Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 16, 2017

All good things come to an end. So too do mediocre and bad things. The Resident Evil franchise falls somewhere in that middle "mediocre" pack, standing as, arguably (and there's not a lot of room for argument), the best movie series ever based on a video game. Where most of them have fallen flat or, worse, completely embarrassed themselves, Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil series is a beacon of competence, excitement, and storytelling, none of those (save, perhaps, "competence") at any sort of high level but enough to keep the series relatively strong at six films and entertaining audiences in search of agreeable post-apocalyptic mayhem, replete with excess violence, monsters, gunplay, clever kills, and mostly well-developed characters along the way. This "final chapter" doesn't deviate much from the formula, seeing the movie return to its roots and complete Alice's story of violent adventure through a dead world, finally getting to the heart of Umbrella Corporation and fighting to put an end to the madness that has defined her life, or at least the life that she can remember.

Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens amongst the ruins of Washington, D.C. She comes into contact with the Red Queen (Ever Gabo Anderson) who directs her to return to Raccoon City, and more precisely Umbrella Corp headquarters, and prevent those in charge from releasing a deadly antivirus that will finish the job and wipe out the rest of the living. And she has only 48 hours to do so. At the same time, Umbrella is gathering forces to prevent Alice from successfully making her return. But she eventually teams up with a band of survivors, which includes an old friend in Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), and the team makes its final push on Umbrella in a desperate attempt to save what's left of the world.

The plot is terribly basic, meaning the linear progression that sees Alice essentially thrown into action once again, this time with the stakes higher than ever. The film doesn't differentiate itself from others in the series in that regard -- it is, stylistically, very much a Resident Evil film -- but its saving grace, and the reason to watch, is in how it unfolds Umbrella and universe lore, expands its story as the series closes it down, offering a final full-circle push as it approaches the series' (supposed) climax. There's enough narrative relevance here, concerning the series rather than the individual film, to satisfy fans. As a pure standalone movie it's a bit of a failure, a tech reel, more or less, with various creative ways of killing off heroes and villains alike, but as the end of what is now a six-film arc, the results satisfy. One must, then, view the film in its proper context. It's crude story means nothing. It's greater value comes to the series as a whole, making it a fine finish for fans but a flop for newcomers, even for those who are just looking for something with action and violence to kill off 100 minutes.

