- Actors: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Spencer Locke, Wentworth Miller, Shawn Roberts
- Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
- Producers: Paul W.S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Robert Kulzer, Don Carmody, Bernd Eichinger
- Film Format: Dubbed, Subtitled, 4K
- Language: English
- Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Hindi, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Swedish, Polish, Estonian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Hungarian, Slovene, Mandarin Chinese, Icelandic, Romanian, English, Spanish, Danish, Lithuanian
- Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Czech, Russian, Italian, Hungarian, Catalan, Spanish
- Audio Description: English
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Rated: R
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Release Date: January 17, 2017
- Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019
- Run Time: 97 minutes
It may seem an
odd choice to release the fourth film in the Resident Evil franchise on 4K Ultra HD before the first three, but
it makes sense with knowledge of the production. First of all, Resident Evil: Afterlife marked Paul
W.S. Anderson’s return to the franchise for the first time since the original
film, despite retaining a writing credit on each of the films. That matter
because of how visual Anderson
is as a director, which was only enhanced for this release as he also made the
choice to shoot the film in 3D. This is different than a post-production 3D
conversion, and the difference is noticeable, even in 2D. All of this makes for
a remarkably visual film, perfect for 4K presentation.
Afterlife picks up where the previous
film (Resident Evil: Extinction) left
off, with Alice (Milla Jovovich) still fighting the Umbrella Corporation as
Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and K-Mart (Spencer Locke) make their way to Alaska towards rumors of
refuge from the zombie apocalypse. After a highly impressive action sequence as
Alice takes
down a major Umbrella Corporation fortress hidden underground, the film returns
to a simple survival narrative. Alice
reunites with Jill, who is unable to remember what happened to her or where
K-Mart is, and the two of them take refuge in an abandoned prison that is
inhabited by a group of survivors.
Anderson seems to be making a subtle
statement with his choice of characters in the prison. On one hand, he
continues the narrative established by the video games by including Jill’s
brother, Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller) among the survivors. On the other
hand, Anderson
makes the most villainous and selfish of the inhabitants a movie producer
(played by Kim Coates). Could this be a commentary on Anderson’s experience with film executives?
Or is this merely because this section of the film takes place in Los Angeles?
Even worse than
the self-serving movie producer is the franchise’s real villain, a rejuvenating
and supernatural adversary known as Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts), who Alice
must face off against two separate times in this film. Though this film takes
the narrative back to zombie-narrative basics for a large portion of the
runtime, it is book-ended by sequences of sophisticated science fiction
technology and action elements taking precedence over horror. Fans of the video
game series may also appreciate how faithful the film attempts to remain, from
plot points to costume choices, but you don’t need to be a gamer to enjoy the pure
spectacle of Anderson’s
stylistic approach.
I would never
call Resident Evil: Afterlife a great
film. It may not even be a good film, but it is a wholly enjoyable one. There
are few film more visually polished, making this the perfect choice for a 4K
Ultra HD upgrade. Nearly every scene in the film features some type of visual
spectacle, gorgeously shot and crammed with non-stop action. Even if much of
the film is on the darker side, there are sequences with color that pop like
never before, and the audio is just as impressive as the visuals. This is also
a film of contrasts, with some of the set pieces being completely white while
others are in the dark of night, and they each look equally impressive in this
presentation.
Though the 4K
presentation is new, there are no other additions to this release that haven’t
previously been made available. Even the Blu-ray copy included is just an old
disc from the original Blu-ray release, which is made obvious by the outdated
movie trailers included on the disc. The Blu-ray is also where the special
features are included, meaning that they are exactly the same as have been
previously released, including a commentary track with Anderson and a couple
producers, a picture-in-picture feature with pre-production materials and cast
interviews, and 7 making-of featurettes. The 4K release also comes with a
Digital HD copy of the film.
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 5.5/10
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