Resident Evil: Afterlife (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
December 20, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
The fourth “Resident Evil” film features more action and the latest visual effects and even incorporates some of the horror elements from the video game series to this latest film. But there is a disjointedness with the actual screenplay and lack of character development. But then again, the “Resident Evil” films are all about pure action and when it comes to action, “Resident Evil: Afterlife” is non-stop action that looks great and sounds great on Blu-ray!
© 2010 Constantin Film International GmbH and Davis Films/Impact Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Resident Evil: Afterlife
FILM RELEASE DATE: 2010
DURATION: 96 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), English, French, Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Audio Description Track Dolby Surround, Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: R (For Sequences of Strong Violence and Language)
Release Date: December 28, 2010
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Written by Paul W.S. Anderson
Producer: Paul W.S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Don Carmody, Bernd Eichinger, Samuel Hadida, Robert Kulzer
Executive Producer: Victor Hadida, Martin Moszkowicz
Associate Producer: Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Music by tomandandy
Cinematography by Glen MacPherson
Edited by Niven Howie
Casting by Robin D. Cook, Suzanne Smith
Production Design by Arvinder Grewal
Art Direction by Brandt Gordon
Set Decoration by Carolyn “Cal” Loucks
Costume Design by Denise Cronenberg, Azalia Snail
Starring:
Milla Jovovich as Alice Abernathy
Ali Larter as Claire Redfield
Kim Coates as Bennett
Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker
Sergio Peris-Mencheta as Angel Ortiz
Spencer Locke as K-Mart
Boris Kodjoe as Luther West
Wentworth Miler as Chris Redfield
Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine
Kacey Barnfield as Crystal
Norman Yeung as Kim Yong
Fulvio Cecere as Wendell
The fourth installment of the hugely successful RESIDENT EVIL franchise, RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE is again based on the wildly popular video game series, and will this time be presented in 3-D. In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, ALICE (Milla Jovovich), continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead – and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.
Back Under The Umbrella: Directing Afterlife – Success Story
Band of Survivors: Casting Afterlife – Chris Redfield
Band of Survivors: Casting Afterlife – Two Fierce Females
The “Biohazard”/”Resident Evil” video games have been quite popular since 1996 and there seems to be no stopping this juggernaut franchise to end anytime soon. That goes the same with its live action film series which is loosely-based on the video games.
And no matter how film critics respond, the audience still turn out for the films and with the fourth film titled “Resident Evil: Afterlife” which was shown in theaters in 3D and normally, one again the film continues to show that fans and audiences still love the action-driven series. And to make sure there is a connection between the films, producer/writer Paul W.S. Anderson (“Death Race” films, AVP: Alien vs. Predator”) returns as director. Glen MacPherson (“Rambo”, The Final Destination”, “Romeo Must Die”) is director of photography and music is by tomandandy (“Natural Born Killers”, “The Mothman Prophecies”, “The Rules of Attraction”).
“Resident Evil: Afterlife” was budgeted at $60 million and made over $294 million worldwide, it’s largest box office draw thus far. And now, the fourth film is being released on Blu-ray (normal Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray) and DVD just in time before the New Year.
To sum up the story of the live action films, the first “Resident Evil” film revolved around an Umbrella Corporation security officer named Alice (played by Mila Jovovich). The corporation which operates deep beneath the town of Raccoon City had an accident when a thief drops a blue vial in the lab and immediately, the facility’s AI known as “The Red Queen” detects a possible infection and seals the facility and attempts to kill everyone inside. In the first film we learn that anyone who comes in contact with the “T-Virus” begins to mutate into a zombie and if they bite into anyone, that person will be infected.
In the first film, Alice and other security officers try to survive the facility while finding out who stole the vials of the T-Virus and hoping to find an antidote. By the end of the film, Alice wakes up in a medical room obviously been operated or experimented on and when she comes out of the facility, she sees Raccoon City literally in disarray and sees a newspaper article that the virus has made it to the public.
In the second film titled “Resident Evil: Apocalypse”, the film continues with Alice leaving the facility and seeing Raccoon City in bad shape. She has learned that she has been infected with the T-Virus but unlike those who mutate to zombies, she has apparently been given special abilities that enhancer her fighting and intuition as well as healing.
