RESIDENT EVIL AFTERLIFE is a film that does what no one would expect of a fourth installment: it actually improves the quality of the series. When I saw the original RESIDENT EVIL, I totally fell in love with the film's ability to mix creepy horror with pure shoot-'em-up-style action. While I thoroughly enjoyed the second and third installments' quality as pure action movies, I was frustrated by the loss of the creepiness that I had enjoyed so much in the first one. REA actually manages to bring back the spooky feeling of the first film, while upping the ante on the action. After having seen this movie in normal 2D and also in 3D, I have to admit that while it holds up well as a "normal" movie, it is undeniable that the 3D version adds a whole new dimension to the series (sorry I couldn't resist that one). Using the James Cameron / Vincent Pace Fusion Camera System, REA has a quality of 3D not seen in any other film except AVATAR. I have to admit that I had been slow to adopt 3D before seeing REA, but now I am a believer. Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil, Stone) is excellent as usual as Alice, and continues to build a rich history for the character. Ali Larter (Resident Evil: Extinction, Heroes) does an admirable job as Claire Redfield, as does Wentworth Miller as Claire's brother Chris. Shawn Roberts gives a great performance as Albert Wesker, and Paul W.S. Anderson's (Resident Evil, Death Race) writing and direction are flawless.
