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Category:    Home > Reviews > Horror > Science Fiction > Action > Zombies > Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010/Screen Gems/Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010/Screen Gems/Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)



Picture: A-/B+ Sound: A-/B+ Extras: B Film: C+



As a dedicated fan of Sci-Fi and Horror, I am immediately drawn to any film that involves zombies, and while there are many bad ones, I also have my guilty pleasures. The Paul W.S. Anderson Resident Evil movies fall under my list of guilty pleasures, as they are mindless fun entertainment that's pure escapism. For those late to the party, the film series is based on the popular video game series from Capcom but doesn't bare too much similarity.


This fourth installment Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) lands on 4K Ultra HD looking more stunning than ever and definitely worth a rewatch in the wake of the upcoming and final installment, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017), about to hit theaters. Afterlife is a huge improvement over Extinction (2007), which I felt wanted to be a Mad Max film way too bad and the dreadful second installment, Apocalypse (2004) that was just downright silly. For what it is, I still think the first film, simply titled Resident Evil (2002), is the best of the bunch with Retribution (2012) being my second favorite.


Obviously inspired by The Matrix Trilogy, Afterlife pits Alice (the stunning and underrated Milla Jovovich) in the future where the world where Zombies have risen thanks to the deadly T-Virus which was created by the sinister (and corporate) Umbrella Corporation. After attacking an underground Umbrella base with an army of clones of herself, Alice heads to a safe place in LA where she meets new survivors, but soon finds (of course) more zombies and more elaborate traps set for her by Umbrella. Luckily, she has seemingly infinite ammo, clones of herself, and the ability to avoid massive gunfire in rooms full of live ammunition. The film also stars Ali Larter (who I feel is underused in Hollywood), and (still?) lesser-known actors Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, and Spencer Locke.


Sony pulls all the stops with the presentation here as the film looks and sounds better than ever on 4K Ultra HD disc, even versus several previous versions. The 2160p 4K transfer has a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and is immediately impressive with the film's opening titles sequence, which features beautiful photography of a Japanese Woman standing in rain. Detail down to the last thread on clothing is more than apparent and the sound mix sounds fantastic as well with a Dolby Atmos 11.1 track (in addition to a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) core mix) that doesn't disappoint and even outdoes the sound on the 2D and 3D Blu-rays from before.


The regular Blu-ray transfer isn't quite as stunning, but still strong for the format, presenting the film in 1080p with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix as its main offering. This is the safe release of the film on Blu-ray disc as before, so don't expect too much difference except a improved upon sound mix. The transfer itself is pretty comparable to the former release. The score for Afterlife is also worth noting, as its the best of the series by composers TomandAndy (The Mothman Prophecies) and sounds great in surround. Overall, the film looks great on both discs. Other films in the series are available from Sony in this format as well.


Also included is a Ultraviolet copy of the film for your portable devices.



Special Features...


Undead Vision: Picture-in-Picture


Audio Commentary


Deleted & Extended Scenes


Outtakes


Seven Featurettes



While pretty brainless in terms of story, Resident Evil: Afterlife is popcorn munching entertainment that will please gore fans and those of the video game series. If nothing else, the presentation here is something every movie fan can agree on being impressive.



While we wait for the rest of the series in 4K upgrades, you may want to read about the Blu-ray 3D release of the film and see why Sony picked this as an early 4K Ultra HD release, so try this link...


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10826/Resident+Evil:+Afterlife+3-D+(Sony+Blu-ray+3D



- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/


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