Many people are trying to escape the city but when the T-Virus starts to rapidly infect more and more people, the Umbrella Corporation seals entry out of the city and plans to kill everyone (no matter if they are not infected) in order to prevent the T-Virus from getting out of the city.
Alice joins Jill Valentine, Carlos Olivera and L.J. are trying to find their way out of Raccoon City which has been locked down and is planning to be nuked in order to kill those who have been turned into zombies by the T-virus. By the end of the film, Alice and friends managed to escape but crash into the mountains. Alice is taken and once again experimented on by Dr. Isaacs who wants to learn why Alice’s blood has bonded with the T-Virus and she has not mutated like others. She manages to escape and Dr. Isaacs allows her to escape because they now have found a way to turn her on and off but also using computers to track her and see what she is seeing.
This leads to the third film titled “Resident Evil: Extinction”. The virus has now rapidly taken over many parts of the world as nearly everyone has become infected. Only a few continue to survive and Carlos and L.J. are part of a group led by Claire Redfield (played by Ali Larter) who travel with other survivors and are constantly on the move trying to find more survivors and visit areas to stock on supplies and gas.
The world has changed and everything has been barren and US cities have literally become a desert.
As for Alice, she has been traveling alone and has separated herself from Carlos and L.J. because she knows Umbrella is tracking her and doesn’t want to expose her friends.
But when Claire’s group becomes attacked by crows (who have been feeding on the flesh of infected humans and have become infected themselves), out of nowhere, Alice comes to save them and apparently has developed supernatural abilities to control fire and other elements. Alice reunites with Carlos and L.J. and she tells them about frequencies that are telling people to go to Alaska where there the infection has not made it up there and there is plenty of food and supplies. The group now knows they must go to Alaska but in order to do that, they need to get gas because all of their vehicles are low in gas.
But hidden right below the desert is another Umbrella Corporation headquarters where Dr. Isaacs has been experimenting on the zombies and seeing if he can make them conscious about humans and to have them follow instructions, so an unknown entity can create a massive army of those infected by the virus. We also learn that Dr. Isaacs has created many clones of Alice but each of them have not had the same special abilities as her and thus near the headquarters is a pit of dead Alice clones.
By the end of the film, with many lives lost, Alice manages to give Claire and a few others a helicopter to escape to the safe haven known as “Arcadia” in Alaska while she goes underground to kill Dr. Isaacs (who has mutated himself to become a killing machine). And at the end, we see Alice releasing all of her clones in order to fight the Umbrella Corporation.
“Resident Evil: Afterlife”, the fourth film continues with Alice and her clones now trying to take down the Umbrella Headquarters in Japan and to kill the chairman of the Umbrella Corporation, Albert Wesker (played by Shawn Roberts). Similar to Alice, he possesses superhuman abilities and during their fight, he injects a serum that neutralizes Alice’s T-virus and will once again make her human and eliminating her superhuman abilities. But right before Wesker is about to kill Alice, the two get into an accident and Alice manages to escape.
Six months later, Alice has been eager to find “Arcadia” in Alaska and find Claire and other survivors to find this safe haven. But she discovers, there is no “Arcadia”. But she hears noise rustling in the background and she finds Claire who is no longer the same Claire that she had known. Alice manages to beat her but also finds that there is some metallic spider-like device on her. She removes it and Claire turns to normal but has lost her memory.
Alice and Claire then take off to Los Angeles in hopes to find other survivors but they find legions of zombies trying to get into a prison facility and they manage to spot some survivors which include Luther West (played by Boris Kodjoe), a former professional basketball player; Bennett (played by Kim Coates), a producer that everyone dislikes; Crystal (played by Kacey Barnfield), an aspiring actress; Kim Yong (played by Norman Yeung), an intern for Bennet and Angel Ortiz (played by Sergio Peris-Mencheta) as a former military operations officer and a few other survivors. The survivors are hoping that they can get to Arcadia and when Alice tells him that there is no survivors in Alaska, Luther tells her that the Arcadia they are looking for is not in Alaska, it’s a boat that is in the ocean.
