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I think he gets a bit of a bad rap compared to some of the other so-called worst directors ever. I've seen most of his films (with the current exceptions being Death Race, The Three Musketeers and Pompeii) and I do reckon there's something to be said for the ways in which he manages to make a certain film with a surprising amount of craft.
Mortal Kombat is the obvious stand-out since it manages the humble task of creating a functional, entertaining videogame movie (even if, like the source game, it comes across as Enter the Dragon with magic powers). It even gets to the point where the PG-13 rating (nominally the kiss of death when adapting a famously gory franchise, as Anderson's later AVP proved) is barely an issue.
Event Horizon is another possible pick for his best film since it offers a reasonably entertaining space-horror that delves into Lovecraftian insanity and assembles a strong ensemble to carry its dark, unnerving tale.
Soldier is a flawed film, but worthy of some small measure of respect due to the presence of not only Kurt Russell as the eponymous soldier but also by having David Webb Peoples (Blade Runner/Unforgiven/Twelve Monkeys). It may not reach the heights of those esteemed classics, but the film as a whole is a distinctive riff on the concept of super-soldiers.
Resident Evil is where Anderson's status as an auteur truly begins as he adapts the iconic videogame franchise for the big screen with enough tweaks to render it its own thing (most notably through the introduction of Milla Jovovich's Alice), crafting a fairly competent zombie horror in the process (albeit one that would be improved upon by later installments).
Aliens vs. Predator is the obvious sticking point here and I'd wager the main reason why people are so willing to label Anderson one of the worst filmmakers in existence. I gave it a shot and did find enough to appreciate about it that I didn't label it a cinematic abortion, but it definitely came across as a misfire. I still feel like I should revisit it - at the very least, it's nowhere near as bad as AVPR.
Resident Evil: Afterlife sees him return to the director's chair after writing and producing the second and third Resident Evil movies, though he has adapted to the evolution of the mid-budget genre film quite admirably by putting his stamp on an otherwise familiar post-apocalyptic zombie tale. Afterlife itself is a slightly-above-average piece that shows Anderson willing to experiment with form (especially with the slick 3D visuals that readily manifest in the film's shiny third act) and serve as a promising rough draft for the series' high point.
Resident Evil: Retribution is, as of writing, my pick for both the best RE film and Anderson's best film (though it does have some strong competition in his first few films). It builds upon the more interesting parts of Afterlife in order to create something a little more off-kilter (possibly even avant-garde) than the otherwise standard zombie tales that make up the rest of the franchise, plus it manages a remarkably lavish visual style that I would put up against the best blockbusters of 2012. As far as style-over-substance genre exercises go, this is a surprisingly solid one.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter sees Anderson's hallmark series limp to a finish by undoing much of the goodwill of his previous installments by doing a greatest-hits installment that does tread some interesting ground but often suffers for sacrificing the slick visuals of Retribution for a generically brown and heavily-edited mess. I do want to like this more, but I'm not so sure that I can.
So there we go, my current rundown of the other Paul Anderson's output. His films are flawed, but they have merit and so I can't truly bring myself to hate them. Now it's your turn.
Mortal Kombat is the obvious stand-out since it manages the humble task of creating a functional, entertaining videogame movie (even if, like the source game, it comes across as Enter the Dragon with magic powers). It even gets to the point where the PG-13 rating (nominally the kiss of death when adapting a famously gory franchise, as Anderson's later AVP proved) is barely an issue.
Event Horizon is another possible pick for his best film since it offers a reasonably entertaining space-horror that delves into Lovecraftian insanity and assembles a strong ensemble to carry its dark, unnerving tale.
Soldier is a flawed film, but worthy of some small measure of respect due to the presence of not only Kurt Russell as the eponymous soldier but also by having David Webb Peoples (Blade Runner/Unforgiven/Twelve Monkeys). It may not reach the heights of those esteemed classics, but the film as a whole is a distinctive riff on the concept of super-soldiers.
Resident Evil is where Anderson's status as an auteur truly begins as he adapts the iconic videogame franchise for the big screen with enough tweaks to render it its own thing (most notably through the introduction of Milla Jovovich's Alice), crafting a fairly competent zombie horror in the process (albeit one that would be improved upon by later installments).
Aliens vs. Predator is the obvious sticking point here and I'd wager the main reason why people are so willing to label Anderson one of the worst filmmakers in existence. I gave it a shot and did find enough to appreciate about it that I didn't label it a cinematic abortion, but it definitely came across as a misfire. I still feel like I should revisit it - at the very least, it's nowhere near as bad as AVPR.
Resident Evil: Afterlife sees him return to the director's chair after writing and producing the second and third Resident Evil movies, though he has adapted to the evolution of the mid-budget genre film quite admirably by putting his stamp on an otherwise familiar post-apocalyptic zombie tale. Afterlife itself is a slightly-above-average piece that shows Anderson willing to experiment with form (especially with the slick 3D visuals that readily manifest in the film's shiny third act) and serve as a promising rough draft for the series' high point.
Resident Evil: Retribution is, as of writing, my pick for both the best RE film and Anderson's best film (though it does have some strong competition in his first few films). It builds upon the more interesting parts of Afterlife in order to create something a little more off-kilter (possibly even avant-garde) than the otherwise standard zombie tales that make up the rest of the franchise, plus it manages a remarkably lavish visual style that I would put up against the best blockbusters of 2012. As far as style-over-substance genre exercises go, this is a surprisingly solid one.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter sees Anderson's hallmark series limp to a finish by undoing much of the goodwill of his previous installments by doing a greatest-hits installment that does tread some interesting ground but often suffers for sacrificing the slick visuals of Retribution for a generically brown and heavily-edited mess. I do want to like this more, but I'm not so sure that I can.
So there we go, my current rundown of the other Paul Anderson's output. His films are flawed, but they have merit and so I can't truly bring myself to hate them. Now it's your turn.
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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0
I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
