon and Luther, with Luther being killed in the process.
Alice manages to remove and destroy the scarab device from Jill, returning her back to normal. Alice joins Leon in defeating Rain who was then left to the mercy of the zombies in the ice water.
Alice, Ada, Becky, Leon, and Jill (who is now free from Red Queen's control) travel to Wesker's base: the heavily barricaded and guarded White House. Wesker injects her with the T-virus without Alice's consent, returning her former superhuman powers in order to enact his plan, then tells her that even though they were enemies before, they now need to join forces for a common enemy: the Red Queen and her army. Plus Alice is responsible for saving the remaining humans from extinction once and for all.
the Review:
the saga is enjoyable and totally fulfilling for action noobs like me.. the thing about RE, it draw us close to its main protaganists, namely Alice. and the ways to die are many. we always root for Alice and MJ carrying the role is believable though in the fifth installment she seems quite out of breath.
i do enjoy the lighter side of Carlos Olivera being the husband of Alice in Retribution. and for that alone, though reduced of action scenes, i like the 5th most :)
