Resident Evil: Afterlife is the fourth installment in Paul W.S. Anderson’s (The Three Musketeers) Resident Evil film saga, and like the three that preceded it, focusses on the adventures of a young woman named Alice (Milla Jovovich, The Fifth Element) fighting to survive after a zombie apocalypse has ended the world as we know it, and carve out some form of vengeance against the corporation that started it all.
After taking the fight to the Umbrella Corporation (the company that allowed the deadly T-virus to be unleashed and turn all the but the select few into ravenous zombies) Alice’s plan for vengeance goes a little awry (undoing everything that has happened in the previous film, and allowing Afterlife to be easily followed by newcomers to the series), and she’s soon jetting off to Alaska (in search of a safe-heaven called Arcadia), before picking up an old friend, and darting down the West Coast of America to Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles Alice and Claire (the old friend she picked up in Alaska, who’s now an amnesiac played by Heroes’ Ali Larter) crash land a plane on top of a prison roof, with the only reason for doing so appearing to be alleviating their boredom; as it’s clear from the air that the handful of survivors inhabiting the prison aren’t in a perfect situation; as the prison is surrounded by what appears to be every zombie in L.A., and Alice and Claire have no means of helping the people whatsoever.
But whatever the reasoning, Alice and Claire end up stranded in the prison along with a group of survivors; consisting of a strong and brave ex-basketball player named Luther (Boris Kodjoe, Surrogates), an angry, stressed out, former movie producer named Bennett (Kim Coates, Sons of Anarchy), his intern, a couple of fairly insignificant others, and a mysterious man who claims to know a way out, but remains locked up in an extremely high security solitary cell (played by Prison Break’s Wentworth Miller).
The majority of the film then becomes a fairly basic siege movie with a similar premise to Dawn of the Dead (only lacking the tension and horror that made Dawn such a long-lasting success); as everyone inside the prison is thinking of getting out, ready to betray each other to ensure their survival, and lacking both food and ammunition, whilst viewers sit back and wait for the zombies to break in, and all hell to break loose, so they can see some horrible deaths, and cool action sequences.
And if there’s one area where Resident Evil: Afterlife succeeds it’s in the action sequences; because whilst the story might be fairly generic, not all that engaging, and bookended by two lengthy acts that aren’t really needed, spoil the tone and pace of the film, and drag the overall enjoyment down, the action is superbly directed, well choreographed, and looks impressively stylish and cool (even if it can be a little ridiculous at times).
Yet while the action sequences might look impressive, the standard Blu-ray release can’t compete with the wow-factor that Afterlife had on it’s cinematic run; simply because it’s not presented in 3D (however it can also be purchased on 3D Blu-ray), and looks a little flat and unfinished to anyone who saw it on its theatrical run (anyone who missed Afterlife at the cinema will simply think it’s looks amazing).
In terms of acting talent there’s not too much to talk of, as Milla Jovovich lives up to fan expectations once again and does her job as well as ever (which should be expected as it’s the fourth film in which she’s starred as the zombie-killing Alice); appearing strong, gruff, annoyed, and ever so slightly vulnerable when needs be; and Ali Larter’s Claire (now appearing more like the video-game character than ever) may not be the most charismatic person on-screen, but gives fans a point of reference from the games, and a pretty girl to ogle.
Wentworth Miller’s performance is nothing to shout about; as it’s largely forgettable, and makes it seem like Michael Scofield (the prison-allergic character he played in Prison Break) has simply been dropped right into Resident Evil’s zombie-infested world (even down to the fact that it’s him who’s locked up, and claims to know a way out of the prison); and while it’s always a joy to see Kim Coates, he’s not given enough room to shine, and fades into a fairly cliched character, but it’s Boris Kodjoe who stands out as the best newcomer by effortlessly slipping into his role as the tough and fun basketball star Luther.
Fans of the Resident Evil film series aren’t going to be disappointed by the latest installment; which gives them the same amount of action, killer zombies, and action/horror cliches they’re used to, whilst simultaneously doing more to appease the video-game fans than ever before (including adding in more characters from the games, new zombies, and taking not only elements and ideas but entire shot-for-shot fight sequences and including them in the movie), and allowing newcomers to enter the franchise with ease (as you need no knowledge of either the games or the previous films to enjoy Resident Evil: Afterlife).
