Capcom’s legendary zombie survivor horror video game spawned a successful movie franchise over the last 15 years with it latest sequel “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” currently in theaters.
Sony Pictures has now released director Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2010 film Resident Evil: Afterlife (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated R, 97 minutes, 2.40:1, $34.99) in the ultra high-definition format to tempt owners of the latest home theater technology.
The effort did not disappoint gamers during its initial release with both familiar characters and creatures infused in the action-packed story.
Specifically, the superpowered, genetically enhanced Alice (Milla Jovovich) attempts to destroy her makers at the evil Umbrella Corp. and its leader Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts) after they have unleashed a zombie plague on the world through the release of the T-Virus.
She eventually ends up in a post apocalyptic Los Angeles with a group of survivors and reunites with such “Resident Evil” game stalwarts as the amnesia-suffering Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and her brother Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller)
The group also gets attacked by former S.T.A.R.S. operator Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) and some legendary creatures — such as the Axeman (the Executioner in the “Resident Evil 5” game), hellhounds, Majini zombies and masses of the infected.
Despite its derivative narrative tapping way too much into films such as “The Matrix,” and its head-shaking brevity, it’s a fun movie for fans of the franchise.
However, I highly recommend investing in the latest video game of the series “Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” for a much more hearty and interactive experience.
4K UHD in action: The 2160p resolution shows off a slightly better level of clarity and color than the Blu-ray format but not enough to stand out.
Alice flying over an Alaska ice ridge in an antique plane offers one of the better examples of the 4K UHD image quality with a crisp look at the rocky environment and almost blinding white when focused on the snowy areas.
The HDR (high dynamic range) technology does often kick in to boost the action clarity with some stunning moments showing Alice on a deserted beachfront looking near lifelike, heroes in a water-soaked battle with the Axeman swinging his massive bloody weapon, and Alice using a shotgun that sprays quarters as its blast.
Best extras: Viewers get nothing on the 4K UHD disc and must rely on the Blu-ray in the package to appreciate extras culled from the previous release from 2010.
The best of the bunch, Undead Vision, offers a classic, picture-in-picture experience using a steady stream of pop-up boxes in the lower-right corner of the screen, too small for my tired peepers, even while watching with a a 65-inch television.
The mini-screen features interviews with cast and stars, location layouts, previsualization scene animations, technical drawings, behind-the-scenes effects footage, concept illustration and storyboards.
Despite my griping about the size, it’s a complete complementary package to the main event and worth watching the film over again.
Another reason to revisit the Blu-ray movie version is the included optional commentary track with Mr. Anderson, and producers Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer. Fans and film production lovers will most appreciate the trio’s detail explanations of the franchise’s video-game roots, the use of the Avatar system and cameras to shoot the film in native 3-D, plot points, casting, location design and stunt work.
Additionally, over an hour of featurettes are available with a few of the best focused on the zombie make-up and popularity of the “Resident Evil” games.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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