The B-movie maestro is in fine form
Paul W.S. Anderson has directed a dozen films. He’s made genre movies, such as the science-fiction thriller Event Horizon and a pair of historical action epics, Pompeii and The Three Musketeers.
He’s directed franchise pictures, such as the Roger Corman remake Death Race, the mash-up Alien vs. Predator and the Blade Runner spinoff Soldier.
And he’s behind the camera for adaptations of popular video games, such as Mortal Kombat and the Resident Evil series — the sixth and (apparently) last instalment of which, The Final Chapter, opens in theatres Friday.
Anderson has never enjoyed widespread critical acclaim. Each film has peaked around the 30 per cent mark on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and while his work has been championed on occasion in academic circles, critics have scarcely forgone an occasion to ridicule him.
Resident Evil’s US$40-million Final Chapter didn’t screen for reviewers in advance of its opening weekend. You’re reading this in lieu of a review because for me, The Final Chapter remains to be seen.
And it assuredly will be. I am eager to see The Final Chapter because I am an enthusiastic Paul W.S. Anderson fan. The man is a B-movie maestro and an auteur of genre films par excellence. He’s a consummate stylist — he thinks in images, rather than simply shooting for coverage and hacking the action together any which way in the editing room, which gives his pictures coherence and flair. He stages kung-fu brawls and shootouts with balletic verve.
As for Resident Evil, I doubt anybody expected a $30-million Hollywood adaptation of a Japanese video games to spawn five sequels and gross more than $300 million. Video-game adaptations do meagre business as a rule. Resident Evil is the exception.
The Final Chapter is the sixth episode in the Resident Evil saga but only the fourth directed by Anderson himself. The other three — the first, fourth, and fifth instalments — are the only three of real merit.
The first is a classical, closequarters horror; a chamber piece confined to a booby-trapped underground dungeon. Each of these hazards are met and bested in turn by series star Milla Jovovich (Anderson’s real-life wife, incidentally) with captivating grace. Part 4, Afterlife, is a riot of ludicrous action and superhero brawn. Part 5, Retribution, is a glorious sci-fi wonder.
Maybe it’s for the best that The Final Chapter didn’t screen for reviewers. The critical establishment has never given Anderson his due.