Also inside the prison is a man locked up in a special holding cell named Chris Redfield (played by Wentworth Miller), no one knows if he is a safe individual but he tells Alice that he knows the way out of the prison. Chris also happens to be the brother of Claire, but with her memory gone, she doesn’t recognize or trust him.
Meanwhile, as Alice and the others try to plan their escape, a hulking tall man with a huge axe and wearing bag over his face known as the Executioner (same character from the “Resident Evil 5″ video game) is trying to break through the gates of the prison and also, zombies have also been trying to dig underground to get inside the facility.
With thousands and thousands of zombies trying to bust into the prison facility, Alice and her new friends must find a way to escape and make it to Arcadia.
VIDEO:
“Resident Evil: Afterlife” looks absolutely great on Blu-ray. Featured in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), the film utilizes James Cameron’s Fusion Camera System (Sony F35 3D cameras). The film features awesome contrast, remarkable detail and makes the blacks more blacker.
For visual effects and presentation, “Resident Evil: Afterlife” looks much better than its previous counterparts. But there are some special effects, from the Matrix effect to other effects that some people may feel are a bit too overly used in the film but it’s all subjective. Personally, I found the visual aspect of the film and its creepy to non-creepy segments and overall visual effects pretty awesome and definitely shows the direness of how f’d up the world has been with the T-virus and to be truthful, I’m surprised the managed to keep the film despite all its visual effects under $60 million.
The scene featuring Anna and Claire taking on the Executioner was pretty awesome. In many ways, by watching this fourth film, it appears that Paul W.S. Anderson may have wanted to include a lot of the video game elements, especially the horrific characters to this film. In fact, the Umbrella Japanese soldiers looked as if they were inspired by the anime series “Jin-Roh”. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the overall look of the film especially how they improved the look of the horrific characters and the detail they put into those characters. From the things coming out of the zombie’s mouth or the splitting of the rottweilers, everything looked very good for this film and even moreso on Blu-ray.
It’s important to note that because the film was created in 3D, if you have a 3D-enabled Blu-ray player and TV, you may want to check out the 3D Blu-ray release of “Resident Evil: Afterlife”.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
When it comes to the “Resident Evil” series, I felt that “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” was awesome on how it utilized sound especially during the surround channels. With “Resident Evil: Extinction”, I felt it was not utilized enough but with “Resident Evil: Afterlife”, fortunately things sound great again via lossless.
All I can say is that if you enjoyed the action-paced style of “Apocalypse”, you’re going to enjoy “Afterlife” as this film is full of action-sequences that just keeps going and going and literally, this is a lossless soundtrack that really does take advantage of an immersive soundspace.
“Resident Evil: Afterlife” is presented in English and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and also an English-Audio Description Track in Dolby Surround.
You can expect bullets whizzing, hitting and flying everywhere through your surround channels, explosions and booms, sword cutting and a nice touch of LFE and it’s continuous. There is so much action in this film that it’s literally designed for the audiophile in mind.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Resident Evil: Afterlife” features special features in High Definition and in English Stereo plus English, Spanish and Portuguese Subtitles. Special features include:
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- movieIQ™+sync and BD-Live connect you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie! – If your Blu-ray player is connected to the Internet, you can get information on the cast, music and trivia for the film.
- Undead Vision: Picture-in-Picture – While watching the film, a picture-in-picture box shows us the making of the film with interviews with the director and cast of the film plus pre-rendered CG and schematics and concept art for the film.
- Filmmaker Commentary – Audio commentary with writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson, producer Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer.
- Deleted & Extended Scenes – Featuring a total of eight deleted and extended scenes.
- Outtakes – (4:29) Featuring bloopers and outtakes from the film.
- Back Under the Umbrella: Directing Afterlife – (6:43) Director Paul W.S. Anderson talks about directing “Resident Evil: Afterlife” and how he was a big fan of the video games and incorporating his love for the video games to the live action adaptation of the film.
- Band of Survivors: Casting Afterlife – (6:39) Director Paul W.S. Anderson talks about the casting of the fim and the cast talk about why they enjoy making the film.
