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Resident Evil (Superbit)
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // December 17, 2002
List Price: $27.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
The video game market is equal to - if not bigger than, at this point - the movie industry. Given that fact, I don't blame studios for attempting to cash in on the rapidly increasing popularity of the gaming industry. However, I think many will agree that the quality of these films have often been lackluster; "Tomb Raider", a mostly personality-free movie with the exception of Angelina Jolie's spirited performance, was certainly one of the better ones prior to this feature.
When I heard that Paul Anderson (not the "Boogie Nights" guy) was going to direct a film based on the "Resident Evil" series, I could really think of few directors better suited to helm the film. His "Event Horizon", while not exactly high art, achieved a rare balance of being beautiful in appearance and terrifying at the same time. It was a sleek techno-thriller with remarkable atmosphere. Anderson brings the same sensibility to this film and even takes the stylized appearance of his work up another notch.
Certainly, "Resident Evil" doesn't waste any time getting started. Minutes into the movie, a terrible virus in the Umbrella corporation has been released and all of the workers have been taken out by the security system. A group of soldiers - including a tough chick (Michelle Rodriquez of "Fast and the Furious") and one woman in a red dress and sporting no memory (Milla Jovovich), break into "The Hive", the secret underground lab where the virus was spread.
What do the soldiers eventually stumble upon? Zombies, of course, which are what the workers have become after the virus was spread. Not only do they have to deal with the zombies, they also have to contend with the Red Queen, the Hive's security system. Much action ensues. There's really little story involved, as the film is powered along by visually impressive - and occasionally quite gross - action sequences. I was a little irritated by some exchanges of dialogue that seemed to state simply what was currently happening in the film, but I never felt this was too major a problem.
The film is, basically, a decent popcorn movie that I found fairly fun at times. However, I thought it could potentially have been more involving than it is. Anderson was working with more commanding actors in Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne in "Event Horizon"; while that film wasn't working with the greatest material either, the actors sold the material well and the scares were more unpredictable. Essentially, "Event Horizon" pushed the atmosphere and quiet wonderfully, adding to the tension before a scare. There's little quiet to be found in "Resident Evil". There's not much to the characters, either, making it a bit difficult to be completely involved.
More often than not, I was satisfied to simply admire the craft involved. David Johnson's cinematography is not as sleek as Adrian Biddle's marvelous work in "Event Horizon". I was a bit surprised that this film wasn't shot in 2.35:1, as "Horizon" was - I think the 2.35:1 frame would have been more effective for this picture. Still, as with even Anderson's lesser pictures, the production design and art direction are top-notch and most of the special effects are fine (although a few are not.).
Overall, I found "Resident Evil" a basically entertaining picture, but it lacked enough character development and detail to make it memorable. Not bad - but I sensed a better film could have been made from the story. While "Resident Evil" didn't do enormous business at the box office, a sequel is still already in the works, with Anderson directing. The series of games also continue to be produced.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Resident Evil" is presented by Columbia/Tristar in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The presentation is certainly one of the best that I've seen in quite some time, with only a few little concerns to keep it from perfection. Sharpness and detail are remarkable, as the picture remains impressively detailed and well-defined, with solid depth to the image for the most part.
One of the most pleasing aspects of this transfer is the complete lack of edge enhancement, making for a remarakbly smooth and "film-like" appearance. Pixelation is also absent and the print is nearly perfect - aside from a series of small specks that I spotted in a couple of scenes. The film's color palette, vivid at times and subdued at others, appeared accurate and well-saturated throughout, with no smearing or other faults. Black level also remained solid. Although Columbia/Tristar has a reputation for terrific image quality, this is really one of their best efforts in recent memory.
That's what I said about the prior release. Given the fact that I was so positive about the prior edition, I really wasn't expecting a great deal of improvement from this "Superbit" release, which dumps the supplements of the original in favor of a new DTS soundtrack and more space for the video information. This new 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation is certainly a stunner, but as for improvements between the prior release and the new one, there were really hardly any. Sharpness and detail are once again remarkable on this new release, as the kind of clarity and definition present in the image is often nothing short of amazing.
