Resident Evil: Retribution trailer shows you the world

Sony Pictures has released the first full-length trailer for Resident Evil: Retribution, though it’s a bit tricksy.

Meaning, the studio decided to spend half of the trailer time setting up a clever joke for the clip, which is a bit of a shame, only because it means we don’t get as good a look at the film.

Then again, being the fifth film in the popular film franchise based on the best-selling survival horror video game property, this is enough to show us where the changes will be. The infestation of the world has ramped up yet again, and there will be lots more action and monster shooting.

Of course there is the obligatory shot of one of the girls throwing back her dress to reveal slim shapely legs and a brace of guns. I think that shot has been in every Resident Evil film… maybe more than once per film even. This time it’s Bingbing Li, a newcommer to the franchise, who is caught off guard, but not entirely unprepared, in her party-dress.

Pretty girls, guns, monsters, explosions. What more could we ask for? Don’t get me wrong: I don’t think this won’t be a fun film, I just don’t expect much literary substance from Resident Evil.

The official synopsis for the film is thus:

“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.”

Resident Evil: Retribution, which also stars Michelle Rodriguez and Sienna Guillory, hits theaters on September 14, 2012.