John Wick: Chapter 2: An Exhilarating and Monumental Achievement in Action Filmmaking.
Review by Zach Beckler (Film Professor, Director, Great dude. Check out his award-winning film Interior)
John Wick: Chapter 2 is first and foremost an exhilarating and monumental achievement in action filmmaking. That is where I think it will succeed for most people who watch it. In the day since it screened, I haven’t been able to shake what is, on its surface at least, a stylish movie about hitmen navigating through an underworld. By the end, the film becomes one of the most politically rebellious genre films since They Live. Maybe even The French Connection.
You need to watch The French Connection.
Carpenter’s film shares many traits with John Wick 2, not the least being a fist fight so long it blossoms into out of body abstraction. All three films are about men caught in the gears of powerful and possibly ancient systems. Among the first of John Wick’s strengths is the fascinating world building, taking a standard revenge narrative to a place of underground mythology. John Wick 2 expands on this in ways both expected and unexpected. It adds more elements without sacrificing the mystery.
The story is light and efficient. Wick, retired for good, is brought back by an old acquaintance who, according to the tradition, has a kind of “unbreakable vow” over him. Wick is forced by these underworld customs to kill a high ranking member. When he is expectedly betrayed, a price is put on his head throughout the entire worldwide syndicate. This is where the film truly finds its voice.
In the first John Wick, this underworld is presumed to be just that. Here, we see the terrifying reach of it all, where anyone at anytime can pull a weapon and engage, including a wonderful moment in which Wick and another hitman have a secret gunfight in a crowd of people. John Wick is a man who went through unspeakable hell to get himself out, and through a series of unfortunate events, finds himself unable to escape it again. The film cannot end with him simply taking up the mantle of unstoppable killer again, as that would be the most unchallenging way to tell this story. Thankfully, the film is far too smart for that. Throughout, Wick makes a conscious effort not to kill unless engaged, shown explicitly in the opening action sequence in which Wick uses everything BUT his guns to get his car back. Do not get me wrong, the carnage on display is palpable, but there is a clear design and purpose to all of it, while not shying away from the physicality and brutality of murder (there is one scene involving a pencil…)
John Wick 2 wears its influences on its sleeve, from Sherlock Jr projected large on the side of a building in the opening shot, to the casting of Laurence Fishburne as the leader of an underground society of homeless that work adjacent to the main crime syndicate (a matrix within a matrix!). The films fascination with the mechanics of this world and the seclusion with which it works brought to mind William Friedkin’s The French Connection. There was never a police procedural that looked like it before, focused on the intricacies and details of police work within the sheltered worldview of Popeye Doyle. It also contains the definitive car chase, though it was not the first of its kind. Borrowing heavily from Bullitt, it amped up the intensity and, for the first time, took Doyle outside of his world in terrifying ways. John Wick has a sequence that great toward the end, escalating the room of mirrors scene from Enter The Dragon and putting Wick face to face with multiple versions of himself as he shoots into countless henchmen and abstractions of his own image. It is the film in microcosm and leads a powerful act of rebellion.
::spoilers::
You’ve been warned
Wick follows our main bad guy into the bar of the Continental, a safe haven for all criminals. In this bar, against all established rules of conduct, John Wick shoots him point blank in the head. In a film with countless head shots, this is the most shocking act of violence. It is an affront to the social order. This act assures his excommunication from this world. All of his currency is void, all services offered no longer available, all safe havens closed. This leads to the most terrifying scene in the film, in which Ian McShane’s Winston shows Wick just how vast the empire is. This is no underworld. This is our world. We are all cogs in the wheels of enterprise. And we are participants in every criminal act.
The French Connection ends famously with Doyle, having accidentally shot a cop, running selfishly into the darkness, leaving behind any reason he ever may have had for donning the badge. It was made in an era that was attempting to inject explicit realism into every genre form. John Wick is not based in any recognizable reality, and is all the better for it. It reflects the culture it was released in. This film ends with Wick literally on the run. Unlike Doyle, Wick has broken free. A man and his dog, moving through a world that is no longer there for them. They cannot be allowed to live. Rebellion must be suppressed. Order must be restored. Industry must thrive. But if they come for John Wick… he will kill them all. But only if they engage.
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The MFF 2017 Valentine’s Day Viewing Guide
I had to begin this post with a picture from Beginners.
