by Brian Zitzelman
One of the strangest things about Oscar month is that the movies that open during it are usually the opposite of prestige. Tomorrow sees the release of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the allegedly last installment of this long-running franchise. With more than a decade's worth of subpar critical reviews, it's nonetheless more notable than it might seem upon first glance.
Superhero movies aside, R-rated action franchises haven't especially been booming in the twenty-first century, or even in the post Arnold/Stallone/Willis dominated run of the 80s to mid-90s...
Yet here we have the sixth chapter in a blood-soaked, gun-toting series that also happens to feature a female in the lead; one Milla Jovovich. Since the 2002 release of Resident Evil, a more horror-infused entry that scripted itself closer to its video game roots, this dystopian romp has consistently made between $40 and $60 million domestically. That isn't the greatest of shakes, yet overseas grosses have bumped that beyond $100 million, and for the last two outings well above $200 million.
The Resident Evil narrative is a strange thing, more in line with the traditional scary movie world, where characters come and go, while continuity grows increasingly labyrinthine. Characters have been brainwashed, cloned, turned evil and about everything else. Through it all has been Jovovich as Alice, playing out variations of the same plot; battle biologically created monsters and don't get killed. Jovovich has always been a unique cinematic presence, gaining steam as a fixture of sci-fi accented works after Luc Besson's 1997 hit The Fifth Element. Waif-ish in physique, Jovovich is ruthless in demeanor, never winking an eye amidst various attacks by computer-concocted baddies or wooden acting. Jovovich's Alice needs no saving, even after seemingly died.
For four of the sixth Resident Evil pictures, it has been Paul W.S. Anderson at the helm. With a spotty filmography of big-budget schlock (Pompeii, Alien vs. Predator), Anderson also happens to be married to Jovovich, the pair having met making the first Evil outing. Interestingly, the other long-running female-led action franchise has been Underworld, by the - until recently - married pair of Len Wiseman and Kate Beckinsale. Curious that both Hollywood run-and-gun blockbusters starring women feature such a scenario.
Cool Girls don't look at explosions their backlighting. Kate & Milla in the 2017 outings of their long running franchises
Even with the gargantuan success of The Hunger Games adaptations, studios seem hesitant to follow the money and give heroines a chance. The cinematic landscape may not miss the quality of these works, though it's damn sure going to have a hole in what they represent.