Resident Evil [Blu-ray]

Released: March 15, 2002 / January 1, 2008
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Reviewer: Eric

A newer, up to date version of the first Resident Evil movie was released on Blu-ray on the same day as Resident Evil: Extinction came out. The Resident Evil series has always been extremely popular, but when the first movie was released people were torn. Is this the same Resident Evil that spawned numerous number one hit games or are we looking at something completely different?

Resident Evil is a different kind of zombie movie. It blends some zombie movie aspects along with some science fiction. This isn’t the best formula for a game that is known for having extreme zombie violence. The movie didn’t seem to stick with the games plot at all, all fans were treated to were a few familiar character names.

Some of the reasons why this movie did so well was for the fact it had zombies, explosions and a hot leading lady. Milla Jovovich is a babe, casting her might have been the saving grace for this movie. Yeah the story is easy to follow, but the story does not fit the Resident Evil name at all.

A virus has escaped into the Hive, a secret facility owned by the Umbrella Corporation. The virus starts turning people and animals into zombies. Military support is sent in, along with Alice, to stop the madness. Everything rests in the hands of Alice; she needs to find a way to stop the Red Queen while battling her amnesia.

Compared to other video game movies Resident Evil is a bundle of joy. There are enough action sequences here to make an action buff scream for joy. At times these sequences steal away from the main point to the movie, the zombies.

Since we are dealing with a horror movie here there really isn’t a whole lot here that will scare anybody. Throughout the movie there are those sudden jerks of movement, nothing too serious. Gamers should love this movie; the things that deal with the game franchise are done extremely well in this movie.

The latest Blu-ray release of this movie comes in pull 1080p high definition. The movie was transferred real nice onto Blu-ray, the colors are a whole lot richer than the normal DVDs. At no point during the movie will you need to question yourself if this was really worth the purchase, Resident Evil got a gorgeous Blu-ray transition.

I didn’t know a whole lot of difference with the sound. After I watched the Blu-ray version of Resident Evil I popped in my original DVD version. The sound here and there was a bit deeper. Some of the noises the zombies make sound louder too. So if you forgot about the noises zombies made then you’ll be in luck.

Sony has delivered enough of extras to make any Resident Evil fan happy. The commentary track with numerous people from the film is enjoyable, but since we have a lot of people doing this track it just annoying. Once you are adding in more than three people it is over kill, trust me. There is another commentary track too, only with the director and visual effects supervisor. I could tolerate this audio track a whole lot more, it’s worth while if you are a fan of the movie.

Resident Evil also has half a dozen or so small little featurettes. There is a special feature that talks about the alternative ending. It was neat to see and hear what Paul Anderson had to say about this ending. Slipknot fans should also note that their music video for My Plague is also included on the Blu-ray.

Final Verdict
Out of all the video game movies out there today Resident Evil is one of the better ones. It does not compare to the other survival horror based movie Silent Hill, but it tries. Of all the video game references that are in the movie it seems weird that the movie was even called Resident Evil. Any movie can have zombies in it any more. If you are a fan of Resident Evil and your original DVD is showing its age then make sure you pick up the Blu-ray version. It doesn’t cost too much and the added bonus features and minor cleaning up is definitely worth it.

Rating
7.50 out of 10

Resident Evil Trailer