Life is short and Valentine’s Day is speeding towards us like one of Cupid’s arrows. You probably don’t have time to spend researching romantic films that you can watch after you’ve spent too much money on dinner. So, I scoured the streaming sites and found some films that won’t disappoint and offer something for everyone. Hopefully, this post will prevent you from spending time scrolling through Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime and checking the corresponding Rotten Tomatoes scores while your date sits patiently next to you.
The following posts features 10 categories that have a main option and a backup in case you don’t like the first recommendation. Hopefully you can find something you will enjoy.
If you are in the mood for…..
A Fantasy Film That Will Put a Smile on Your Face
Stardust (Netflix)is a wonderful little movie that is equals parts fantasy and romance. If you don’t like the charms of Stardust you might be dead inside (or simply in a bad mood or tired).
- If you aren’t interested – Kate & Leopold (Netflix)- First and foremost I’m not saying K&L is a classic. However, it is a nice little thing that foreshadowed Hugh Jackman’s career as Wolverine.
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Great Music and First Loves
Sing Street (Netflix) combines music with first love and the results will make you love the movie and the music. Director John Carney (Once) does a fine job of leaving a smile on your face and making you immediately buy the soundtrack after the film has ended.
- If you are interested – Begin Again (Netflix) – John Carney’s follow up to Once is a charming little thing that features solid music and Mark Ruffalo turning in another stellar performance.
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A French Masterpiece
Blue is the Warmest Color (Netflix) is legitimate cinema and totally absorbing. It might break your heart but it will leave you feeling like you just watched something special.
- If you aren’t interested – Upstream Color (Netflix)- The two movies have nothing in common aside from the word “color.” However, Upstream Color and Blue is the Warmest Color are both very good films that lit up the indie world.
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A Thriller Stuffed With Romance
To Catch a Thief (Netflix) is a breezy caper that was directed to perfection by Alfred Hitchcock. I recommend you watch it because it is a nice gateway to Hitchcock and will introduce you to Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.
- If you aren’t interested – Grosse Pointe Blank (Netflix) tells the story a hitman going to his 10-year high school reunion and reconnecting with his first love. John Cusack and Minnie Driver have fantastic chemistry and I guarantee you will appreciate every moment this Romantic Comedy Action Thriller (AKA RCAT).
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A Familiar Classic That Never Gets Old
If you haven’t watched The Princess Bride (Netflix) do it now. If you’ve watched The Princes Bride, watch it again.
- If you aren’t interested – If you haven’t watched Grease (Netflix) do it now. You might as well scratch it off your list.
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Hipsters Learning Life Lessons and a Whole Lot More
I like Beginners (Netflix) because it does something different in the romance genre. It tells the story of people who finally make a massive decision that will change their lives. However, their beginning comes when they hunker down and stay in a “meet cute” relationship when things get hard.
- If you aren’t interested – Y Tu Mama Tambien (Hulu) is a sexy little thing that plays like a road-trip comedy met a melancholy coming of age film. Alfonso Cuar0n made a name for himself with Y Tu Mama Tambien and I still think it is his best film.
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A Charming and Cheeky Romantic Comedy
Amelie (Netflix) is an absolute delight. It will put a smile on your face and make you fall in love with everything around you (I’m not sure what that means but you will understand).
- If you aren’t interested – Clueless (Netflix) and Amelie are totally different but they both leave you smiling. Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd are great together and you will be surprised by how well Clueless holds up.
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Two People Being Charming
Serendipity (Netflix) is a nice little movie that I love. John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale have great chemistry and their performances elevate standard tropes and make your hope their good looking characters will fall in love.
- If you aren’t interested – Love & Friendship (Amazon Prime) proves that Kate Beckinsale is an amazing actress and her talents have been wasted in the Underworld films. Love and Freindship was one of my favorite 2016 films and you will be amazed by her performance.
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A Bona Fide Classic
Sabrina (Netflix) – Audrey Hepburn + Humphrey Bogart = Awesomeness. You need them in your life.
- If you aren’t interested – Sabrina (Amazon Prime) – You should watch Sabrina but if you don’t want to watch Sabrina you should watch Sabrina. The best thing about the remake is watching Harrison Ford look like he is actually enjoying himself in a film.
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A Friendship That Becomes a Romance
When Harry Met Sally (Hulu) is a romantic comedy classic that never ages and still charms. It you want to laugh, cry and laugh more you will love When Harry Met Sally.