- Undead Dimension: Resident Evil in 3D – (7:37) Director Paul W.S. Anderon talks about making the film in 3D and utilizing James Cameron’s Fusion Camera System (Sony F35 3D cameras) that were used in “Avatar”.
- Fighting Back: The Action of Afterlife – (5:30) Mila Jovovich, Ali Larter and others cast members talk about the action utilized for this film and how it is unlike the previous films in look and what it took to make the action sequences look awesome.
- Vision of the Apocalypse: The Design of Afterlife – (7:28) A featurette on the look and feel of “Resident Evil: Afterlife”. From production design to capturing the various production landscapes (Alaska, Los Angeles and Umbrella Corporation) and giving these locations their own look.
- New Blood: The Undead of Afterlife – (7:31) How the undead zombies in this latest “Resident Evil” are much faster and more dangerous than before. And the make up and prosthetics used for the film.
- Pwning the Undead: Gamers of the Afterlife – (6:10) Director Paul W.S. Anderson talks about capturing the feel from the videogames and incorporating it into the film.
- Sneak Peek of Resident Evil Domination – (1:10) A sneak peek of the latest CG “Resident Evil” film.
When it comes to “Resident Evil”, I’m a hardcore fan of the video game series. Owning nearly ever game that has been released since 1996 but when it came to the first film, I wasn’t digging it at all. I disliked how much of a departure the film was to the video games. Granted, things always have to change between video game and movie adaptations but the problem was its screenplay.
But then came “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” and I really enjoyed the film and how it had elements of “Resident Evil 2″ (video game) incorporated to the film. But for some reason, “Resident Evil: Extinction” felt like it was a step back. Now here we are with “Resident Evil: Afterlife” and it’s sort of a mix bag.
First, let’s talk about what I enjoyed. I enjoyed how the film incorporated the Japanese tie-in with “Biohazard”, the utilization of Wesker and the “Resident Evil 5″ Executioner and other horrific RE monster-like beings into this latest film. It was action-packed, the visual effects were very cool and for a popcorn action-flick, the action didn’t stop. It kept going and going and really never ceased.
And I have to admit, on Blu-ray…”Resident Evil: Afterlife” truly shines via 1080p and lossless audio. Definitely enjoyed the utilization of Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) even more and also finally we get Chris Redfield.
Now, what didn’t I like about the film? I didn’t like how the screenplay would have these certain deviation from the overall plot. In the beginning, we see Alice given a shot of a serum that neutralizes her special abilities, but yet she still manages to fight have tremendous stamina and fighting skills that seemed more beyond her security officer status.
The other thing is what happened to the other Claire’s? Granted, we see a few blow up in Japan but as we saw at the end of “Resident Evil: Extinction”, there are plenty of Claire’s still around. Also, how did Alice choose to go from Alaska to Los Angeles, especially when the third film talked about how there wasn’t much fuel in the planet. Let alone an older plane that would get to Alaska and then to Los Angeles. Granted, I know I was over-analyzing but still there were a lot of loose ends.
We are still unaware of what those metallic spiders and what they were used for. We are unaware if there are Wesker clones. Also, I wish there was a little bit more character development between the Redfields. Granted, the focus was to go more action like the second film where character development plays a smaller part than the action sequences (which people, including myself, enjoyed about the second film), so I just felt that we are left out of the loop on various parts of the film.
And as for those wonder where the appearance was for Jill Valentine’s return? If you didn’t stay until the end of the credits, you may have missed her appearance and the whole entire sequence at the end of the film (which I’m sure many moviegoers missed) that takes place a minute or two after the credits start showing. Let’s just say that “Resident Evil 5″ video game fans will know what happens to Jill’s character.
But still, “Resident Evil: Afterlife” is one of those films that one doesn’t watch for relationships or character development-driven scenes. I’m more driven to films that do flesh out the various characters but I suppose, for others..it’s all about the action. Similar to the videogame, due you watch the long cut scenes or skip them to continue with the gameplay? I’m for the former but I do know many who are of the latter.
I do wonder if the fifth film will continue the odd (character driven storylines) versus the even numbered (action-driven) films? Will we get more explanations of what the heck is going on for the fifth film? I guess we will find out and a fifth film is most definitely going to be in the works considering “Afterlife” performed quite well in the box office.
