Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
★★ — Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse arrived in cinemas in 2004 as the direct sequel to Paul W.S. Anderson's original Resident Evil (2002), picking up almost immediately where that film left off. The city of Raccoon City is under quarantine, overrun by the undead following a catastrophic outbreak linked to the Umbrella Corporation's experimental T-virus. Alice, the amnesiac former security operative, must fight her way out alongside a ragtag group of survivors, including a rescue mission centred on the young daughter of the scientist responsible for the virus in the first place. The film leans hard into the action-horror hybrid formula established by its predecessor, drawing loosely on elements from the Resident Evil 3: Nemesis video game, including the introduction of the hulking, trenchcoat-clad Nemesis creature. It is very much a product of its era, a mid-2000s franchise sequel that arrived when video game adaptations were finding their footing as a commercially reliable, if critically uneven, genre of their own.
Behind the camera, Anderson stepped back from directing duties this time, handing them to Alexander Witt, a cinematographer and second-unit director making his feature directorial debut. The production was a joint effort across Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, brought together by Davis Films, Impact Pictures, Screen Gems, and Constantin Film. Anderson remained on board as writer and producer, so the film's DNA is recognisably his, for better or worse. At 94 minutes, it is a brisk watch by design, clearly built to keep things moving rather than pause for reflection. The end result is polished but unremarkable on a technical level, the kind of production that has the money to look competent without quite having the creative vision to be genuinely good.
Milla Jovovich returns as Alice, a role she would continue to inhabit across several further instalments (my reviews of Resident Evil: Afterlife and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter cover where that journey eventually ends up). Joining her here is Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine, one of the more recognisable characters from the game series, alongside Oded Fehr as the mercenary Carlos Olivera and Thomas Kretschmann as the antagonistic Major Cain. Sophie Vavasseur plays Angie Ashford, the young girl at the centre of the rescue plot. It is a reasonably capable ensemble on paper, the sort of cast you would expect from a studio horror-action picture of this budget and era, though whether they are given anything worthwhile to do with it is quite another question.
This movie is so bad it circles back around to being kind of entertaining, if you’re watching it with friends, snacks, and zero expectations. Cheesy one-liners. Hammy performances. A plot that makes less sense the more it tries to explain itself. It’s like a B-movie action flick dressed up as a franchise sequel, all style, no soul. Milla Jovovich looks like she’d rather be anywhere else, the zombies are more confused than scary, and the action scenes feel oddly choreographed like it was directed by a video game cutscene. If you’re into unintentional comedy or love a good so-bad-it’s-good watch, this might scratch that itch. Otherwise, stick to the games.
And honestly, that so-bad-it's-good quality is something I find genuinely rare. Most bad films are just dull. This one has a particular chaotic energy that keeps it from being boring, even when it is being thoroughly ridiculous. I have sat through enough horror films on this blog, from the genuinely unsettling to the thoroughly mediocre, to know that accidental entertainment is its own strange gift. If you do want something from the same period that takes itself about as seriously (though with rather more craft), A Bittersweet Life is the antidote. As for Apocalypse, keep the expectations buried six feet under, and you might just have a good time.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 2004 | Watched: 2025-07-20
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: YouTube TV
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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Related on Movies With Macca
More with Milla Jovovich: Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) · Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) · Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) · The Fourth Kind (2009)
More from Canada: History of the World in Three Minutes Flat (1980) · Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) · Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) · Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