- If you aren’t interested: Man Up (Netflix) tells the story of a blind date gone awry that eventually leads to love. Simon Pegg and Lake Bell are very likable and their shtick owes a lot to When Harry Met Sally.
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The Number 10
10 things I Hate About You (Netflix)- I love a good modernized Shakespeare adaptation that features a solid cast. 10 Things I Hate About You is wildly charming and features Heath Ledger being very charming.
- If you aren’t interested – How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Netflix) works because Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey have legit chemistry. iI is pure romantic comedy nonsense that works because it is aware of all the stock tropes.
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John’s Horror Corner: Warlock 2: The Armageddon (1993), yet another gooey horror sequel that pays no mind to its predecessor.
MY CALL: Much more hokey and corny than part 1, this senselessly discontinuous sequel remains a gory, gooey B-movie pleasure. MORE MOVIES LIKE Warlock 2: Well, of course, Warlock (1989). Some other “part 2s” that are decidedly zanier and gooier than their predecessors include Wishmaster 2 (1999), Gremlins 2 (1990), Leprechaun 2 (1994) and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988).
Director Anthony Hickox (Waxwork, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth) opens this sequel with some on-screen text providing the exposition that the writing and direction evidently could not. Allow me to paraphrase: “Druids have protected us from evil forever…blah, blah, blah…and once every thousand years they perform some magic ritual to prevent the birth of the son of Satan.” In the subsequent scene these druids align their rune stones or whatever and—don’t panic…relax! They stopped evil from overtaking the world.
But now, with another thousand years behind us, the threat resurges. The moon eclipses as a young woman puts on a rune stone necklace preparing for a date. Gazing at the dwindling moonlight, she is overtaken by a spectral force (as in the entirely non-consensual The Entity), her abdomen erupts in instantaneous pregnancy, and a brain-like creature is messily birthed. The mass of slime-covered organs pulsates, kills the woman’s Pomeranian, and from it—as if from a cocoon—emerges a naked newborn witch (Julian Sands; Warlock, Gothic) fully grown, exposing his man bits, and covered in goo. The effects remind me a bit of Wishmaster 2 (1999) or when all the gremlins are melting in Gremlins 2 (1990)—it’s awesomely gross and the most memorable part of the movie.
The medieval action scenes were so not good; boring, in fact. But it’s just here to set the stage for present day, when things get appropriately gory. The birth scene was pretty cool if you like sloppy gory messes—which I do! Our male witch also inserts his hand into a woman’s head, cooks a map onto his unwilling mother’s flesh and peels it from her stomach, tears the entire scalp off a hooker, and causes some gory death scenes. Unfortunately, most effects-driven scenes fall flat except for the birth scene. Brief cameos by Zach Galligan (Gremlins 1-2, Waxwork 1-2) and Joanna Pacula (The Kiss, Virus) add some entertaining turns to this ride, perhaps asking some forgiveness for the weak kills.
Much as how our spellcaster sought the pages of the Grand Grimoire spread across the country in Warlock (1989), in this sequel the Devil tasks him with finding the six rune stones in six days. Naturally we’ll need some protagonists, so Samantha (Paula Marshall; Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Nip/Tuck) and her boyfriend Kenny are destined to save the world.
Kenny’s father Will (Steve Kahan; Lethal Weapon 1-4, Predator 2, Demolition Man) senses that something is amiss after witnessing an omen, and gathers his local buddies (R. G. Armstrong; Children of the Corn, Predator; and Charles Hallahan; The Thing, The Twilight Zone: The Movie) who are all apparently part of some modern druid society that expected the Warlock’s arrival and has the magical cockroach-powered compass (from part 1) to hunt him.
Quite self-aware, the movie playfully mentions Merlin and Faust. But these cheeky moments, not even in combination with the aforementioned cameos, in no way compensate for all the bad that was jammed into this hokey sequel. At times this movie is trying so hard to be serious, but more often than not it fails. But please be reminded, as a “bad horror movie” I rather enjoyed it.
The rushed pacing diminishes the effect of many death scenes and gore. They may draw grins, but they won’t impress (except for the opening and closing gore scenes). Many of the kills were totally phoned in, and with no real build-up or sense of consequence. After all, this witch intends to bring about the Armageddon. I feel like the movie forgets this apocalyptic ambition after the first few scenes. Warlock (1989) had a story to tell, but this sequel seems to add far more silliness than substance. It has its gory victories, but overall this not a good film (I’d go so far as to call it a B-movie). Quite bad actually, and more so towards the end.
