Resident Evil: Apocalypse [Blu-ray]

The way it starts it's very good and helps alot with explaining what's happening.

Me encantan este tipo de película de Ciencia ficción

As I have always found the first Resident Evil movie to be at least decent, I never figured as to what to expect from this 2nd chapter. Back in 2004 when this came out in theaters I had plans to go see this in the theater with my then girlfriend. I don't remember now why the plans fell through but later on one Friday night I rented this movie from the local Blockbuster and needless to say in no time at all this movie both blew me away and got me more enthralled then the first movie did.First let's talk about the new characters and returning character. Milla Jovovich is still gorgeous, captivating(in many ways) smoking hot and awesomely bada** as Alice. Sienna Guillory offers more eye-candy with her beautiful and sex appeal but she also offers another a force to reckon with being a no nonesense cop.

It almost seems a prerequisite now for certain movies to spawn all kinds of aftermarket merchandising, specifically video games (usually sucky ones at that). But to make a feature length film based on source material taken from a video game? Seems poor prospect (who remembers 1993's Super Mario Bros? Or how about 1994's Street Fighter? Man, those were some awful times), but then again I come from a time when video games were pretty simplistic, and had little or no story. Nowadays, the technology has allowed for extremely well developed storylines within games, and the likelihood of seeing the transition from game consoles to the big screen becoming more and more common. I mean, look at it like this, if a game sold how many million copies, you pretty much already have a large fan base more than eager to watch a film based on said game. A built in audience...how can you go wrong? Well, if you deviate from the storyline, or screw up various elements or characters, you may end up with a fairly rabid pack of angry fans looking for blood...Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), sequel to 2002's Resident Evil film, was written by Paul W.S. Anderson (Event Horizon, AVP: Alien Vs. Predator), and directed by Alexander Witt, a man who has a ton of 2nd director (this is the guy responsible for filming shots of less importance, such as inserts, crowds, scenery, etc.) credits to his name, but makes his directing debut here. Returning in her role as Alice from the first film is Milla Jovovich (as far as I can tell, she was the only one who made it into the sequel). Also appearing is Sienna Guillory (Love Actually), Oded Fehr (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, The Mummy), Mike Epps (Friday After Next, The Fighting Temptations), and Matthew G. Taylor (Gothika, Detroit Rock City) as Nemesis.The film begins with Umbrella agents in full biohazard gear opening up The Hive, with predictable results (The Hive was a ginormaous, underground research facility that was sealed due to contamination in the first film). This leads to the T-virus (the contaminate that has the ability to re-animate the dead) to spread into Raccoon City, forcing the Umbrella Corporation, owner of not only The Hive but the city as well, to quarantine the city, sealing many uninfected residents with all kinds of walking dead, many vicious mutations seen in the first film, along with a few new ones. Alice, joined by a small band of survivors, now trapped inside the city, makes a deal to retrieve the young daughter of a scientist in return for safe passage out of the quarantined area. Only problem is, besides the legion of hungry undead roaming the streets and hideous, nasty, bitey creatures on the prowl, the Umbrella Corporation has ideas of their own, seeing the situation as a perfect opportunity to test out their latest bio-weapon, Nemesis. Oh yeah, there's also plans to nuke the city...time is running out (along with their ammunition), for the small group, but they do have an edge, namely, in Alice, as she is more than she appears...Now you don't have to see the original to enjoy this sequel, as the makers of the film provide a certain amount of back-story at the beginning, but you probably should to get the full flavor. I really wasn't expecting a lot seeing as how this was a sequel and we all know sequels rarely meet the level of the original that spawned said sequel, so I was pleasantly surprised when the film turned out to be pretty good, well, good in the sense that it's a movie based off of a video game. And that's what I think people should keep in mind, especially those disappointed at the lack of substance within the plot. A majority of the plot actually extends from the first, setting things up for this picture, which is heavy on action, light on nearly everything else. I thought the actors did a pretty good job (that Sienna Guillory is one fine, hotsy totsy momma, playing the role of Jill Valentine). I especially enjoyed Mike Epps as the urban civilian caught up in forces way beyond his control, relating some truly funny lines in a completely realistic manner. I normally despise comic relief characters, as they're often played so ridiculously over the top that they distract more than anything else, but that wasn't the case here. The one aspect I disliked the most about the film was the excessive, epileptic, herky jerky camera work and quick cutting, meant to heighten the tension during the more action filled scenes, but it just served to annoy the heck out of me. This type of direction can be effective in smaller doses, but it's used too often here, and may cause some viewers to reach for the Dramamine. Also, I thought it odd that every time the undead were shown, their shots were often marred by jittery cutting, as if to highlight something (I don't know what), but it made me wonder if it was done to draw away from the detail, or lack of, concerning the make up of the characters. There were quite a few characters in this film, each seeming to have their own, little storyline going, but then they're unified nicely once their goals become shared. The special effects are very slick, and the action rarely slows down, and there's lots of guns, gunfire, explosions, things getting blown up (blown up real good). I thought the film a little short (it does list a 94 minute running time), but the ending sets up for a possible sequel.I won't bother listing all the special features as Amazon details them nicely, but I will say the picture and audio were excellent. This is a two disc set, the first DVD containing the film (both widescreen and full screen format), along with some special features, with the 2nd containing the bulk of the extras. 3 ½ starsCookieman108

