The Resident Evil: Afterlife Scene Fans Thought Was Way Too Cringey
"Resident Evil: Afterlife" is a 2010 action film based on the wildly popular Capcom video game series "Resident Evil." The fourth entry in the live-action film franchise, "Afterlife" was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and while the movie was met with generally unfavorable reviews, it was a box office success. However, there is one scene that even those who otherwise enjoy the movie likely find way too embarrassing.
Anderson is known for his ridiculous, occasionally entertaining video game movie adaptations, including 1995's "Mortal Kombat" and "Monster Hunter." But the "Resident Evil" film series is particularly popular for its schlocky, mind-numbing action and horror. It's typically far more likely to make you laugh than genuinely scared, but there is undoubtedly a level of enjoyment to be gained from the films' insistence on not taking themselves too seriously. Even so, some scenes are so undeniably campy that it's impossible to do anything but cringe. Fortunately, there's a subreddit dedicated to that peculiar emotion that has focused its attention on a scene in the 11th hour of "Resident Evil: Afterlife."
Fans thought a climactic fight against Wesker was embarrassing
Fans on the subreddit r/cringe came together to lambaste a scene from "Resident Evil: Afterlife" in which film franchise protagonist Alice (Milla Jovovich) teams up with fan-favorite brother and sister duo from the game series, Chris and Claire Redfield (Wentworth Miller Ali Larter), to take down the T-Virus enhanced baddie Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts). Shot like a scene from "The Matrix" (complete with a sunglasses-wearing villain), among the embarrassing elements are CGI and special effects that didn't look great then and definitely haven't aged any better, as well as awkward fight choreography.
Redditor u/Specialist_Bit_703 commented, "This was a very poorly done attempt at copying the ["Resident Evil 5"] Chris/Sheva/Wesker fight with Alice thrown in ..." referring to a fight against Wesker in the 2009 video game. Meanwhile, u/Chris-P compared the scene to a goofy MTV parody of "The Matrix," while u/-Venser- noted the inconsistency of Wesker's powers, writing, "Funny how his super speed only works when dodging bullets but can't dodge a slow tackle and gets easily stabbed."
It's fun to make fun of an expensive movie looking bad, but also important to note that a lot of hard work from talented people also went into making it. "Resident Evil: Afterlife" was the first film in the series to be shown in 3D, and scenes like Wesker throwing his sunglasses directly at the camera were likely intended to jump out at the audience. Still, NME film critic James McMahon's words about the movie sum up most people's feelings about it: "Frankly, this is unacceptable."