Resident Evil: Apocalypse Blu-ray offers decent video and great audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
After narrowly escaping the horrors of the underground Hive facility, Alice is quickly thrust back
into a war raging above ground between the living and the Undead. As the city is locked down
under quarantine, Alice joins a small band of elite soldiers, led by Valentine and Carlos,
enlisted to rescue the missing daughter of Dr. Ashford, the creator of the mutating T-virus. It's
a heart-pounding race against time as the group faces off against hordes of blood- thirsty
zombies, stealthy Lickers, mutant canines and the most sinister foe yet. Written and produced
by the visionary director of Resident Evil, Paul W. S. Anderson and directed by Alexander Witt,
Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a superior sci-fi suspense sequel.
We thought we had survived the horror, but we were wrong.
Bringing a good video-game based film to the screen sounds much easier than it apparently is. No
matter how popular, imaginative, and well-received a game may be, it seems like the movie
adaptation always manages to lose something in the transition from small to big screen, from bits
and pixels to flesh, blood, and celluloid. Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil represents
one of the few game-based movies that actually manages to exceed expectations. That's not to say
Resident Evil is a great movie; it's merely average, but within the confines of its genre and
looked at objectively from that angle and against its peers, it's clearly one of the very best of its
kind. Enter the obligatory sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse. "Loud," "flashy," and
"relentless" are all adjectives that precisely define its existence. While not a complete disaster of a
film, Apocalypse never does all that much outside of the explosions and shootouts that pack
most every frame of the movie.
If zombies eat people for breakfast, and Mila Jovovich eats zombies for breakfast, then it follows that
Mila Jovovich eats people for breakfast.
Government suits are rounding up some of the top scientists in and around Raccoon City and
evacuating them to a safe location. It seems there has been "an incident" and the city is on the
verge of quarantine. Dr. Ashford (Jared Harris) is the Umbrella Corporation's top scientist and
the developer of the "T-Virus," a mutagen that is turning the city's inhabitants into zombies. The
city is soon locked down with throngs of angry citizens pounding on the gates, threatened with
extinction at the hungry mouths of zombies on one side and trigger-happy guards high
atop the barricade that surrounds the city on the other. Trapped inside is Dr. Ashford's daughter,
Angie (Sophie Vavasseur). To save Angie, the doctor enlists the help of several people still in the
quarantined
zone, including Alice (Milla Jovovich, The Messenger),
sole survivor of the initial outbreak of the T-Virus deep within the bowels of the Umbrella
Corporation. She's joined by S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) operative Jill
Valentine (Sienna Guillory, Eragon), soldier
Carlos Oliveira (Oded Fehr), and television reporter Terri Morales (Sandrine Holt). If they can
rescue Angie, they've been promised escape from the city, but they have to survive a terrifying
and blood-drenched night of terror, first.
As a straight-up Action movie, Resident Evil: Apocalypse isn't half bad. A typical
run-and-gun adventure that pits a few folks against an army of enemies to mow down, the film
expertly crafts each action scene and, while none of them are particularly novel, eye-catching, or
even all that exciting, they are technically sound and absent of any glaring weaknesses.
Nevertheless, the picture falls in line with convention at every turn. Perhaps the most inane
scene in the film sees several humans trapped in a church, low on ammo and facing
some ugly beasties. Just as all hope seems lost, Alice bursts through an upper-level window on
her motorcycle, guns blazing, saving the day. Yawn. It looks good, but it's far from exciting and
devoid of even a shred of originality. As a
Zombie picture, however, Apocalypse is one of the lesser entries. Certainly not as
socially
biting and aware as George Romero's famed quintet or as slick as the Dawn of the Deadremake, for example,
Resident Evil: Apocalypse does at least attempt to build a back story around mutagens
and corrupt businesses and governments to frame the action, but it all feels terribly repetitive
and trite. With several scenes of "zombie gore," the film nevertheless offers nothing new, just
some "dead" munching on an arm or a
leg as they take a break while meandering through Raccoon City's streets.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse tries to rise even just a head above the competition,
but it never can find that last bit of oomph to push it over the top. Most every scene enjoys the
potential for a creepy, chilling atmosphere, but because the characters in the film lack all that
much depth, there's no sense of danger, no reason to really hope for anything other than a
monster to jump out of the shadows and enjoy a brainy desert. Resident Evil:
Apocalypse seems to want to make its audience think it's holding a straight when in reality it
shows its cards early on, revealing only a low-numbered pair. Those cards reveal the typical
onslaught of Action/Horror mayhem that features a deluge of bullets, several large explosions,
plenty of dead bodies, and a fair bit of gore. The one saving grace is the film's technical
wherewithal. Though not exactly an Oscar contender in any one behind-the-scenes category, the
film does offer passable direction from first-timer Alexander Witt and above average-production
values. The film makes rather good use of its budget; the well-dressed sets, sharp computer
graphics, and aggressive sound design all keep Resident Evil: Apocalypse from feeling like
it should have gone straight-to-home-video.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse comes to Blu-ray with an MPEG-2 encoded, 1080p,
2.40:1-framed transfer. While by no means a "bad," "ugly," or "unworthy" 1080p image,
Resident Evil: Apocalypse doesn't hold up by today's standards, the result an image
that's acceptable in most every scene but won't knock anybody's socks off. Perhaps the most
distracting element of the transfer is that blacks tend to appear far too bright, lending to darker
scenes a touch of gray that doesn't mesh well with the dark theme of the movie. It also tends to
lack in definition and clarity, particularly against some of the very best film-like transfer available
that revel in the finest of details both far and wide. Faces tend to look smooth and even a bit soft
in close-up shots, and oftentimes walls and other background objects, too, lack much in the way
of texture and detail. The image does sport a fair amount of depth. However, colors range from
strong to average; some of the bright outdoor shots found in the opening minutes of the film
feature several nice shades of green on the foliage and grass, but the urban Raccoon City shots
lack much in the way of punch and eye-popping colors. Resident Evil: Apocalypse doesn't
feature much visible film grain, though several darker scenes will swirl. All
in all, Resident Evil: Apocalypse doesn't look bad, but there are several factors that keep
it from entering into the upper echelon of high definition imagery.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse groans up a PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack for
consumption.
