{"id":24132,"date":"2020-11-22T17:04:07","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T01:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=24132"},"modified":"2020-12-17T11:50:03","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T19:50:03","slug":"review-resident-evil-retribution-4k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2020\/11\/review-resident-evil-retribution-4k\/","title":{"rendered":"Resident Evil: Retribution 4K Ultra HD Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Resident Evil: Retribution<\/em><\/strong> is by far the weaker film of the franchise but not completely awful as I still enjoy watching Jovovich and her physicality with the role, kicking all sorts of butt and taking out zombies and monster creatures.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Resident Evil: Retribution<\/span>
\n(2012)<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction<\/span>
\nSony | R \u2013 96 min. | November 17, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 11\/22\/2020 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by: <\/strong>Paul W.S. Anderson
\n<\/span>Writer(s): <\/strong>Paul W.S. Anderson (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer, Bingbing Li, Boris Kodjoe, Johanna Urb, Robin Kasyanov, Kevin Durand, Oded Fehr, Shawn Roberts<\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Audio Commentary, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Trailer
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>No
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>4K, Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (Dolby Atmos), English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), Alternate English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), Catalonian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Czech (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Surround), Hindi (Dolby Digital 5.1), Hungarian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Polish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Russian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Thai (Dolby Digital 5.1), Turkish (Dolby Surround)
\nVideo: <\/strong>2160p\/Widescreen 2.39
\nDynamic Range: <\/strong>HDR10
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai
\nCodecs: <\/strong>HEVC \/ H.265
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Sony Pictures provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0The screen captures were taken from the Blu-ray disc and\u00a0do not<\/span> represent the 4K Ultra HD transfer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

THE MOVIE \u2014 1\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>As Umbrella Corp.’s deadly T-virus continues to turn the world’s population into legions of flesh-eating zombies, Alice (MILLA JOVOVICH), the human race’s last hope, awakes deep within Umbrella’s secret operations facility. The further she delves into the complex, the more of her mysterious past is unveiled. Her global hunt for those responsible for the outbreak leads to a mind-blowing revelation; Aided by friends old and new, Alice fights to escape from a world on the edge of oblivion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Review (from 2012): <\/strong>\u201c…what\u2019s with the S&M getup?\u201d \u2013 Michelle Rodriguez as Good Rain.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s probably the most pertinent (and insightful) question posed, though never answered, in the latest in the shockingly long-running Resident Evil<\/em> franchise entitled Resident Evil: Retribution<\/em><\/strong>, though I think the retribution part is geared more towards viewers than any villain or monster.<\/p>\n

Truth be told, I\u2019ve never been enamored with the Resident Evil<\/em> series, partly because I\u2019m not a fan of zombie movies outside of Dawn of the Dead<\/em> (old and new) and Shaun of the Dead<\/em>, plus I\u2019ve never played the video game so there\u2019s no connection on a source basis either. However, I did find the first movie relatively entertaining while the sequels were at least tolerable, if not forgettable. But with Retribution, writer\/director Paul W.S. Anderson tries a bit too hard to bring back some fan favorite characters and in the process the plot becomes convoluted and even slightly confusing.<\/p>\n

Outside of the plot, it just seemed like veteran franchise star Milla Jovovich looked like she was merely going through the motions. Yeah, she still looks good in the outfit and does a good job kicking ass (with props to her stunt double) yet you got the sense that she wasn\u2019t on her game. That being said, I can\u2019t fault her too much as she is going on 10 years with the character (and the variations) so with a potential sixth, and final, Resident Evil film in the works, she might be looking forward to moving on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The supporting cast is decent and while the explanation for the return of some of them is lame (clones), I suppose it\u2019s nice to see them back in any form. Michelle Rodriguez gets two parts, a good and bad, with the latter get the most work including a final fight sequence that shouldn\u2019t even have happened if our heroes weren\u2019t such dumb asses as she injects herself with the Las Plagas parasite giving her superhuman strength and invincibility (they had plenty of opportunity to shoot her before the injection). But Rodriguez, albeit in it for the paycheck, looked like was having a good time. Oded Fehr\u2019s return is minimal and mostly thankless and probably more as a favor to the producer and\/or director. And finally Boris Kodjoe is a breath of fresh air and I really wish he got a movie of his own.<\/p>\n

On the plus side, I did think some of the visual effects were good, especially given the budget, the monsters were creative (if not recycled) and the score by \u201ctomandandy\u201d was excellent, in particular the opening title sequence \u2018Flying Through the Air\u2019 is well worth the $0.99 to download on Amazon.com or iTunes. And, of course, Jovovich looks great but that\u2019s all superficial.<\/p>\n

However, minor positives aside, the plot is pretty lazy, the cast didn\u2019t look like they cared and it appears this franchise has run its course. It should be noted that Retribution<\/em><\/strong> does end on another cliffhanger and I only hope they once again open up the world more because this one felt closed in and felt like a video game with different challenge levels rather than a motion picture with a fluid three act structure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2020 UPDATE: <\/strong>Watching it again after 8 years, my feelings about this installment remains the same. Guess I found it easier to watch after revisiting the franchise but still think the plot was weak, even by the standards of the series, and while I know it\u2019s based on a video game, really wish the movie didn\u2019t feel<\/em> like one, even more so than the previous installments. Still like Jovovich in the role of Alice, in fact, and take this for what you will, is the strongest actor of the ensemble with Guillory turning in an especially awful performance (at least under the Umbrella Corp\u2019s influence). Easily this is the weakest entry.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3\u00be\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Released as part of the Resident Evil: Limited Edition Collection<\/em>, the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs are housed in a digipak packaging with cardboard on the front and back and plastic hubs inside.<\/p>\n

DISC ONE (4K ULTRA HD):
\n<\/strong>Undead Retribution (5:43)<\/u><\/strong> examines the special make-up effects.<\/p>\n

Evil Goes Global (5:39)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Shows off the global locales utilized in the film.<\/p>\n

Trailers (3:47):<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n