Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

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Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is a 2016 science fiction action film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. It is the sequel to Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) and the sixth and final installment in the Resident Evil film series, which is loosely based on the Capcom survival horror video game series Resident Evil. The film stars Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts, Ruby Rose, Eoin Macken, William Levy, and Iain Glen. In the film, Alice and her friends are betrayed by Albert Wesker, who gathers the entire forces of Umbrella into one final strike against the apocalypse survivors.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was released on December 23, 2016, in Japan and on January 27, 2017, in the United States in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D. The film received mixed reviews and became the highest-grossing film in the franchise, earning over $312 million worldwide.

Video Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Plot

Dr. James Marcus, the original founder of the Umbrella Corporation, had a daughter who was dying of premature aging. Desperate to save her, Marcus discovered the T-virus. Unfortunately, the virus had the side effect of sudden and uncontrollable mutation; in Cape Town, South Africa, a boy dies in a cable car ascending to Table Mountain, then reanimates and kills the other passengers. Marcus tried to have the program shut down, despite protests from his colleague Dr. Alexander Isaacs (Iain Glen). When Marcus refused, Isaacs ordered Albert Wesker to kill him. The Red Queen is then created using childhood images of Marcus' daughter.

Some time after the events of the previous film, Alice awakens in the now-ruined White House after being betrayed once again by Wesker. While she is searching for survivors, the Red Queen appears and tells Alice she must return to the Hive, over 400 miles west on I-64 in Raccoon City, within 48 hours. The Umbrella Corporation has developed an airborne antivirus, which can kill every organism infected by the T-virus (which may or may not include Alice), and is just waiting for the remaining few thousand humans to be wiped out. When asked why she is betraying her creators, the Red Queen says that she will explain once Alice arrives at the Hive.

On her way to Raccoon City, Alice is captured by Isaacs--learning the one she previously killed was just a clone--though she manages to escape his convoy. Alice later arrives in Raccoon City and is ambushed by a group of survivors, consisting of Doc, Abigail, Christian, Cobalt, Razor, and Alice's friend Claire Redfield, who survived the attack on Arcadia. With Isaacs' convoy approaching, trailed by a horde of zombies, the group prepares for battle. They defeat the convoy, retrieve Isaacs' few human captives and burn the horde, though Cobalt is killed. With more undead on the way and no defenses left, Alice and crew head for the Hive entrance, located at the bottom of the crater from the nuclear bomb dropped on the city. Wesker, having taken control of the Hive, releases mutated guard dogs, killing Christian and a freed captive.

Inside the Hive, the Red Queen appears to Alice and explains her reason for betraying Umbrella. She reveals that a video was uploaded to her program which contained the recording of Isaacs explaining to Umbrella's executives the plan to release the T-virus, cleansing the world of man-made catastrophes while saving the rich and powerful in cryogenic capsules hidden in the Hive, and later rebuild the world in their image. The Red Queen program is in conflict, as she can never hurt an Umbrella employee but also must value remaining human life, which is why she enlists Alice's help in order to stop Isaacs. Before proceeding onwards, Alice is silently warned by the Red Queen that someone in her group is a spy for Umbrella.

Navigating the Hive, the group encounter several traps, resulting in the deaths of Abigail and Razor along with the remaining freed captive. Alice and Doc plant bombs throughout the Hive taken from the leftover equipment of the original team to investigate the Hive. Alice confronts the real (tech-upgraded) Isaacs, whereupon she is held at gunpoint by Doc--Umbrella's spy--while Claire is captured by Wesker. A cryogenic capsule opens, releasing Alicia Marcus, Umbrella's co-leader and Marcus' daughter. Isaacs reveals to Alice that she is actually a clone of Alicia, before going on to explain his plan in eliminating the pair so that he can assume full control of Umbrella. Though Isaacs is the co-founder of Umbrella, Alicia points out that Wesker is merely an employee and proceeds to "fire" him, allowing the Red Queen to crush his legs with a security door. Doc tries to shoot Alice, but he finds his gun empty--as Alice had earlier deduced his treachery--and Claire executes him. After giving Wesker the deadman's switch to the bombs she planted, Alice and Claire pursue Isaacs while Alicia willingly stays behind to review her childhood memories with her father.

Upon catching up to Isaacs, Alice and Claire fight him as the trio are lifted back up to the Hive. Isaacs overpowers Claire and attacks Alice in the Laser Corridor. Alice manages to dodge the lasers before re-engaging Isaacs, eventually beating him when she secretly activates a grenade in his pocket. She escapes to the surface with the antivirus, but Isaacs reboots and follows; he catches her just as she's about to release the antivirus. Before he can kill Alice, however, Isaacs is confronted and instantly killed by his clone, which Alice encountered en route to Raccoon City; the clone is then devoured by the undead. The distraction allows Alice to release the antivirus, killing all of the undead around her before she passes out. Wesker simultaneously drops the deadman's switch, destroying the Hive along with the hibernating Umbrella elite; Alicia and Wesker are killed in the process.

