Resident Evil: Retribution

I wouldn't dare to call Paul Anderson the king of garbage despite all his efforts, even though he's quite close to that title. The current record says that he has six films rated Boo!, one two-star, and one three-star rating from me, although I'm not sure if I would give Pandorum the same review today. Anyway, either something was wrong with me back then or with Anderson because when he gets going, it's worth it. From the perspective of what I expect from cinema, any part of the Resident Evil series would deserve a categorical Boo! label, but what is sympathetic about Anderson is that he doesn't rest on his laurels and manages to push each installment into even bigger messes, stripping it of even more basic elements of logic and consistency. With Paul Anderson, it doesn't make sense to talk about rock bottom because he always manages to creatively push his limits even lower. In this context, it's rather interesting that many people still manage to find something of their own in his work. Anyway, any user who can rate this piece higher than two stars raises a bit of caution in me. Overall impression: 5%. (08.11.2017)

There hasn’t been such an overwrought, obtuse and primal assault on your sensory system since Transformers 2. Anderson completely ignores everything such as story, logic or expressive sobriety and from beginning to end serves, without sense or respite, one sterile action sequence after another, all supported by the tiresome techno-film of an individual called tomandandy and with the motto "the more slow-motion shots we cram in, the better, they're so cool!". If the previous episodes were too much for you, this one will make you puke. My grandmother from Ostrava, God rest her soul, would sum it up saying “well, wasn’t that some bollocks!” (15.09.2012)

While last time Anderson was intoxicated by a new technological toy called "the third dimension," here he gets rid of it and tortures us with a tiresome, unexciting, and absolutely sterile sequence of shootings without ideas, tension, or adrenaline. Instead, he leaves Alice to perform her parental duties and the other characters to awkwardly explain everything around them, come back from the dead, or be jerks on a whim (Leon S. Kennedy!). Sorry Paul, I've always defended you, both to haters on the internet and in person over a beer, but this is shit that I suffered through outrageously and for the first time I'm not looking forward to the next film. (07.12.2012)

Nothing really matters anymore. They only need a generator of random dialogues, characters, locations and monsters and this series could be endless. It’s impossible to rate it according to classic standards, because RE hasn’t made any sense for a long time. Anderson just sticks to his trashy video game aesthetic, which may not be valuable or desirable at all, but at least sets him apart from the rest of the competition in the genre. Unlike the fourth part, the fifth didn’t piss me off (and I’m even ashamed to say that I had quite some fun), and this time I’ll be more conciliatory (5/10 – 2*). I was expecting rubbish. (30.11.2012)

We're right where we were before: in the deep water of a stupid B-movie, where I'm drowning somewhere between Milla Jovovich, who doesn't flinch even when a car explodes right in her face, and Michelle Rodriguez, whose punches cause temporary heart attacks. Retribution sets the atmosphere with its flashy handling of the previous cliffhanger, only to descend a step lower with each subsequent twist or fight and end up with a desperately exhausting icy finale. I didn't expect Paul W.S. Anderson to learn from past mistakes, but I never dreamed he would be trying to kill me with each passing minute. (07.01.2013)