Fifteen years, six movies, and millions of zombies later, the Umbrella Corporation still can’t bring Alice down, no matter what they throw at her. No matter what tactics they use or who they send after Alice, a.k.a. their rogue ex-agent out for revenge, she always manages to outsmart and outmaneuver them. She’s always left standing in the end. That is, until now.

It’s been a long, hard journey since the day when Alice first woke up in that mansion, naked, naïve, and amnesia-ridden. She’s met many good comrades along the way, and watched many of them die. She’s gone up against immeasurable odds time and time again, and always prevailed. She’s been experimented on, learned the truth about the origin of the T-virus, exterminated more members of the undead than she can count, and even survived a nuclear blast. She’s seen the worst that humanity has to offer, and yet, she still finds something in them that’s worth fighting for. Alice may not be the hero of the apocalypse that we deserve, but she is certainly the one that we need, as her martyr message becomes more poignant than ever before, in the best entry in the franchise since the original, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.

In the sixth and final installment in the series, Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens to find herself in a desolate land, and as she crawls out from under her pile of rubble, stands to witness the chaos around her. The world is in ruins. Abandoned buildings riddled with gaping holes, soot stained smoke pouring out into the sky from every which direction, and not another living soul in sight – that is, if you’re not counting the wicked winged creature flying toward her at this very moment.

It may seem daunting to have what would essentially pass as a post-apocalyptic dragon soaring towards you, claws outstretched in your direction, but Alice has bigger things to worry about. In a strange twist of events, The Red Queen is suddenly claiming that she is now an adversary to Alice, and that she can help her stop the infection once and for all. Alice isn’t quite sure that she can trust her old arch nemesis, but with only a handful of friends left on her side and the clock counting down to the complete and total annihilation of the human race, she doesn’t have much of a choice but to put her faith in the very same holographic avatar that led her down the valley of death so many times before.

The Red Queen tells Alice to head to Raccoon City, and to hurry, for she only has a few hours left to stop the spread of the infection for good, and finally save the world. Upon her return to her old stomping grounds, Alice meets up with an old ally, Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) makes a few new ones along the way, including Abigail (Ruby Rose), Doc Macken (Eoin Macken) and Christian (William Levy), and even runs into a few old enemies as well, such as Wesker (Shawn Roberts) and Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen). But will her trip down memory lane lead her to the wipeout of the plague? Only time will tell if Alice can fulfill her destiny as savior of the world, and save humanity from total extinction.

Kudos to director Paul W. S. Anderson for choosing to shoot in South Africa for the final movie. This film is a big deal, and the landscapes he chose are very indicative of the impact of this long awaited finale. In one scene, a three-mile-long stretch of disused highway allows for the shooting of an epic scene where Alice is being dragged by chains behind the back of a massive tank, while she is also simultaneously being chased by a ginormous horde of zombies, nipping at her heels as she runs for her life. In another, she reunites with her right hand man Claire Redfield, whom she spots with Claire’s new posse perched high up above Raccoon City in their gaunt towering lookout spot. This stunning piece of architecture is actually an abandoned tower block in Ponty City, Johannesburg, a once elite area that’s now run over by gangs, giving it a look that fits in perfect with the end times aesthetic that director Anderson is trying to sell: both grand and decayed. The Final Chapter is at its best when its making good use of its locations.

However, it starts to suffer slightly once Alice enters the Hive. While its quick pacing and rapid body count keep the action feeling fresh and daring, some of the excitement becomes sacrificed in favor of lengthy dialogue when it comes time to officially tie up all loose ends. It’s a very satisfying ending, with some truly shocking twists and turns that manage to both wrap up the ending in a way that feels rewarding to viewers who have kept watching over the past fifteen years. However, at the same time, while its understandable that the final moments are kept contained to a few key characters for a special ‘members only’, arguably more significant ending, it is a little disappointing that there isn’t a bigger battle. If this really is the end, it would’ve been nice to truly see the series go out with a bang, instead of a less rough, more emotional whimper that it chooses instead.

Although the franchise could’ve ended with a bit more gusto, The Final Chapter still packs quite a punch, and manages to be both satisfying for die hard fans, while still entertaining everyday movie goers who are just looking for a few hours away from reality. The decision to make this final film a return to the first is an intention that seeps into every aspect of the movie, from the grittier locations, to the more human, powers-stripped-away Alice, to the darker palettes, and it plays well. For a person who has never really been a huge fan of this series, this is definitely, objectively, one of the better installments, if not the best one since the original. Basically, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is hella fun, a proper send-off to the series, and most importantly, shows that Milla Jovovich still kicks all kinds of ass, and can lead a successful franchise all by herself, no man needed to pick up the slack. There’s no one out there quite like Alice, and if this really is the end, she will be dearly missed.