Umbrella Corporation have again taken in Alice (Milla Jovovich) and kept her under their watch in an old underwater Russian facility. Her friend Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) is under their control and in charge of interrogating Alice, but an unknown force has provided a way out of her cell. Without much choice Alice reluctantly agrees to get help from an ex-Umbrella agent Ada Wong (Bingbing Li) and arch nemesis Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts) in order to escape the facility being controlled by the red queen. The nightmare continues as Alice makes her way out and on the way meeting familiar faces.
After watching the very first Resident Evil film I quickly realized that the filmmakers only wanted the name of the popular and beloved game franchise to attract people. Over the years they have pumped out 4 sequels, Retribution being the last one of the bunch, and while they have used familiar character names and key points of the story in the games, the movies have been somewhat far from being what any Resident Evil fan truly wants. By now, I have just been watching every release looking forward to the final installment hoping that they finally put an end to this current franchise. Perhaps one day someone else will pick up it and do it justice.
Over the years the franchise has suffered in quality. Each sequel has been worse than the last, sadly Retribution doesn’t get any better. Retribution suffers from a plot that is nonsensical, themes that are far too repetitive, and just some really bad acting. The biggest issue with Retribution is the plot and storyline; it just never gets any better. The story just seems to be submerged in between action heavy sequences, I am sure action fans enjoy it, but Anderson seems to use it to hide all other imperfections. There are glimpses of other familiar characters from the Resident Evil franchise, but they just feel like they were thrown into the mix just for the sake of giving them some screen time. Nothing truly felt organized in this film.
The action found within Retribution is the most salvageable part of the movie. Milla Jovovich was born for this role, she really embodies her role and kicks ass. I am willing to bet that the majority of fans still following the franchise are watching just to see Milla kick some ass, I know I do. The Resident Evil movies are not everyone’s cup of tea and while some might dislike others might enjoy. They are there for entertainment and again some will find them more enjoyable than others.
Resident Evil: Retribution arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC/MVC encode framed at 2.40:1. The Blu-ray disc contains both the 2D and 3D version of the film. The 2D version of the film looks great; there are really no complaints in this department. The colors appear to be saturated, but they never look odd on the image. Detailing is great throughout. Black levels are deep, but never overwhelm the image. Resident Evil: Retribution features a digital transfer and image is exceptional, very clean and vivid. The 2D version of the film looks great.
For the 3D version of the film, not much has changed. The imagery actually remains quite detailed and vivid. Colors are saturated but vibrant. During darker scenes the image maintains a very balanced look, black colors do not overwhelm at all. 3D effects are great, there’s good depth in between objects. There is always a sense of space between objects which is a good thing. I didn’t see any ghosting or issues with the 3D effects. As far as the 3D goes for Resident Evil: Retribution, it looks good.
Resident Evil: Retribution arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. The lossless track is actually quite good and it fits the action packed film very nicely. Dialogue is clean and crisp throughout most of the film, but there were a few moments where the action did make it hard to hear. Most won’t even notice, so it’s almost not a real problem. There is good directionality in the fronts. The rears do provide some help with some ambience and atmospherics, but they aren’t used to their potential. The LFE output is balance and accurate. The explosions and gun shootouts will pierce through the soundstage. The track does a good with the task at hand, no real complaints here.
Audio Commentary with writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson, Milla Jovovich, and Boris Kodjoe
Audio Commentary with director Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt
Project Alice: The Interactive Database
Maestro of Evil: Directing Resident Evil: Retribution
Evolving Alice
Resident Evil: Reunion
The World of Resident Evil: Retribution
The Creatures of Retribution
Resident Stuntman
Code: Mika
Resident Evil: Retribution – Face of the Fan
UltraViolet Digital Copy
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
One installment down and one more to go, Retribution sets up for the inevitable finale with a final scene that is promising that the action will only get better. Fans of the franchise will definitely not have a problem with the film, after all the franchise has always focused on the over stylized action sequences. I suppose that by now fans know what to expect from this franchise. As Alice kicks ass and moves through the hordes of zombies we’ll be happy to follow along, so I guess I’ll be waiting for the last installment. The Blu-ray release is actually a good one; it features a good video and audio transfer. So kudos on Sony for doing its best. The release is also packed with a good amount of supplements that should give you some insights into the shooting of Resident Evil: Retribution. If you are a fan of the franchise this should be an easy pick. Newcomers, I would recommend starting from the very first release and make your decision to continue on after that.
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