For a long time I didn’t understand the career of Paul WS Anderson.

I mean his movies aren’t terrible but neither were they particularly good either and whenever you thought he might be reaching for something more like in Event Horizon (1997) or Soldier (1998), he quickly reminded you that subtext mattered about as much as nuance.

Which is to say, not at all.

For instance, the best thing I can say about his Resident Evil (2002) – while by no means a bad movie it’s music does the heavy lifting – and every time I see it I wonder what a George Romero-helmed RE would be like.

And speaking of Event Horizon (1997), it initially seemed like it could tell a story about how things like being in space for extended periods of time affected the mind and the nature of evil.

Instead it quickly devolved into some pretty puerile violence. And that’s not to say that violence – in movies – is a bad thing in and of itself. It’s that when that violence is filling space better suited for things like plot and story that there’s a problem.

And just so no one is confused, don’t watch Halloween (1978) or Friday The 13th (1980) for the moral lessons, though I expected better from Event Horizon.

What I didn’t understand then that I do now is that Anderson was making movies less to enlighten anyone than to provide something for his wife, Mila Jovovich, to do.

When looked at like that, he’s quite accomplished, having directed 14 movies (according to IMBD) with almost half that amount starring his wife.

Clarity is a good thing.

And by the way, I don’t recall their being a release date given but if they’re thinking anything outside of 2021 they’re out of their gourds.