Overall, I did enjoy “Resident Evil: Afterlife”, not as much as “Armageddon” but much more than the first and third films. The visual effects of this latest film definitely was the highlight of this latest “Resident Evil” film and it definitely makes for an awesome looking and sounding film on Blu-ray. Once again, if you own a 3D Blu-ray enabled TV and player, you may want to get the 3D Blu-ray version since the film was originally created in 3D.
If you enjoyed this film in theaters and have been a dedicated follower of the “Resident Evil” film trilogy, you’ll definitely enjoy this fourth film on Blu-ray!
Lost Planet 2 Gets a New Look With GameStop Pre-order Bonus
November 17, 2009 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
Capcom announced today that Lost Planet 2, the highly-anticipated sequel to Lost Planet, just got more awesome. Fans that pre-order Lost Planet 2 at GameStop locations in North America will be able to unlock Resident Evil’s most famous character, Albert Wesker, as an exclusive playable skin when they play Lost Planet 2. Also, players who take advantage of the pre-order bonus will get their hands on some additional firepower via a revolver added to their arsenal of weapons. A nimble yet extremely powerful firearm, the revolver will help players hone their “one shot kill” skills. Lost Planet 2 comes out this winter for XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3.
To play as Wesker, you can pre-order now at: http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=75038
About Lost Planet 2:
Lost Planet 2 picks up over a decade since the events of the original adventure and the landscape has evolved dramatically. With the success of terraforming activities, the planet’s ice has begun to melt, giving way to lush tropical jungles and other new environments. The story has advanced beyond Wayne Holden as players will now follow the exploits of their own customized snow pirates on their quest to seize control of E.D.N III.
Players will move their heroes through different stories as they battle massive enemy Akid in vast environments, creating a truly unique and interactive experience. With this concept, gamers will have the opportunity to engage in the story in a more dynamic way as plot threads evolve from various perspectives.
CAPCOM ANNOUNCES SHIP DATE FOR RESIDENT EVIL: THE DARKSIDE CHRONICLES
August 25, 2009 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
Today Capcom announced that Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles would be available exclusively for Nintendo Wii, November 17, 2009 for $49.99 in North America. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles features an intense horror experience with arcade style zombie shooting gameplay that one or two players can enjoy simultaneously.
A few weeks ago, we gave you a heads up on the limited edition “Let Your Darkside Out” T-shirt, which transforms you into a zombie when lifted over your head, available at Comic-Con. For anyone who wasn’t at Comic-Con that wants to get the shirt – which doubles as a Halloween costume – there are a few ways you can get one.
How to get a Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles zombie T-shirt:
Pre-order the game now at GameStop and get the T-shirt for free! http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=74658
Win one! Check out select websites including G4, USA Today Game Hunters, CrunchGear, AOL GameDaily, Escapist, Destructiod, Ars Technica and others for your chance to win.
Buy the shirt on the Capcom Store for $24.95 (S – XXL available) here: http://shop.capcom.com/store/capcomus/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/productID.155623300
With the game’s launch less than three months away, there are many sources for more information and artwork for the game, including a fresh trailer now available on the Capcom press center at http://press.capcom.com/. In addition, check out the official game website, Leon and Claire on Twitter, and the Resident Evil Nostalgia Diaries online.
The first phase of the official website has launched at www.residentevil.com/darkside. There, players get a small taste of the Resident Evil 2 section of the gameplay experience on the web, as well as information, videos and other downloads.
The game will be available on November 17th, but right now Leon and Claire are living the experience and tweeting to the public. Follow them to get some insight on the game and storyline, as well as a chance to win some free Darkside Chronicles goodies.
Follow Leon and Claire on Twitter:
Leon : http://twitter.com/leon_darkside
Claire: http://twitter.com/claire_darkside
And be sure to check out the latest chapter of the Resident Evil Nostalgia Diaries to take a look back at Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code Veronica, two games that have been meticulously recreated in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.
http://www.capcom-unity.com/mikeeb13/blog/2009/08/25/resident_evil_2_the_nostalgia_diaries_ch_3
FanimeCon 2009 Announces Voice Actors and Motion Capture Experts of Albert Wesker, Jill Valentine, & Chris Redfield as Guests of Honor
May 14, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
San Jose, CA (May 14, 2009) – FanimeCon, Northern California’s largest anime convention, is proud to announce Reuben Langdon, Paticia Lee, and Ken Lally as Guests of Honor for this year’s FanimeCon 2009.