Claire wakes Alice, who survived because the antivirus killed only the T-virus within her body, not the healthy cells. The Red Queen gives Alice an upload of all of Alicia's memories, granting her a childhood. Alice travels into Manhattan, saying that the antivirus, carried only by the winds, will take years to reach all corners of the globe. Until then, says Alice, her mission is not finished.

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Cast

Milla Jovovich as Alice, former Umbrella security officer turned rogue fighter, who had been captured by Umbrella scientists after the original Hive contamination and experimented on. Ten years after Raccoon City is destroyed and the virus has spread knowledge across the globe, she has bonded with the virus on a cellular level, giving her superhuman ability since a previous encounter with Albert Wesker. She continues her vengeance against Umbrella for the death of her allies and the catastrophe they have caused. She is revealed to be the last of many Alice clones created by Umbrella.
- Jovovich also plays the role of the older Alicia Marcus, daughter of the creator of the T-Virus, co-owner (from her father's share) of the Umbrella Corporation and the source from whom the Alices were cloned.
Iain Glen as Dr. Alexander Isaacs (and one clone), the technologically enhanced CEO of the Umbrella Corporation previously thought to have been killed by Alice (it was a clone). He maniacally intended to use the T-Virus to start a biblical apocalypse, wiping out most of humanity and leaving a few tens of thousands alive, so as to remake the world with Umbrella's designs. He is eventually killed by an Issacs clone that Alice had earlier encountered en route to the city; the clone is shortly killed afterwards by the undead.
Ali Larter as Claire Redfield, one of Alice's closest allies, formerly led the convoy of survivors in the Nevada desert, and had gone missing along with her brother, Chris Redfield, after Umbrella's assault on Arcadia. She joins Alice and the others on the mission to the Hive to defeat Isaacs.
Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker, the former chairman of Umbrella who is the personal subordinate of Dr. Isaacs, and is also the mastermind of the plot which has betrayed Alice once again after the events of the previous film. After the Red Queen slammed a door that amputated his legs, Alice gives him the deadman's trigger to bombs she has planted inside the Hive - allowing her and Claire to escape as she slowly passes out from blood loss. He eventually dies and is consequently blown up in the explosion along with all the remaining members of Umbrella - including Alicia.
Eoin Macken as Doc, a spy working for Umbrella, posing as one of the survivors as assigned by Isaacs to find Alice. He is later killed by Claire Redfield for his treachery.
Fraser James as Razor, a survivor who aids Alice and the others into the Hive. He is later killed by an Umbrella bio-weapon.
Ruby Rose as Abigail, an inmate survivor who also joins Alice's attack into the Hive. She is later killed by Wesker's booby traps.
William Levy as Christian, the leading survivor who led the assault on Umbrella and is also at odds with Alice. He is later killed by mutated dogs while working with Alice and the others.
Rola as Cobalt, a survivor who joins the assault on Umbrella. She is killed while holding the barricade, to buy enough time for Alice to load the traps for the hordes of undead.
Ever Gabo Anderson as Red Queen, the artificial intelligence created by Umbrella, Alice's former enemy. Unable to act directly against Umbrella employees, but recognizing her role in the fate of humanity, Red Queen gives information to Alice in order to help release the antivirus and defeat Isaacs.
- Anderson also plays the young Alicia Marcus.
Lee Joon-gi as Commander Chu, Umbrella's security chief and second-in-command.
Mark Simpson as Dr. James Marcus

Ever Gabo Anderson, who plays Young Alicia/Red Queen, is the daughter of Jovovich and Paul W. S. Anderson, the film's writer/director.

Resident Evil The Final Chapter - Rewind

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Production

In September 2012, following the box office success of Resident Evil: Retribution, a sixth film in the "Resident Evil" series was confirmed by the head of Sony Pictures distribution, Rory Bruer, with Milla Jovovich attached to reprise the role of Alice. In October 2012, in an interview with Forbes, producer Samuel Hadida stated that a sixth and seventh installment were being planned and a reboot of the series was possible. In December 2012, director Paul W. S. Anderson confirmed that he would be directing "Resident Evil 6". He stated that it would be the last film in the series and some characters from the first two films would return. In June 2013, Jovovich tweeted that the sixth film, which had been scheduled for a September 12, 2014, release, would not be released before 2015. The film was scheduled to start shooting in late 2013 as soon as Anderson had finished work on his disaster/romance film Pompeii.

In February 2014, Anderson told Collider that "we'd like to do another Resident Evil movie. Definitely. But the wheels aren't quite in motion yet,"; the film was reportedly planned to be released in 2015. In April 2014, while speaking at the Beijing International Film Festival, Anderson revealed that he would soon be writing the screenplay for the sixth film in the series. He also confirmed that the film would be in 3D and that actress Li Bingbing would be returning to play Ada Wong. In June 2014, Anderson announced the film's working title to be "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" and confirmed that it was intended to be the final film in the series. He also revealed that half the script had been completed, but, as yet, there were no shooting or release schedules. Filming was set to begin in South Africa in August 2014 but was delayed for a year because of Jovovich's pregnancy.

