‘Resident Evil’ director: Milla Jovovich rising to Sigourney Weaver level

It’s widely acknowledged that Sigourney Weaver is the queen of sci-fi. (Her status as such was well-cemented way before “Avatar.”) Paul W.S. Anderson, director of “Resident Evil: Afterlife,” thinks that the action star of his franchise, one Milla Jovovich, has the chops to be in the conversation with Weaver among the genre’s best.

“There are very few women that have anchored four action movies -- the only one I can think of is Sigourney Weaver with the ‘Alien’ movies. And Sigourney really was the jewel in the crown of that franchise. She made you believe in the alien,” Anderson said. “She made you believe in the horror of the situation, and I think in a very similar way, Milla makes you believe in the reality of the ‘Resident Evil’ universe.”

Both actresses have enjoyed long runs as one character in a film franchise. Weaver’s Ripley, the ultimate protective mother figure, and Jovovich’s Alice, a rogue construct born of a corrupt corporation, are both survivors, and both display a strength that may not be apparent on the surface. Sigourney

Anderson recognized Jovovich’s ‘it’ quality early on.

“She was so committed and she really made that character and the franchise sort of her own. So after that, I definitely started writing to fit her strengths, and I think her strengths are immense.”

In Anderson’s eyes, the actresses at the center of their franchises have a similarity that has made each successful in their own right.

“I think it’s the kind of commitment that Sigourney gives to the ‘Alien’ franchise and Milla gives to the ‘Resident Evil’ franchise that makes them so long-lasting.”