Well seasoned actor Reuben Langdon (motion capture for Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5) will be joined at FanimeCon 2009 by Patricia Lee (voice and motion capture for Jill Valentine in Resident Evil 5) and Ken Lally (motion capture for Albert Wesker in Resident Evil 5).
They will be interacting with fans during the entire weekend of FanimeCon including an autograph signing, Q&A, and many more events.
Reuben Langdon has worked across a multitude of platforms, ranging from film and television to interactive video games and even live action films. He’s known for his works in TV and movies such as B-Fighter Kabuto (Beetleborg Metallix in the US), Jackie Chan: My Stunts, and The Medallion. His working gaming includes such hits as Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Devil May Cry 3 & 4, as well as Street Fighter IV. For more information on Reuben Langdon, please visit his website at http://www.reubenlangdon.com
Patricia Lee is no stranger to film and video games as she has worked in numerous projects (besides the previously mentioned Resident Evil 5) which include Lucky Star (as Patricia Martin), Aakira (as Pee Jay Lee), Cowboy Bebop (as Meifa Puzi), and her most famous role as Cassie Chan, the Pink Ranger, in several Power Ranger series (Lost Galaxy, In Space, and Turbo).
Ken Lally is a born stunt actor, learning firearms and close quarter combat at the age of 13 and acting at age 19. At age 24, he started doing work on several TV shows and films, which includes The Mission Impossible 2 Theme Song (as the lead agent in the glasses, carring the case), General Hospital (as Greg), Star Trek: Enterprise (as Lt. Taylor), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (as Beckett’s Bodyguard, an uncredited role), and most recently Heroes (as The German).
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About FanimeCon – FanimeCon is Northern California’s largest matsuri (“celebration”) of anime, manga, and related arts and cultures. Held annually over Memorial Day Weekend in Downtown San Jose, 15,000 people joined the fun in 2008. FanimeCon is “By fans, For fans” and is run entirely by volunteers who love putting together a weekend full of activities and events that feature anime, manga, cosplay, music, video/tabletop gaming, guests from around the world and much, much more! FanimeCon 2009 will be held from May 22nd – 25th in Downtown San Jose. To find out what’s in store and learn more, please visit: http://www.fanime.com
resident evil: DEGENERATION (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
December 21, 2008 by Dennis Amith · 1 Comment
“For fans of the video games, ‘resident evil: DEGENERATION” is going to satisfy fans as we see ‘Resident Evil 2′ characters Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield reunited once again to take on more zombies and an evil monster. Total Resident Evil fan service for those that are passionate about the video game series!”
(C) Images courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
TITLE: resident evil: DEGENERATION
DURATION: 96 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: NTSC, Region 1, 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English, Portugese 5.1 (Dolby Digital), Thai, French, Spanish (Dolby Surround)
COMPANY: CAPCOM/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: R (Restricted for Bloody Violence)
Directed by
Screenplay by
Produced by ,
Music by Tetsuya Takahashi
CG Producer: Yusaku Toyoshima
CG Director: Atsushi Doi
CG Production: Digital Frontier
Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka
Sound Design: Koji Kasamatsu
Executive Producer: Haruhiro Tsujimoto
Production Designs by Joseph Hodges, Henri Du Rand
Director of Photography – Rodney Charters, ASC CSC,
Starring:
Alyson Court
Paul Mercier
Laura Bailey
Michael Sorich
The Resident Evil series has become one of the top selling titles for video game company CAPCOM. Known in Japan as “Biohazard”, the series has sold over 34 million games and among the series, one of the most popular titles was the 1996 Sony Playstation game “Resident Evil 2″ which introduced us to the characters of Raccoon City rookie police officer Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield (sister of “Resident Evil 1″ hero Chris Redfield).
The two were popular characters that fans enjoyed and in 2005, “Resident Evil 4″ featuring Leon Kennedy became a huge hit earning “Game of the Year” by various publications.
