Resident Evil on Superbit DVD

In our review of the "original" DVD release of Resident Evil, we said "Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to present "Night of the Living Dead: The Action Movie.""

The opinion still holds, and it's a good thing there's plenty of action in this flick because we had a heck of a time following its basically incoherent plot, so the bang-bang stuff came in handy.

Here's what we could figure out:

A deadly virus has been unleashed in a secret underground laboratory, causing people to turn into zombies. So it's up to a team of paramilitary commandos to infiltrate the base and find the cure before the virus escapes into the city, zombie-izing every living thing until the city looks suspiciously like Washington, D.C.

Milla Jovovich is Alice, a sexy amnesiac who wakes up without a clue (she should've read the script; or maybe she did). A team of commandos breaks into her house, claiming that she's one of them, and informing her that she needs to come with them on their mission. But rather than give her a chance to suit up, they drag her along in her red dress, which would be more suitable for clubbing (Editor's note: we wonder just how much injury can be inflicted by clubbing someone with a red dress; perhaps enough to warrant some kind of redress?). When they reach the base, one by one the team is killed off, leaving only the lead characters to fight the effects of the virus.

To say any more would be to spoil the fun of the movie, which must rank as one of the better bad movies ever made.

As mentioned at the top, the plot of Resident Evil is tough to follow and completely inane, but in the end it doesn't matter. This movie is about sexy babes kicking zombie butt, and that's exactly what you get, in spades. And there are some good jumpy moments, cheesy but cool action, and plenty of gore.

Just what you expect from a B-movie. And undoubtedly what fans of the Resident Evil games, upon which the movie is based, expect.

Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon), has done a good job of not trying to make the film anything more than it is. This is a popcorn cruncher and its lack of pretension is good.

Resident Evil isn't the kind of film you'd want to watch with the kids, thanks to its violence quotient, but it's great to watch with friends.

As is usual with its Superbit titles, Columbia Tristar has done an excellent job with the audio and video of this DVD. As with most "standard" (as opposed to "Superbit Deluxe") Superbit titles, you lose the extras in favor of higher audio and video quality, and we don't have a problem with that at all.

And the audio and video are truly outstanding. The picture is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, which fills the 16x9 TV screen completely, and the quality is typically outstanding. Colors are rich, the picture is clear and clean, and there is no trace of artifacts - just the kind of video quality this kind of movie needs. The audio is equally impressive, with 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS surround, both of which sound spectacular and which make great use of the surrounds. Especially during the action scenes and "jump points," the sound effects surround you, and you even get some of the music from behind.

This is a fun movie and a great DVD, just what we expect from Columbia Tristar's Superbit library.

Resident Evil - Superbit version, from Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment
101 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) 16x9 TV compatible, 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS surround audio,
Starring Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy
Produced by Bernd Eichinger, Samuel Hadida, Jeremy Bolt, Paul W.S. Anderson
Written and Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson

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