The franchise is far from dead

It doesn't take a genius to know that most people aren't fond of the "Resident Evil" movies, mainly because they either don't live up to the video games or they're just moronic.Since I've only barely played any of the video games so far, let me just tell you that I like the movies for what they are and not for what they're trying to be.These are movies that I simply just look at as zombie films, nothing more and certaintly nothing less.To sum it all up, I REALLY liked the first movie and the 2nd was a lot of fun.The 3rd movie, "Extinction" was kinda boring compared to the first 2, but it wasn't bad.With "Afterlife", we can all assume that there's gonna be another sequel, just you wait.The franchise always knows how to keep the wheels turning somehow and even the ending forshadows a 5th installment.I must admit this and I'll probably never forgive myself, but "Afterlife" is actually a lot of fun, at least for what it is.It's not as good as first 2 movies, but it's a definite improvement over the 3rd.With all the style and cool-ass , if a little slow, action sequences, I can safetly assume that Part 5 may also have some promise in itself.

Alice (Milla Jovovich) has despertaly been trying to find and kill Albert Wesker, the head of Umbrella Corporation, but fails when given the opportunity and is still trying to kill him in addition to finding safety.Out of nowhere, she comes across a brainwashed survivor who who was introduced in "Extinction". Alice tries to see if she can remember anything, but Umbrella Corp. erased her memory.They both then embark on a quest to reach the last safe place on the planet, "Arcadia". After a nearly fatal plane crash on a rooftop, they meet a new group of survivors.For about 25 minutes, we begin to learn a little more about who the survivors are and what they did before the T-virus turned almost everyone into a zombie.We don't go deep into the characters, but they aren't 100% bland and are somewhat used for a purpose.

So yeah, the plot of "Afterlife" is kinda like "Extinction" where Alice meets a new group of survivors and they plan to reach the only safe place known to man.The story is a little familiar, and probably the worst thing about this film is that if you sped up the slow-motion scenes, the film probably would've ran 7 minutes shorter, and the film itslef is only 96 minutes long.Those 2 cons and the fact that the dialogue kind of drags in the 25 minute pause are pretty much the worst things about "Afterlife", but I can pretty much say that I had more fun that I thought I would have.The action is slow, but the violence and Alice's presence makes it a lot of energetic and bloody joy.For WHAT it IS, this is a pretty fun movie.If you must, drink some alcohol before viewing it, but just don't expect a brilliant science-fiction movie.

Grade: B