Ultimately the warlock, the Armageddon and the Devil himself were thwarted with a Jeep’s floodlights (yes, I’m totally serious and it’s easily as boring as it sounds), followed by an unspeakably bad magical duel involving a CGI dagger (not exactly the most exciting way to prevent Armageddon). Lame! But at least we close on a gooey gory note as the Warlock rots and melts away.
SIDEBAR about Franchise Continuity: Did this movie completely ignore that the events of part 1 even happened!?!?!?! They seem 100% unrelated. The first Warlock (1989) was sent to the future to assemble a book that would provide access to Earth for Satan. So where did this new Warlock come from? Also another time? Was this just a second time travel attempt from 1800s Salem that went unmentioned? And if so, why now crystals and druids instead of the pages of the Grand Grimoire? Or is this more like the Leprechaun franchise theory that each movie featured a completely different Leprechaun (despite being played with the same personality and by the same actor)? Perhaps, and if so, then there are numerous different prophecies which can bring Hell on Earth and for each prophecy a Julian Sands look-alike to expedite it. Seems farfetched.
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John’s Horror Corner: Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Milla Jovovich evolves with the T-virus in this entertaining Zombiegeddon franchise.
MY CALL: Better written than part 2 and just as fun as both its predecessors, Extinction offers a fun thrill-ride of mutant zombie action for Millaphiles as the franchise story continues to evolve with the T-virus. MORE MOVIES LIKE Resident Evil: Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Doom (2005), the Silent Hill movies (2006, 2012) and the Underworld franchise (2003-2017) come to mind. For a fine ratings vs earnings comparison of the Resident Evil and Underworld franchises check this feisty article out.
So, as we enter the third installment in Alice’s (Milla Jovovich; The Fifth Element, Resident Evil 1-2, Ultraviolet) virus-geddon apocalypse saga, she strangely wakes up EXACTLY as she did in part 1, in the same shower, puts on the same dress, encounters the same death-laser hallway and some other high-tech boobie-traps…but wait…then…she dies!?!?!?! And then Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen; Game of Thrones, Darkness, Resident Evil: Apocalypse), in a routine tone, gives an order to dispose of the body…?
Director Russell Mulcahy (Razorback, Highlander 1-2) swings for the fences, accelerating our zombie apocalypse into the desolate wasteland phase. Alice narrates a brief flashback introduction to catch us up with the story, which picks up a bit after where it left off in 2004—with Alice wandering the apocoscape of the now Walking Dead-ified world in which people will do anything to survive. Moreover, the zombie-action feels more like a zombie movie at the times when it should (i.e., the zombie aspect doesn’t suck like it did in than parts 1-2)—even the zombie “setting” felt more zombie-appropriate. This is the first of the series to get zombies right and the swarming murder of zombie crows was a nice touch that yielded high impact.
The Resident Evil films—regardless of their lack of critical claim—consistently deliver creative shots. Here, the grand sweeping scale of the futuristic sandy Hellscape speckled with plague-swarms of undead birds crisply contrasting the sky compounds this measure powerfully. Watch this in HD or 4K if you can. As our survivors combat winged pestilence with flame-throwers the beautiful crispness smacks of a less refined Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), even if only for a minute. It is a spectacle, that fire against the sky. Comparable scenes include brilliant lighting in the laser-trap hallway (2002) and the closing scenes during Alice’s escape (2004).
New to the Zompocalypse crew, Claire (Ali Larter; House on Haunted Hill, Final Destination 1-2, Heroes) joins Carlos (Oded Fehr; The Mummy, Resident Evil: Apocalypse) and others from part 2 as a team of nomadic Zombiegeddon survivalists. And in this third installment, the Zombiegeddon world-building is in full force. We get a solid feel for the scavenging, odd skill sets, and limiting resources very quickly.
I feel like the stunts in this sequel eclipse those of parts 1-2 (in which they felt totally phoned in). I also remain grateful for the zombie dogs which are consistently done with practical effects in parts 1-3. The zombie dog gore was simple, but worked very well. And the superhuman jumps were less Crouching Tiger (as in slower) and more Blade II (i.e., more dynamic).