The acting might not be quite Oscar worthy, the first and final act are both fairly pointless, the main villain may act like he’s come straight off a pantomime stage, and there’s clearly a great deal more emphasis on style than substance, yet it’s hard not to enjoy Resident Evil: Afterlife, because even though it’s main selling point is simply having pretty girls with big guns killing monsters (successful franchises have been built on much less), it’s a bit of fun that’s not to be taken too seriously, and delivers exactly what it promises.
Picture:
As you may expect with a modern movie filmed on some of the most modern cameras available to any director, Resident Evil’s Blu-ray transfer looks every bit as impressive as its action sequences; as it contains a fantastic level of fine detail, superb contrast and colour (including natural looking flesh-tones), and deep and inky blacks that serve a number of poorly lit interiors well.
In contrast to the blacks, white’s are suitably sharp, the transfer is practically noise free, only contains the most minimal banding and artifacing in certain shots, and has a great feeling of depth (likely to do with the fact that it was originally filmed in 3D) that ensures it’s a transfer that will please its fans, and not easily disappoint anyone who sees it.
Audio:
Even better than the superb picture quality is Resident Evil’s 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio mix; a mix with brilliant range, superb balance and prioritization, a never-ending stream of effects and ambience emanating from the rear channels, and some truly convincing atmospheric sounds that make it a fully immersive listen.
As with most movies of this type it’s during the action sequences when the best of the mix can be heard, and it’s the gunfire that provides the most pleasing elements of the track; entering the soundfield with superb placement, infinite clarity, and spot-on prioritization, and often exiting via a number of truly seamless directional effects; accompanied by weighty bass, and well leveled, always intelligible dialogue that never gets lost in the confusion; making Afterlife’s mix an undeniable success, and one that won’t disappoint.
Extras:
The Blu-ray edition of Resident Evil: Afterlife also comes loaded with a number of special features, including an audio commentary; which contains a fair amount of information, but is fairly flat, dull, and only for true fans of the series; a picture-in-picture commentary; which is better, fairly constant, easy to watch, and contains a number of cast interviews and storyboards; several deleted scenes; which were rightly removed and easily skippable; and some fairly dull outtakes.
As well as access to BD-Live, MovieIQ, a PS3 theme, and trailers for Faster, Salt, Ticking Clock, Takers, The Virginity Hit, and Resident Evil: Damnation (the C.G. Resident Evil movie which is unconnected to Anderson’s series), there’s also a number of featurettes; including an interesting one about filming in 3D (covering the challenges of the format, equipment, and designing shots simply for the fact they’ll look cooler in 3D), a really interesting one about how the film’s tie in with the games (which is interesting for not only gamers, but people who enjoyed the film, and shows how closely the filmmakers study the games and incorporate them into the movie), and others on the director, the cast, the stunt work, make-up, and the importance of storyboards; which vary in quality, and aren’t necessarily essential viewing, but not a bad watch by any stretch.
All in all the selection of extras isn’t that enthralling (despite appearing quite numerous), although there are some really interesting factoids and tidbits spread in and around the different featurettes and commentaries, making it a decent, but not overly impressive, collection that will appear to franchise fans, but do little to attract casual viewers.
The Bottom Line:
The zombies are back, Milla Jovovich is back, and the action’s the best (and at times the most ridiculous) it’s ever been; making Resident Evil: Afterlife another solid inclusion in the franchise that’s sure to please fans of the series, video-game enthusiasts (as whole sections and characters have been lifted straight out of RE5), and casual viewers who enjoy an easy to watch action flick with attractive women killing monsters.
Afterlife is made even easier to watch on Blu-ray thanks to the impressive video transfer, and extremely high quality and engrossing audio mix; which both elevate the disc higher than the fairly average selection of special features ever could.
If there’s one major fault with this release however, it’s not the film, video, audio, or the extras, but the fact that it lacks the stunning visuals experienced at the cinema; as 3D really is the only way to watch Resident Evil: Afterlife (the film with the best use of 3D since Avatar); and as such, those who can should purchase the 3D release (which appears deeper and often better than the theatrical showing), although everyone else will still get a fairly fun, mid-level, action movie that’s easy to watch, and a bit of fun. Resident Evil fans will love it, action fans will appreciate it, and most others will find something to enjoy (as long as they’re not expecting the next Pride and Prejudice).