Otherwise, it's fairly straightforward, a solid enough blend of crude action -- some of which hearkens back to previous entries in the series, particularly all of the various traps throughout Umbrella -- and lore. Anderson directs like a series veteran, which he obviously is, squeezing out just enough intensity but also familiarity to amp up fans and keep the movie clicking along at a seriously high-level pace. This is Resident Evil without any training wheels, deeply established, confident, and...not much else, really. Anderson has the formula down to a science, and he interweaves the action and dramatic bits with equal ability, the former a nice blend of grace and sledgehammer intensity and the latter in both slow-drip and sudden reveals to keep the viewer glued to the screen in those rare instances where blood, bullets, and mayhem aren't littering the screen. The cast is equally up to the challenge. Jovovich is never phased, regardless of how deep into the ringer her character travels. She maintains the same persona, intensity level, and believability for the duration, much like the movie, whether she's blasting baddies or sorting the story out. The movie is visually drab, but effective in painting the final picture of the world as it's been for the series' duration.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was reportedly photographed at 5K and finished at 4K. The end result on UHD is interesting to say the least. The movie doesn't necessarily lend itself to a dazzling presentation. As noted in the review of the 1080p Blu-ray (also included in this package), the film isn't a looker. It's naturally pasty and flat, largely devoid of color beyond shades of brown in its first half and gray and blue in its second half. The UHD, which is also HDR enhanced, does add a noticeable bit of depth to the color. The palette, as bland as it may be, appears noticeably deeper even prior to performing an A-B comparison (watching the movie again several hours after the first 1080p viewing). Even as the image takes on a deliberately mucky appearance at the beginning, it's clearly firmer, more nuanced, more evenly and accurately saturated. The HDR enhancement never inherently alters the movie's color texture. The film feels as it should; it's just enhanced to a mild, but evident, degree. That said, the many darker backdrops and nighttime settings struggle. Black levels cannot maintain depth. Snowy noise and macroblocking effects plague most every dark corner, sometimes, often, really, in an extreme, distracting, almost debilitating manner. The effect is significantly reduced to downright unnoticeable on the Blu-ray. The film's already artificial-looking appearance remains on the UHD. Even as the film was finished at 4K and presented at 4K, detailing doesn't offer any serious, massive upgrade over the 1080p Blu-ray. At best, detailing takes a very small uptick by way of increased sharpness. But again it's the movie's natural, pasty, low-light state that seems to hold it back. There's not much room for improvement even on ragged, jagged, destroyed landscapes or the finer, cleaner, sharper environments inside Umbrella. No matter where the movie goes, improvements to clothes, skin, and environments rarely exceeds the minimum. Considering the unattractive and plagued blacks, it's actually valid to say that the Blu-ray offers a better overall watch, even considering the lack of firmer colors and the minute improvements in detailing the UHD does offer.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony has once again reserved a premiere soundtrack for the UHD, and it doesn't disappoint. While the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack is stellar, the UHD's Atmos presentation takes things to another level. The track's ability to create a fuller, richer, more involved, more accurate, more immersive listen is something else. Take the sequence early in the film when Alice is summed by The Red Queen. Blaring air raid sirens scream with incredible room-filling depth and overhead dimension. The same can be said for the whirring, clanking, clicking dot matrix printer that hauntingly echoes throughout its room. The Queen's reverberating voice creates a presence much more gratifying, filling, and spookier than the 7.1 track can offer. Environments simply feel more complete, and that carries over to action too. While music maintains the same aggressive sharpness-meets-clarity sensation (combined with superbly deep bass), the sense of chaos is greater, more involved. That added layer -- here including four Atmos speakers -- makes most everything more dynamic, more intense. The track opens up considerably at times. Baseline effects, notably dialogue, remain firmly planted in the front-center and offer no issues with clarity or prioritization. Atmos is no gimmick, and that's made clear by this track in particular: this is a true reference listen.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from Sony's usual compliment of bonuses on the 4K disc, which includes the Cast and Crew photo tab and the collection of categorized Moments from the film (2160p/HDR/Atmos) -- Alice (21:46), The Red Queen (10:33), Dr. Isaacs (13:19), and Zombies (13:44) -- there are no extras on the UHD disc. The extras below may be found on the included 1080p Blu-ray disc. A UV digital copy voucher is also included with purchase.

• Retaliation Mode with Paul & Milla (1080p, 2:16:42, DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1): In lieu of a commentary track, Sony has included another intercutting behind-the-scenes supplement that features the married couple reminiscing about the series and, of course, covering this film in some detail: cast, crafting various scenes, and plenty more.
• Stunts & Weaponry (1080p, 9:03): As the title suggests, this piece examines the elements that allow the movie to flex its muscles.
• Explore the Hive (1080p, 4:18): Taking a look at a key location in this film and the franchise.
• The Bad Ass Trinity & The Women of Resident Evil (1080p, 6:32): A quick discussion of the series' female-centric presentation and the strong female characters throughout the franchise.
• Sneak Peek: Resident Evil: Vendetta (1080p, 4:22): A short preview for the upcoming digitally animated film, including interviews and clips from the film.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The last Resident Evil film isn't the best, but it's the most important, with the possible exception of the first one. It's stylistically every bit Resident Evil, but its various revelations make it, obviously, a must-see for fans, even if the action isn't particularly groundbreaking or, frankly, even all that exciting in the grand scheme of things. Anderson and company do well to bring it all full circle, including some moments that hearken back to the original, on the way to wrapping it up nice and tidy but certainly leaving some wiggle room for a spin-off or sequel. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter's UHD is a tale of two presentations. On one hand, the Atmos audio is superb and makes for one of the best reference Atmos tracks on the market. On the other hand, the UHD's 2160p/HDR video presentation offers modest-at-best, negligible-at-worst upgrades to a naturally dull film, and problematic blacks arguably make the Blu-ray the better choice. But the Atmos soundtrack is that good, and for those who can decode both it and the 4K video, this is the way to go, though it must be said that throughout this reviewer's movie watching life and reviewing career, audio quality has always been preferred to video quality.