Alice has become something different than before. We have watched he evolve from highly trained (2002) to a virus-fueled superhuman (2004), and now develop telekinetic psychic powers worthy of the X-Men. But despite this, from her demeanor to her fight choreography, I find Alice a more credible heroine now than ever. Perhaps helping her credibility is that in this third installment she may be naked, but she affords eager viewers no nudity this time around. Although she does continue to wear thin shirts and no bra. You know, just keepin’ it classy. LOL.
Our final boss bad guy in this installment is easily the most satisfying of these first three movies. The CGI still clearly appears dated, but this creature looks far more interesting and twisted and the final fight doesn’t suck for a change. When our favorite mad scientist becomes infected and mutates, he becomes a fungus-like tentacle monster. It’s fun. In fact, the whole movie is. I’m quite surprised this one gets so much flack. I loved it. I’ve loved rewatching the series so far and I think their entertainment value holds up quite well.
Just as each movie began where the last ended and clearly indicated that a sequel was on the way, so does Alice here announce her intentions to murderously climb up the corporate ladder for the higher-up Umbrella execs who seek her blood which is apparently the key; the next evolution of the T-virus. Stay tuned to see how part 4 (Afterlife) holds up…
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The MFF Podcast #90: The Perfect Bookshelf Movie Collection
Hello all. Mark here.
You can download the pod on Itunes or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
The MFF podcast is back and we are building the perfect bookshelf collection. Las, Leavengood and I each picked four films in an effort to create the most eclectic collection of movies on a bookshelf. We decided to create the “MFF Podcast Bookshelf” after I unleashed a post about my perfect 10 film collection of randomness and pretentiousness. It was a lot of fun to put together and sparked a whole lot of conversations in which people either went with the obvious or went so far into left field they included Deep Blue Sea.
My list is awesome!
As always we answer random listener questions and ponder how Michael Myers became immortal. If you a fan of the podcast make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening and hope you enjoy the MFF bookshelf!
You can download the pod on Itunes or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
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Split: Welcome to the Shyamalanaissance
Split is a fantastic horror film that opens up a new world and introduces us to a beautifully original villain. I love that there is a sequel in the works (spoiler!!) and how it has been able to clear $100 million worldwide on a shoestring budget ($7 million). M. Night Shyamalan is back in a big way and this self-financed thriller combined with The Visit has made it cool again (I’ve always been on his side) to support M. Night.
Split tells the story of three teenagers who are kidnapped by a man who has 23 personalities. Their captor Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) suffers from dissociative identity disorder and is in a constant battle between his various personalities. Thus, the three girls never know who will be coming through the door next. It could be the childlike Hedwig or the stern matriarch Patricia coming through and warning them about “The Beast.” Eventually we learn more about the girls and the outsider of the group Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) starts to take the lead. Casey has a history of abuse in her family and her interactions with the Kevin’s various personalities start to play out like a very weird chess match.
James McAvoy really impressed me recently in Filth and I like that he is back in multiple personality land. The guy has to juggle a whole lot of characters while remembering lines and lines of dialogue. He had to jump in on little notice after Joaquin Phoenix dropped out and I can’t imagine the stress he felt when taking this role. Also, the rushed production schedule forced M. Night to film less coverage and focus mainly on tight shots that rely heavily on close-ups and single characters in frame. What I like is how McAvoy was able to make you feel bad for him even as he is doing terrible things. Kevin has a battle going on inside him and McAvoy is able to create multiple three-dimensional characters with limited screen time. I know this will never happen but it would be awesome if he was remembered come awards time because the performance is so daring and off the wall.
I don’t want to go too much further into the plot or ending because I would be doing you a massive disservice. However, I will say that it is very satisfying and opens up some really cool ideas for the future. The ending made me so happy that I wanted to pick up the person next to me and run around the movie theater. I can’t wait for the eventual sequel and I hope Split keeps plugging along and collecting money.
Welcome back M. Night! I knew you’d crush it again.
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John’s Horror Corner: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Milla Jovovich versus yet more viral zombies and mutant monsters.
MY CALL: Many consider this sequel superior to part 1. I’m middle of the road. The action is better but the writing seems worse, with the clichés turned up—a lot. Still a pretty fun watch, though. MORE MOVIES LIKE Resident Evil: Resident Evil (2002), Doom (2005), the Silent Hill movies (2006, 2012) and the Underworld franchise (2003-2017) come to mind.