Edge enhancement wasn't an issue on the prior release, nor is it here. Artifacts also do not occur. The print used looks stellar, with no noticable specks or marks and only a bit of intentional grain. As with the prior release, the film's color palette, vivid at times and subdued at others, appeared accurate and well-saturated throughout, with no smearing or other faults. The differences between the two presentations? Really hardly anything - while the Superbit release may be a bit sharper, one wonders why the studio has chosen to make a Superbit release for a recent title that they've already done an outstanding effort on.
SOUND: This Superbit release offers both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 soundtracks. The Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation on the prior release was quite enjoyable. While the techno score gets to have most of the presence in the film's aggressive sound mix, there are also plenty of instances of inspired sound effects use in the surrounds. Enabling back surround use results in added dimension and envelopment in many scenes, especially some of the more intense action scenes.
Audio quality is terrific throughout the film, as this is certainly a loud and aggressive mix that provides strong, deep bass throughout. Dialogue remained clear and easily understood, while the techno soundtrack often was loud, but never shrill. Both the DTS and Dolby Digital soundtracks provided a good, solid experience, but the DTS soundtrack won me over a bit more, as it provided a somewhat fuller, more enveloping sound and bass that was even a bit more powerful.
EXTRAS: As with all of the Superbit editions, there are no supplements.
Final Thoughts: I appreciated the craft involved in the production, I liked what the two lead actresses did with limited material and the film moved along rapidly enough. Still, I thought "Resident Evil" lacked enough character detail and unpredictable scares to make it memorable.
The release of this Superbit DVD edition however, is a bit questionable. Rumors persist that another Special Edition of the film is on the way for next year, while neither the audio or video really provide that much of a reason for those who own the prior release to upgrade to this featureless one. I'm hoping that future Superbit releases will be for titles from earlier in the format that are more in need of a redo. Those who don't own the film and are looking to purchase and aren't concerned with supplements are about the only audience for this edition.
The video game market is equal to - if not bigger than, at this point - the movie industry. Given that fact, I don't blame studios for attempting to cash in on the rapidly increasing popularity of the gaming industry. However, I think many will agree that the quality of these films have often been lackluster; "Tomb Raider", a mostly personality-free movie with the exception of Angelina Jolie's spirited performance, was certainly one of the better ones prior to this feature.
When I heard that Paul Anderson (not the "Boogie Nights" guy) was going to direct a film based on the "Resident Evil" series, I could really think of few directors better suited to helm the film. His "Event Horizon", while not exactly high art, achieved a rare balance of being beautiful in appearance and terrifying at the same time. It was a sleek techno-thriller with remarkable atmosphere. Anderson brings the same sensibility to this film and even takes the stylized appearance of his work up another notch.
Certainly, "Resident Evil" doesn't waste any time getting started. Minutes into the movie, a terrible virus in the Umbrella corporation has been released and all of the workers have been taken out by the security system. A group of soldiers - including a tough chick (Michelle Rodriquez of "Fast and the Furious") and one woman in a red dress and sporting no memory (Milla Jovovich), break into "The Hive", the secret underground lab where the virus was spread.
What do the soldiers eventually stumble upon? Zombies, of course, which are what the workers have become after the virus was spread. Not only do they have to deal with the zombies, they also have to contend with the Red Queen, the Hive's security system. Much action ensues. There's really little story involved, as the film is powered along by visually impressive - and occasionally quite gross - action sequences. I was a little irritated by some exchanges of dialogue that seemed to state simply what was currently happening in the film, but I never felt this was too major a problem.
The film is, basically, a decent popcorn movie that I found fairly fun at times. However, I thought it could potentially have been more involving than it is. Anderson was working with more commanding actors in Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne in "Event Horizon"; while that film wasn't working with the greatest material either, the actors sold the material well and the scares were more unpredictable. Essentially, "Event Horizon" pushed the atmosphere and quiet wonderfully, adding to the tension before a scare. There's little quiet to be found in "Resident Evil". There's not much to the characters, either, making it a bit difficult to be completely involved.