Though one of the format's earlier releases, Apocalypse holds up nicely. Robust,
powerful,
and making good use of the entire soundstage, there always seems to be something of note
pouring out of the speakers, for instance a hard-hitting explosion, a barrage of gunfire, rattling
bass, or a
discrete rear-channel sound effect. The track is incredibly bass-heavy; whether
explosions, a constant low rumble in one scene, or the Nemesis' heavy footsteps beating against
the
pavement, the subwoofer enjoys plenty of exercise throughout. A shootout in chapter five, in
addition
to copious amounts of bass, delivers gunfire that pours from every speaker as it thumps around
the
listening area and impacts zombie flesh, brick façades, and metal. Resident Evil:
Apocalypse, however, is another instance of "too much of a good thing is a bad thing," and
there are several occasions where the loud music and sound effects mesh together into one big
jumble of sound that lacks that crispness and definition that define the very best
lossless/uncompressed offerings. Still, it's a blast to listen to and the aggressive nature of the
soundtrack suits the film wonderfully. Also featuring solid dialogue reproduction, Resident
Evil:
Apocalypse holds up even today as a worthy soundtrack.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse explodes onto Blu-ray with a quality array of bonus features.
The
package
is
dominated by a trio of commentary tracks, the first billed as a "filmmaker" track with Director
Alexander Witt, Producer Jeremy Bolt, and Executive Producer Robert Kulzer. They begin by
discussing the film's flashback open and move on to speak about what attracted them to the
project,
shooting styles and techniques, the make-up of the cast, the film's connection to the game, and
plenty more. Track two features the film's trio of lead actors, Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, and
Sienna
Guillory. This track takes a different approach from the previous commentary, delivering a more
affable, accessible track that delivers a good mix of humor and stories from the set while
intertwining more pertinent, serious discussions about the traits that define the characters, stunt
work, training for the film, and more. The third track serves up Writer/Producer Paul W.S.
Anderson and, making his second appearance in three tracks, Producer Jeremy Bolt. Perhaps the
strongest track among the three, discussions include the process of making a good sequel that
creates its own identity (including a discussion on the evolution of
the Alien films), the film's horror and gore, translating game to screen and retaining not
only particular scenes but also the structure and feel of the game, and much more.
Game Over: 'Resident Evil' Re-Animated (480p, 49:42) is a six-part documentary that
takes viewers deep into the making of the picture. This piece focuses on the movie's connection
to the video games, building the nonstop action pieces, bringing the undead to life on the big
screen, set construction, the weapons found throughout the film, and the special effects. Also
included are three featurettes. Game Babes (480p, 11:05) examines the role of women
as lead characters in Action films and video games. Symphony of Evil (480p, 7:42) is a
montage of storyboards, pre-visualization sequences, and screen tests set to music.
Corporate Malfeasance (480p, 2:54) features cast and crew touching on the role of the
fictitious Umbrella Corporation in the games and the movie. Rounding out this package are 20
deleted scenes (480p, 11:57) and 1080p trailers for S.W.A.T., Stealth, and Underworld: Evolution.
At best a middle-of-the-road video game adaptation, Resident Evil: Apocalypse is light on
characterization; moderately atmospheric; and heavy on weapons, bullets, and explosions. The
result is an Action/Horror junky's dream-come-true. Perhaps the epitome of the loud and
over-the-top 90-minute Saturday afternoon time killer, Apocalypse does just enough to
keep the story moving in between its extensive action pieces to satiate slightly more demanding
audiences, while its integration of story lines and scenes from the game should satisfy the
franchise's longtime fan base. Not a film to treasure but certainly not one to completely dismiss,
Resident Evil: Apocalypse is not for all tastes, or for the squeamish, but it should please
most genre fans. Sony's Blu-ray release isn't half bad. Despite a rather unimpressive video
presentation, the disc sports a quality PCM soundtrack and a wealth of bonus materials.
Recommended for fans.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse: Other Editions
2-disc set Wal-Mart
Blu-ray bundles with Resident Evil: Apocalypse (4 bundles)
Amazon's Blu-ray Deal of the Week affects films from the Resident Evil series. The Resident Evil horror franchise examines an Earth under the thrall of the Umbrella Corporation, a multi-national pharmaceutical company that undertakes unethical - and dangerous ...
For a limited time, Amazon.com is offering Resident Evil: The High Definition Trilogy at 76% off its SRP. This three-disc set features three Resident Evil films - Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and Resident Evil: Extinction - which show how Alice (Milla ...
Amazon's current Blu-ray Boxed Set of the Week is for Resident Evil: The High Definition Trilogy (comprised of Resident Evil,Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Extinction), which can now be had for only $25.00 (58% off, or just over $8 per movie). The ...