Narrated by Alice (Milla Jovovich; The Fifth Element, Resident Evil, Ultraviolet), a brief flashback montage catches us up with the story, which picks right up where it left off in 2002 as suited-up Umbrella technicians re-open the Hive.
Like part 1, Alice once again awakens quite scantily clad with no clue where she is. This time in a surgical gown…errrr…a “piece” of one. LOL. They sure do like having her wake up with a heavy dose of legs and side boob. She has also clearly been operated upon or the subject of experimentation. Alice wanders outside the facility to find the streets of Racoon City barren—a newspaper headlined “The Dead Walk” blows by. Nice touch, right? We come to find that after her capture at the end of part 1 she had been dosed with the T-virus (a special strain, I suppose), making her a superhuman killing machine.
Picking up where Paul W. S. Anderson (Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Soldier) left off, newcomer director Alexander Witt (his only directorial feature, by the way) has turned the clichés up hard. Supercop Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory; Eragon, The Time Machine) slips out of her heels and into her Lara Croft Tomb Raider gear to solve Racoon City’s zombie apocalypse one headshot at a time in her tight breasty tube top and short-shorts; Carlos (Oded Fehr; The Mummy) likewise receives a nonsense-fueled opening action sequence; and the highly melodramatically written Dr. Ashford (Jared Harris; The Quiet Ones, Poltergeist) wheels out of his McMansion all smarty-pantsish like Professor Xavier. There is also no shortage of various things random like ridiculous gratuitous acrobatics, zombies rising from the shallowest graves ever, no one ever missing a shot, topless zombie prostitutes, and yet more generally poor writing.
Racoon City is quarantined, trapping all within along with the virus-raging zombies. Among those trapped is Dr. Ashford’s young daughter. Safely watching from outside the city, Ashford agrees to help Alice and Valentine escape if they can rescue her. It’s all very Escape from New York-ish (1981). Trapped in a city of undesirables, our bad-ass hero is infected with a virus and will find a grim outcome nearing the end of the film unless she can save the daughter of a scientist who waits safely outside the city.
There’s just one problem. The “Nemesis Program” (mentioned at the end of part 1) is activated, awakening Alice’s old buddy who has now mutated into an unrecognizably hulking dreadnought resembling Hellraiser’s (1987) Chatterbox on steroids.
This sequel, much as its predecessor, features the lamest zombie scenes—all phoned in and clearly wastes of film and make-up. However, once Alice fights the Nemesis hulk, things get REALLY entertaining. I’m not a fan of the 30’ Crouching Tiger Jedi jumps, the canned fight scenes, or how thousands of bullets perpetually miss Alice despite having no cover and minimal evasive maneuvers. But the action sequence is really quite entertaining. I roll my eyes more here than at the original, and part 1 was clearly better written (in my opinion), but this sequel truly succeeds at being more FUN however over-the-top it may be.
After a better final boss battle than part 1 offered, there is a still a lot to be desired in the fighting photography and choreography. Even when featuring a hand-to-hand combat action finale, this sequel is clearly more about big explosions and blatant exposition than the quality of anything between. But again, it’s fun. And I’m grateful that the final boss wasn’t another miscarriage of bad CGI.
We end very much how we began—and paralleling how part 1 ended and began—with Alice recovered by Umbrella, naked (Amen for boobs, right guys?), and yet again the subject of further experimentation by Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen; Game of Thrones, Darkness). No points for originality, but I enjoyed the ending anyway. I enjoyed the whole thing.
Much as part 1 ended with the initiation of its sequel’s premise, so does part 2 leave the doors wide open for part 3: “Initiate the Alice Program.” I’d say keep going if you liked either of the first two. There’s nothing particularly thoughtful to be found here, yet still a lot of effort was evident behind making this fun and exciting.
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The Resident Evil and Underworld series have been plugging along since 2002 and have a combined 11 films between them. I’ve watched all of them and 100% believe I couldn’t give you a plot synopsis because they’ve been like a roller coaster of tangled plots, prequels and gobbledygook. However, I sorta love them because they are perfect background films that provide a welcome relief from absorbing movies that are actually good. They are the cinematic equivalent of comfort food and I don’t care that they offer nothing of substance or logic. For instance, in the first Resident Evil film why didn’t Umbrella just start with the checkered laser death trap?