More often than not, I was satisfied to simply admire the craft involved. David Johnson's cinematography is not as sleek as Adrian Biddle's marvelous work in "Event Horizon". I was a bit surprised that this film wasn't shot in 2.35:1, as "Horizon" was - I think the 2.35:1 frame would have been more effective for this picture. Still, as with even Anderson's lesser pictures, the production design and art direction are top-notch and most of the special effects are fine (although a few are not.).
Overall, I found "Resident Evil" a basically entertaining picture, but it lacked enough character development and detail to make it memorable. Not bad - but I sensed a better film could have been made from the story. While "Resident Evil" didn't do enormous business at the box office, a sequel is still already in the works, with Anderson directing. The series of games also continue to be produced.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Resident Evil" is presented by Columbia/Tristar in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The presentation is certainly one of the best that I've seen in quite some time, with only a few little concerns to keep it from perfection. Sharpness and detail are remarkable, as the picture remains impressively detailed and well-defined, with solid depth to the image for the most part.
One of the most pleasing aspects of this transfer is the complete lack of edge enhancement, making for a remarakbly smooth and "film-like" appearance. Pixelation is also absent and the print is nearly perfect - aside from a series of small specks that I spotted in a couple of scenes. The film's color palette, vivid at times and subdued at others, appeared accurate and well-saturated throughout, with no smearing or other faults. Black level also remained solid. Although Columbia/Tristar has a reputation for terrific image quality, this is really one of their best efforts in recent memory.
That's what I said about the prior release. Given the fact that I was so positive about the prior edition, I really wasn't expecting a great deal of improvement from this "Superbit" release, which dumps the supplements of the original in favor of a new DTS soundtrack and more space for the video information. This new 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation is certainly a stunner, but as for improvements between the prior release and the new one, there were really hardly any. Sharpness and detail are once again remarkable on this new release, as the kind of clarity and definition present in the image is often nothing short of amazing.
Edge enhancement wasn't an issue on the prior release, nor is it here. Artifacts also do not occur. The print used looks stellar, with no noticable specks or marks and only a bit of intentional grain. As with the prior release, the film's color palette, vivid at times and subdued at others, appeared accurate and well-saturated throughout, with no smearing or other faults. The differences between the two presentations? Really hardly anything - while the Superbit release may be a bit sharper, one wonders why the studio has chosen to make a Superbit release for a recent title that they've already done an outstanding effort on.
SOUND: This Superbit release offers both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 soundtracks. The Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation on the prior release was quite enjoyable. While the techno score gets to have most of the presence in the film's aggressive sound mix, there are also plenty of instances of inspired sound effects use in the surrounds. Enabling back surround use results in added dimension and envelopment in many scenes, especially some of the more intense action scenes.
Audio quality is terrific throughout the film, as this is certainly a loud and aggressive mix that provides strong, deep bass throughout. Dialogue remained clear and easily understood, while the techno soundtrack often was loud, but never shrill. Both the DTS and Dolby Digital soundtracks provided a good, solid experience, but the DTS soundtrack won me over a bit more, as it provided a somewhat fuller, more enveloping sound and bass that was even a bit more powerful.
EXTRAS: As with all of the Superbit editions, there are no supplements.
Final Thoughts: I appreciated the craft involved in the production, I liked what the two lead actresses did with limited material and the film moved along rapidly enough. Still, I thought "Resident Evil" lacked enough character detail and unpredictable scares to make it memorable.
The release of this Superbit DVD edition however, is a bit questionable. Rumors persist that another Special Edition of the film is on the way for next year, while neither the audio or video really provide that much of a reason for those who own the prior release to upgrade to this featureless one. I'm hoping that future Superbit releases will be for titles from earlier in the format that are more in need of a redo. Those who don't own the film and are looking to purchase and aren't concerned with supplements are about the only audience for this edition.
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