With the popularity of the character of Leon Kennedy, how fitting was it when CAPCOM announced the reuniting of both Leon and Claire. As a fan of the video game series, I was definitely excited and couldn’t wait to see the film.
“resident evil: DEGENERATION” takes place seven years after “Resident Evil 2″. The film starts off with a man on a flight to Harvardville and he happens to be infected with the T-virus (this virus turns a human to a zombie and can spread the virus by biting on a human/animal. The only way they can be killed is a bullet to the brain), meanwhile at Harvardville Airport, we see Claire Redfield.
Claire now works for Terrasave, a search and rescue organization at chemical and biological attacks and meeting up with a friend and her niece. Of course, all hell breaks lose in the airport after someone infected with the T-virus starts chomping on people and next thing you know, the airport becomes full of zombies. Next thing you know, the plane carrying the infected person with the T-virus crashes into the airport and zombies start coming out of the damaged plane.
Claire, Rani, a woman and Senator Ron Davis have barricaded in the airport but need help quickly. Because the Senator is involved, the government sends in Leon Kennedy, who has experience taking on the zombies plus the help with two individuals from the Special Response Team. The search and rescue begins.
After the first arc of the film featuring the search and rescue, the focus then goes to WilPharma, an agency that is creating an vaccine for the T-virus but it appears the terrorist have blown up the WilPharma trucks carrying the antidotes. It is revealed that the terrorists are pretty much individuals who are trying to get people to recognize what happened at Raccoon City (since the government pretty much has covered up the zombie infestation due to the Umbrella Corp. and the T-virus).
Claire recalls seeing one of the terrorist at the airport, a man named Curtis Miller. And then you find out that Angela Miller, one of the members of the Special Response Team that accompanied Leon is the sister of Curtis.
Because of the damaged trucks with the vaccine, WilPharma director Frederic Downing needs to go back to HQ and retrieve the vaccine. Meanwhile, both Leon and Angela go to the home of Curtis to find him but find his home burned down.
You realize that Curtis is a terrorist because his family in Raccoon City was killed and he can not let the government continue to hide what happened to the city and thus, to prove to people of what happened, infects himself with the G-virus (which was featured in video game “Resident Evil 3″, a monster that is nothing like a zombie but a hideous and very powerful).
Thus the second arc of the film features Leon, Angela and Claire trying to stop the monster.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
Picture quality is pretty good. The film is entirely in CG and was created in Maya. The CG was well done but not as fluid as “Final Fantasy: Advent Children” but still looked very impressive. The rendered character models were just great to look at (especially at the beginning when you see the airport or even the WilPharma HQ. Both look very realistic!) and Leon, Claire and Angela Miller model renders were just very well done. If anything, there is slight jerkiness when it comes to a close up of a character and trying to make it do natural and realistic movements during a conversation. But during the action scenes, the movements were very nice and overall, the CG was very well done.
On Blu-ray, you can see the skin bumps a bit more clearly and the action scenes look great. If anything, fans of the video games will more than likely enjoy these CG rendered scenes.
As for audio, the audio, you get English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Spanish, Portuges and Thai in 5.1 The audio sounds awesome in TrueHD and the action scenes come alive when compared to the DVD version with its 5.1 track. Dialogue is quite clear. As for the music, the ending theme “Guilty” is by Japanese music artist ANNA TSUCHIYA.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
For the Blu-ray version, you get to access an interactive picture-in-picture (I-PiP) which allows three PiP streams at any point during the movie. For example, you can click the corresponding color that is lit up on screen via your remote. Red would feature the actors in their motion capture suits and you can compare the motion capture to what you see in that exact scene. The other is a stream that features a non-rendered 3D footage and the other stream is the storyboards featuring hand drawn images of certain scenes from the film.
Another feature is a pop-up trivia track. Really interesting facts about the film and how certain characters were rendered. Why certain characters were created a certain way and much more. Also, the Blu-ray is BD LIVE ENABLED.
The Blu-ray disc features quite a few special features which include:
Let me first say that I am a big fan of the “Resident Evil” series and I own nearly all the US releases. “Resident Evil 2″ really was innovative when it first was released for the Sony Playstation and was my favorite R.E. game until “Resident Evil 4″ was released and that video game was just incredible.
