Resident Evil: Retribution clips collapse the tunnel

Screen Gems has released four clips for its upcoming video-game adaptation horror sequel, Resident Evil: Retribution.

So far, the promotional campaign for this film has been pretty impressive, from well-cut trailers to interesting featurettes on the history of the franchise’s protagonist. These promos have been making me really look forward to the film, and I don’t even (typically) like zombie or startle flicks.

Now we’ve got four new clips from the film. Each of them is an expansion on a scene that we’ve already seen bits of in the trailers, but they make the whole thing look like it’s going to be a fun, effects heavy, sci-fi thriller. Perhaps they’ve changed gears with this new entry in the franchise:

Of course, these are all green band. If we get a red band trailer, then we might see some of the gratuitous gore. On their own these scenes look pretty sweet. We’ll see how they represent the film when it comes to theaters.

I’ve always enjoyed the world-building on the Resident Evil series – the games and the films – but I just can’t let myself get into it again. I know what’s going to happen. I see all these great trailers and spots and featurettes, and they’ll make me want to go see the film, but when I do, I’ll be disappointed at how much the film focuses on startle moments and gross-outs. That’s what happened with the first four. Why should the fifth one be any different? It also looks like there are a lot of 3D gimmicks, which I thought we, as a moviemaking and going culture, got over 20 years ago. Just because your film is 3D, doesn’t mean things need to be thrown at the audience.

Who am I kidding? The film’s release date is already on my appointment calendar.

The film’s synopsis is thus:

In Resident Evil: Retribution, the Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice (Milla Jovovich), awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by newfound allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.

Here’s the theatrical trailer:

Resident Evil: Retribution hits theaters September 14th, 2012.