On July 15, 2015, Jovovich posted a photo on Instagram announcing that shooting was about to start in South Africa. Actors from previous films: Sienna Guillory (Jill Valentine), Li Bingbing (Ada Wong), Aryana Engineer (Becky), Spencer Locke (K-Mart), Michelle Rodriguez (Rain Ocampo), Wentworth Miller (Chris Redfield), and Johann Urb (Leon S. Kennedy) were not invited to return for the last movie. On August 3, 2015, it was confirmed that Ali Larter would be back for the sequel in the role of Claire Redfield, and filming would begin in late August or early September. Larter confirmed the sixth film would be the last in the franchise. On September 18, 2015, other cast members were announced including Iain Glen as Dr. Alexander Isaacs, Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker, Ruby Rose as Abigail, Eoin Macken as Doc, William Levy as Christian, Fraser James as Michael, and Rola as Cobalt. On October 19, 2015, Lee Joon-gi joined the film to play Commander Lee of the Umbrella Corporation.

Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel created the song "Don't Be Afraid" specifically for the Japanese theatrical release.

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on September 18, 2015, in Cape Town / Hartbeespoort Dam, South Africa.

During filming, Jovovich's stunt double, British stunt-woman Olivia Jackson, was severely injured when her motorcycle collided with a camera crane, leaving her in a medically-induced coma for two weeks. She had been riding at high speed without a helmet, leading to the accident ripping off half her face, and crushing her facial bones. Among Jackson's injuries were cerebral trauma, a crushed face, a severed artery in her neck, a paralyzed arm, several broken ribs, a shattered scapula, a broken clavicle, torn fingers with a thumb that needed to be amputated, and five nerves torn out of her spinal cord. The camera crane had malfunctioned and failed to move out of the way. Jackson announced in December 2015 that her paralyzed left arm will need to be amputated. Her arm was amputated above the elbow.

A second accident occurred during filming on December 3 when crew member Ricardo Cornelius was crushed to death by one of the film's props, a US Army-issue Hummer, while on set. The Hummer was placed on a rotating platform, and fell off, crushing Cornelius, who was assisting with the scene, against a wall. He later died in hospital.

Filming ended on December 9, 2015. According to Paul W. S. Anderson, the director, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was fully shot with 2D cameras and post-converted to 3D by the company: Legend 3D. It's the first time that a movie from the Resident Evil saga has a 3D post-conversion, since the last two installments were shot in 3D.

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Release

Sony first scheduled the film for release on September 12, 2014 before delaying it over two years. The film was released in Japan on December 23, 2016, and in North America on January 27, 2017, by Screen Gems.

Box office

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter grossed $26.8 million in the United States and Canada and $285.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $312.2 million, against a production budget of $40 million.

In North America, the film was released alongside A Dog's Purpose and Gold, and was projected to gross around $13 million from 3,050 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $1 million from Thursday night previews and $5.1 million on its first day. It ended up opening to $13.9 million, the lowest debut of the franchise, and finished 4th at the box office.

Despite the film being trimmed by 7 minutes, totaling only 99 minutes, likely thanks to the violence-intolerant State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the film opened on February 24, 2017, in China across 11,000 screens, earning $30 million on its opening day. Through its opening weekend, the film made 636.9 million yuan ($92.7 million). This marks the biggest Friday-through-Sunday debut ever for an imported film, topping such heavyweights as Transformers: Age of Extinction (632 million yuan) and Captain America: Civil War (628 million yuan) and the second-biggest for all films, behind only Lost in Thailand.

However, figures varied slightly by different outlets--Shanghai-based cinema consulting firm Artisan Gateway had its opening weekend at $93.9 million while the film's studio, Sony Pictures came in even higher with $94.3 million.

Mainland China eventually is the movie's best-grossing foreign market, contributing $160 million in box office.

Critical response

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 36% based on 91 reviews, and an average rating of 4.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter may prove mind-numbingly chaotic for the unconverted, but for fans of the venerable franchise, it offers a fittingly kinetic conclusion to its violent post-apocalyptic saga". On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 49 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Alex Welch of IGN was critical of the film, giving 3/10 and calling it "a pointless mess from beginning to end", and "nothing more than a barrage of cliched character beats, unbearable CGI action, and headache-inducing editing". Glenn Kenny for The New York Times writes, "This is, I think, the weakest picture in the franchise".

The decision not to bring back surviving characters from the previous films - notably Jill, Leon and Ada - was a particular draw for criticism, with many voicing disappointment over a lack of closure for said characters and a sense of anti-climax following the cliff-hanger ending of the previous movie that had implied their inclusion in a follow-up.

In contrast, Bill Zwecker of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 stars out of 4, saying it "[gets] the storyline right off the bat". He adds, "For fans of Resident Evil, I believe this final film will not disappoint, but it also will likely encourage newcomers to the saga to go back and play a bit of catch-up by watching the earlier movies".