So, that being said, watching this film had me smiling because I absolutely adore both the characters of Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. How this film furthers the storyline of the two characters but also builds on certain situations that may have major ramifications for future video game releases is quite exciting.
So, with that being said, I enjoyed the film because the creators really wanted to pay homage to “Resident Evil 2″ and “Resident Evil 4″ video game series and its fans. But I realize that many people who are not familiar with the video game series are wondering how the context of this film is to the live-action film series featuring Mila Jovovich.
There is a relation by name and of course, the virus that turns people to zombies but really, this film was created for the fans of the video game series in mind.
Also, with this being a video game-related film, many who crave a deep storyline with character development of who is Claire and who is Leon may feel disappointed. The reason why video gamers who played the video games is that through those video game moments of playing these characters for hours, there was a vested interest.
I would assume that many viewers not familiar with the video game series won’t pick up the importance of Claire or Leon to the actual “Resident Evil” storyline. In fact, some may wonder why they should care about these characters especially at the end with the politics surrounding the viruses.
So, with that being said, “resident evil: DEGENERATION” is an awesome film for those who followed the video game series. The film features plenty of non-stop action, bloody violence courtesy to the zombies and you even get a scene with blood that splatters on to the camera. But the enjoyment comes from those who had the experience of playing “Resident Evil 2″ and “Resident Evil 4″ and to see Claire and Leon again.
The CG looks great and there are some moments that I was just really in awe but at the same time, there are some movements that were jerky and robotic at times. But overall, the model renders were good and Leon and Claire look very good. So, the bottom line is that this film is just total fan service for “Resident Evil” video game fans. So much that I highly recommend this Blu-ray disc.
For those who are not familiar with the video game series, you may enjoy it but if you are expecting a continuation of the live action films, then this Blu-ray disc may not be for you. In fact, some may be disappointed because there is no strong plot for them to truly enjoy these characters especially without playing the video games. So, I can understand if they don’t get into it.
Again, if you are fans of the “Resident Evil” video games, you can’t help but have a smile on your face because there is now a “Resident Evil” film that was created with the RE video game fan in mind. And for that, I recommend this Blu-ray disc for you!
GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE LICENSES UNREAL ENGINE 3
October 7, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“Unreal Engine 3 is a powerful, easy-to-implement game engine that is helping the creative team at Grasshopper quickly bring our vision to life,” said Goichi Suda, CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture. “The innovative tools and technology in Unreal Engine 3 help developers create games faster, easier and with less risk.”
“It’s an honor to work with Mikami-san and Suda-san on their next project,” said Jay Wilbur, vice president, Epic Games. “Grasshopper Manufacture is one of the most daring and innovative studios in the world, and we can’t wait to see what they’re able to do with Unreal Engine 3.
For more information about Grasshopper Manufacture, please visit www.grasshoppermanufacture.com
For more information about Epic Games, please visit www.epicgames.com
For more information about EA, please visit our press Web site at http://info.ea.com
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About Grasshopper Manufacture Inc
Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. is an independent interactive entertainment studio based in Suginami-ku, Tokyo. The studio was founded in 1998 by CEO Goichi Suda, who is known around the world for his distinctive style and innovative work as a game designer and scenario writer. To date, Grasshopper Manufacture has shipped 11 titles, including 2007’s breakout hit, “No More Heroes.” More information about GhM can be found on the internet at http://www.grasshopper.co.jp/
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its Unreal series, most recently shipping Unreal Tournament 3 for PC, PLAYSTATION® and Xbox 360®. Epic’s breakthrough game, Gears of War, sold 5 million copies and won over 30 game of the year awards. The highly anticipated sequel, Gears of War 2, is scheduled for release on November 7, 2008. Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder and three-time consecutive winner of Game Developer magazine’s Best Engine Front Line Award. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through the Epic Games Web site at www.epicgames.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS Freestyle TM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle and POGO are trademarks or registered trademark in the U.S. and/or other countries\ Epic, Epic Games, Unreal, Unreal Engine, Unreal Tournament and Gears of War are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