I really wanted to know which series has been more successful on multiple levels. The following post pits the two franchises against each other and only one can survive to live and stylishly kick zombie dogs or werewolves.
1. Worldwide Box Office
The Resident Evil series (Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Retribution, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) has collected over $1,000,000,000 dollars worldwide and have an average box office of $184 million. This number is impressive considering the average budget is $48 million. This is all speculative but if you doubled the budget to include marketing and subtract the money the theaters kept the profit for the series is $70 million per film.
The Underworld series (Underworld, Underworld: Evolution, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Underworld Awakening, Underworld: Blood Wars) has pulled in $536,000,000 worldwide and each movie has an average box office of $107,000,000. The average budget is $42,400,000,000 which means the ROI is quite lower than that of Resident Evil. I’m pretty sure they only broke even at the box office after marketing and theater receipts. However, they’ve had a long life on cable and are probably playing on FX right now. Thus, they are long term investments that keep bringing money in.
Winner: Resident Evil – The surprising box office averages win the day.
2. Critical Reception
Underworld – 28.6% Rotten Tomatoes score and 36.6% Metacritic score.
Resident Evil – 28.1% Rotten Tomatoes score and 39.8% Metacritic score.
To be fair the Underworld and Resident Evil franchises have never had an interest in appeasing critics. They simply wanted to feature people in leather killing creatures. Thus, you won’t be surprised that neither series is close to fresh (60% or above). I was surprised to learn that the two series have a higher Metacritic score than Rotten Tomatoes score. Normally the RT score is higher and it proves most critics don’t really hate the series. They simply are only 38% sold on them. I actually think that average is quite right.
Winner: Resident Evil
3. Audience Reception
Underworld – 6.6 IMDb User Score
Resident Evil – 6.1 IMDb User Score
I kinda love that the IMDb user scores are double the RT scores. The 63.65 average between the two is about the average for every IMDb rating (6.38). What I love about the two series is how they’ve managed to become critic proof (until recently). They have a solid fanbase of diehards who plunk down money and seem to genuinely like them. I was kinda shocked to see that the Underworld series has a 6.6 rating on IMDb. It is above average and seems awfully kind for a series that has taken a massive nosedive as of late.
Audiences love Selene and her spinning tactics.
Winner – Underworld
4. Which series makes the most sense?
I believe that the Resident Evil franchise makes the most sense because it never tried to make sense (which is genius). It has bounced all over the place and features a line saying “The plague dried up the rivers.” Nothing makes sense and I’m pretty sure Alice’s powers have differentiated from film to film. Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Three Musketeers, Pompeii, Event Horizon) has used the series as a playing ground that has pushed the limits of 3D and continuity. The series has gotten better and better and I love what the A.V. Club had to say about them:
The series’ best entries—the fourth and fifth, both directed by Anderson himself—are pulpy sci-fi slice-’em-up flicks distinguished by their sharply staged action and the ways in which they play around with viewer perspective and their own convoluted mythos. They are lean and lively and fun and totally unpretentious, and, creatively and commercially speaking, they’re the closest thing to a bona fide success to come out of the game adaption gold rush of the 2000s—the days of Doom, Hitman, and the Uwe Boll tax write-off. They even have a poetry to them.
The Resident Evil films are totally unpretentious and haven’t faded in quality throughout the years. The Underworld series has become a jumbled mess that features really bad action and tighter leather. The plots are barely coherent and when the Resident Evil series is better in comparison you might be worried.
Winner: Resident Evil
The overall winner is Resident Evil! – Long live Alice!
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John’s Horror Corner: Resident Evil (2002), Milla Jovovich versus viral zombies and mutant monsters.
MY CALL: Still a pretty fun watch for fans of mindless action and some occasionally decent gore, balanced by some terrible CGI and a lame boss. MORE MOVIES LIKE Resident Evil: The Silent Hill movies (2006, 2012) and the Underworld franchise (2003-2017) come to mind.
I remember seeing Resident Evil in theaters in 2002 (LOVED it; I was 21), again in 2003 after I bought the movie, and once more (rewatching parts 1-2) before seeing part 3 in 2007. Three times I had seen it and I recall quite enjoying it. But it’s been ten years and I was easier to please back then. So I wondered, how would these videogame-to-movie-adaptation films hold up to my criticism now…?
