Resident Evil 4K Ultra HD Review

THE MOVIE — 3/5

Plot Synopsis: Leaders of a commando team who must break into “the hive,” a vast underground genetics laboratory operated by the powerful Umbrella Corporation. There, a deadly virus has been unleashed, killing the lab’s personnel and resurrecting them as the evil Un-dead. The team has just three hours to shut down the lab’s supercomputer and close the facility before the virus threatens to overrun the Earth.

Quick Hit Review: As someone who isn’t much of a gamer and have minimal knowledge just having heard of the various franchises but never played (including “Resident Evil” and “Tomb Raider”. I’ve seen Resident Evil is a film I’ve seen a couple times over the 18 years since its release and never thought much of it outside that Milla Jovovich did a fine job kicking ass but everything else about it was unremarkable. Now some of the action scenes were okay and for being 2002, the visual effects were passable.

However, one big knock on the movie, and this goes for others within the horror subgenre, is I really not a big fan of zombies, outside of some obvious exceptions like Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead (and even enjoyed Zach Snyder’s remake). Never found zombies all that scary though can admire the make-up effects, but otherwise they don’t do much for me, which is why I haven’t kept up with the Walking Dead series.

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, Resident Evil doesn’t exactly have a visual flair but there is enough to make it entertaining even if the characters aren’t very well developed and there isn’t anything with the action or stunts that stands out, making for a mediocre beginning for this eventual 6-movie franchise. At the very least this type of material is within Milla Jovovich’s wheelhouse.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3½/5

Released as part of the Resident Evil: Limited Edition Collection, the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs are housed in a digipak packaging with cardboard on the front and back and plastic hubs inside. The Blu-ray disc has different artwork but the content is the same from the original release.

Disc 1 (4K Ultra HD):
Theatrical Trailer (2:16)

Disc 2 (Blu-ray):
Audio Commentary – Writer/Prodcuer/Director Paul W.S. Anderson is joined by Actresses Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez & Producer Jeremy Bolt.

Featurettes:

• Playing Dead: Resident Evil from Game to Screen (15:04) chronicles the project and taking elements of the game and putting it on the big screen. Includes interviews with the cast and crew.
• The Making of Resident Evil (27:20) is a behind-the-scenes featurette delving into the plot, characters, stunts, etc.
• Scoring Resident Evil (11:03) delves into the score by Marco Beltrami and Marilyn Manson.
• Storyboarding Resident Evil (6:26) is on mapping out the action and fight sequences.
• Costumes (3:26) looks at the concept art and ultimate designs and functions for the various characters.
• Set Design (4:07) has the production designer discuss the sets and modern technology that inhabits this world.
• The Creature (5:18) looks at the design behind the monster in the finale that was enhanced from the video game.
• The Elevator (1:08) focuses on the sequence from the opening and utilizing practical and visual effects.
• The Laser (5:05) – Breaks down the hallway laser grid scene and cutting through skin.
• The Train (2:20) – The train sequence is examined using both a real train and visual effects.
• Zombie Dogs (3:54) looks at the design behind the killer undead canines.
• Zombies (4:30) – This featurette breaks down the zombie makeup and their movements.

Alternate Ending (3:20) has an intro by Anderson and why it was scrapped.

VIDEO – 4½/5

AUDIO – 4½/5

The disc comes with an English Dolby Atmos track, along with was I assume is the original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track as well, and it is a well rounded soundtrack, the blood-curdling screams of the undead’s ravaging comes across every available channel while dialogue levels are clear via the center speaker. The LFE could’ve been a tad strong yet it’s still discernible with some rumbling during key action scenes.

As a side, there are several other options in other languages available.

OVERALL – 4/5

Resident Evil might be the mediocre beginning of what would become a six movie franchise (with the possibility of it being rebooted), but I did like Milla Jovovich in the lead as the material fits her skill set pretty well and there’s just enough to make it watchable. The 4K Ultra HD release offers up good video and audio transfers with a solid selection of bonus features (on the Blu-ray disc).