“Paul W.S. Anderson is a successful director, yet paradoxically many of his films are barely watchable.”

I have read that George Romero was originally offered the first ‘Resident Evil,’ though his treatment of the property was eventually rejected.  It’s worth noting that I haven’t read or seen that treatment, so I have no basis for understanding why the producers came by their decision.

And admittedly, Anderson’s film wasn’t terrible.  It wasn’t great, but was at least effective.  And since I never played the video games it was based upon, I can’t say how accurate it was to them.

Though the later movies in the Resident Evil series have gotten schlockier and schlockier, which is a pity because the production design of those that I have seen is typically top-notch (for “Resident Evil: Apocalpyse” production was led by Paul Denham Austerberry, and it’s attractive in a clinical, Germanic way.  It reminds me of the work Carol Spier somewhat, which is a high complement).  This time around Paul P.W. Anderson has passed the reins to Alexander Witt, whom would normally get the blame, or the kudos, for the end product.

I don’t blame Witt for the mess that is “Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” because Anderson not only wrote it, he produced it (along with Don Carmody and Anderson’s production partner, Jeremy Bolt), which says that a lot of what ended up on screen Paul W.S. Anderson wanted to be there.

The biggest problem is that movies like “Resident Evil: Apocalpyse” by their very nature – an evil corporation (not that part.  You only need to read a newspaper to confirm that) creates a virus that turns people into zombies – require a huge suspension of belief.

Which is a responsibility that producers of such films need to take serously.

And it doesn’t seem that Paul W.S. Anderson does.  For instance, there’s a scene where Alice (Milla Jovovich) rides her motorcycle through the stained glass window of a church.  It’s not an unusual stunt, but there’s no logic to it because for her to have done so either means that that stained glass window is sidewalk-level (which I have never seen because that’s where most churches put their doors), there’s a huge ramp outside or Alice can not only levitate herself, but her motorcycle.

The first is unlikely, the likelihood of their being a ramp there for some unknown reason makes no sense at all, and I don’t even want to consider the third option.

Which still leads to the question:  How did she get the motorcycle through the window?  I understand that this is a movie, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t rules, and logic, which  Resident Evil: Apocalypse breaks whenever it’s either convenient to do so, or the script needs a stunt or something to blow up.  

And while it’s not unusual for a movie to throw logic to the wind, though most are better at hiding the fact.