My great cinematic joy is miniature helicopter scenes. There's just something about a movie so dependent on helicopters that the director said, "Well, this looks terrible but I can't exactly cut it, because it's a helicopter."This is such a movie.Toward the end, "Apocalypse" uses a lingering shot of a helicopter coming out from behind some trees. The miniature is lit perfectly, filling the the screen, and the effect would be somewhat convincing if not for all of the helicopter windows being completely opaque and obviously made out of plastic."Resident Evil: Apocalypse" is an artistic triumph in general, containing many cheesy model helicopters, and earns a perfect score of two out of two projector sheet rotors.

Nostalgia

JUST WHEN YOU THINK A SEQUEL CAN NOT BE AS AWESOME AS ITS PREDECESSOR, THIS FILM COMES ALONG AND OFFERS SOMEFRANCHISE COMPETITION .👍 THIS IS NUMBER TWO IN A SERIES THAT IS LIKE ALIEN OR PREDATOR IN ITS CONTINUING SAGAS, WHICH ARE ALL EXCEPTIONAL. IN THIS ONE, NO SPOILERS, THE UMBRELLA CORPORATION HAS ENTERED ITS SECOND PHASE OFOPERATION ALICE, THE NAME OF THE HEROINE 💪. THE PLOT IS SPECTACULAR AND DO NOT STOP THE MOVIE PREMATURELY ASIT HAS A TWIST ENDING THAT IS SUBTLE BUT SUBLIME. 😊 ENJOY.

This is a good zombie film, plain and simple. The Resident Evil content is really irrelevant. But, beware, some of the scenes are SO BAD that they'll make you groan (like the motorcycle jumping into the middle of the church and then blowing up--so stupid it'll make you wonder if it meant to be funny). Overall, it's a video game film, based on a zombie video game. You just can't have too many expectations. It's fun to watch M-J do her thing, not much more you can say because there is no plot.

Guter Zombie Filmreihe

come da aspettative

I had all the other resident evils on bluray already and it took me a little while to find this one for A reasonable price

Ho deciso di rivedere 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse' su DVD e ho approfittato dell'offerta di Amazon per acquistarlo. Il film è un buon sequel, con azione e suspense garantite. L'acquisto è stato semplice e veloce, e il prodotto è arrivato in tempi rapidi. Se siete fan della saga di Resident Evil, questo DVD fa al caso vostro.

Resident Evil Apocalypse / extended cutDistributor Constantin Films (Germany) ' Not region locked.Probably a little more main stream title than the usual Obscura review, what qualifies this blu release for inclusion here, is the fact that this version contains a rare extended cut of the movie which has so far only been found in Germany.This alternate cut features around 4 minutes of extra footage in the film itself. Most of this being taken from the deleted scenes from the regular blu ray release of the movie, but the added scenes here do actually enhance some parts of the movie.This new version was previously available on DVD, but again only in Germany, so UK or US collectors will see something different if they purchase this release.The disc itself loads up with a written menu which is in German only, however it is really very easy to navigate to the play movie or extra features tabs. Once the play tab has been selected, the movie starts playing using the German audio track but this is easily switched to one of the English options or alternatively you can choose to select this option from the start up menu before hand.The transfer on this Blu ray is of a very high quality. Presented in 16x9 wide-screen and 1080p. The film looks brand new and is very clean and sharp on this release.Audio is offered in both English and German 5.1 or DTS options and sounds incredibly crisp and clear and is strong during the many action scenes.For those worried about foreign releases having burned in subtitles, this is not a problem with this release as any subtitles here are optional while using the English audio.Extras wise, there is a good amount to choose from here; making of features, even more deleted scenes, special effects features and a Resident Evil documentary, all of which are presented in English with optional German subtitles. There is also a total of 3 different English commentary tracks with the cast and crew (although none of these are actually advertised on the cover art)Easily obtainable from good German Blu ray suppliers, the cost of importing this title will set you back a little more than the regular domestic release, so is this alternate version worth the added expense? Well ultimately it comes down to 2 things, how much you like the film and are you keen to have a version of the film in your collection that most people haven't seen or even know exists.If you are only a casual fan of the movie then it's probably best to stick to the regular releases as although the scene extensions are a nice change, they do not make any substantial difference to the film itself. If however you want something different for your Blu ray collection, or this movie is a personal favourite of yours, then this extended cut could definitely be for you.Overall this is a top quality presentation from the German distributor which probably will not see the light of day in the UK or US Blu ray market.Extended import or regular version, the choice, as they say... is yours.