Profiteering from bioengineered virus technology (weaponized for the military) while masquerading as a home wares conglomerate whose products can be found in every household, the Umbrella Corporation is an original Proctor and Gamble…only evil. Or at least one of their scientists was; the one who threw a glass vile of evil virus across the laboratory to volatilize through the vents and corrupt humanity.
Sometime after the incident, we find Alice (Milla Jovovich; The Fifth Element, Faces in the Crowd, Ultraviolet) with amnesia, leaving her memory as bare as her breasts. Awakening naked in the shower in a lavish mansion, she has no idea who she is or how she got there. She is taken by force by some sort of black ops team who expect her to remember much more than she does, and then things get interesting.
There’s a nice mix of characters, even if none of them ever develop into anything (except for more zombies, of course). As Rain, Michelle Rodriguez (Furious 7, Machete Kills) continues her cute tough girl flavor that began with Girlfight (2000) and has persisted 17 years later (Fast & Furious 8). In that vein, she has sort of a Hicks and Vasquez (Aliens) relationship with a colleague, both part of a larger team infiltrating the Hive and taking Alice along for the ride. We also find Spence (James Purefoy; The Following, Rome, High-Rise) who, along with Alice, works for the Umbrella Corporation protecting the Hive’s entrance… but now neither of them remember that.
We come to learn that The Hive, a subterranean research megaplex below Raccoon City, has an artificial intelligence: the Red Queen. Her defense systems whittle down the infiltration team and at least one such scene really stuck with me. To that end, the effects held up well enough and included some much-appreciated nuance. The CGI was pretty damned good for some parts and very bad for others. For example, after getting laser-cubed, a soldier’s eyeball leaks some white goo before its severed parts fell asunder. I also liked the zombie dogs, which were less CGI and more live dog covered in goo suits. On the other hand, certain zombies missing chunks of their face were blaring examples of obsolete CGI technology and the main monster almost looked as it would in the actual videogame complete with 128-bit graphics. The boss creature was little more than a dumb tongue-lashing monster depicted as a CGI mess. I preferred the dogs and the chop suey lasers over this nondescript beast.
Director and writer Paul W. S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Soldier) did justice to the popular videogame with this popular horror-action franchise starter. The movie may lean on heavy exposition (e.g., the introductory narration)—but, hey, so did the game. A lot of it is videogamified over-the-top…and that’s okay sometimes. We have Milla jumping off walls to do jump kicks like Donnie Yen or Carrie-Anne Moss. But I don’t mind at all.
A major shortcoming for me was that the zombie action scenes were all pretty weak. The bites were lame, the horde was uninspired, and outside of a few zombie kills by Milla, I could have done without them entirely. It felt like stock footage from The Walking Dead—you know, the kills you don’t really care about as the characters kill their way from points A to B. Although I did enjoy our first meetings with zombies as the team was learning what they were (i.e., not alive).
In the end, a bunch of Umbrella scientists “just appear” as Alice and our other surviving (but clearly infected) hero escape the Hive. Back to the exposition, one says: “He’s mutating. I want him in the Nemesis program…we’re re-opening the Hive…” Aaaaannnnnd cue the sequel as Alice wakes up again, now in a lab, and stumbles into the Apocalypse!
So there you have it. There’s nothing particularly thoughtful to be found here, yet still a lot of effort was evident behind making this fun and exciting. It came as no surprise that it was successful and infected multiple sequels.
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The MFF Podcast #89: The 2017 Preview Spectacular of Awesomeness
Hello all. Mark here!
You can download the pod on Itunes or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
The MFF podcast is back and we are talking about the films of 2017. It is going to be a massive year for superheroes, more superheroes and even more superheroes! However, amidst all the flying people there are going to be some little gems that get lost in all the property destruction. Thus, we here at MFF recorded a podcast that celebrates a wide swath of films like Goon 2, The Wall, John Wick 2 and The Mummy. It is a rollicking 70-minutes that will hopefully introduce you to some movies that don’t feature a lot of superheroes (not that there is anything wrong with superheroes).
Doug Glatt is a human superhero with a heart of gold.
As always we answer random listener questions and ponder whether we should tell people we haven’t watched Lawrence of Arabia. If you a fan of the podcast make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening and hope you enjoy the 2017 shenanigans.
You can download the pod on Itunes or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Movies, Films & Flix 
