
Zombie Outbreak? These movies show you what to do.
Review created: 09/20/08(updated 09/20/08)

To celebrate the (then) upcoming release of Resident Evil: Extinction, this double-pack contains the first Resident Evil movie and the sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
The first movie, Resident Evil, focuses on what happens when an outbreak of a deadly virus happens in a secret private corporation facility deep underground... and what happens when a special team is sent in to see what happened and recover information. The main character, Alice, isn't from any of the games this movie is (loosely) based upon, but fits well into the franchise like the other new-to-the-franchise characters.
The script itself is a little dry and predictable, but the special effects are top-notch and the acting itself is great for a video game movie. Milla Jovovich does a great job as main character, but the rest of the cast is mostly forgettable. The real star here, though, are the Zombies - and I don't think I've seen them rendered more brutally outside the Romero movies.
The sequel, Apocalypse, starts us off with the virus escaping to Raccoon City, stationed above the previous movie's lab. Alice interacts with both new characters and characters showing up from the video games as all try to find a way out of the city before the Umbrella Corporation decides to unleash a nuclear bomb to 'sterilize' the city.
The script for this movie is a serious step down from the previous one, embracing the campy idea of making a video game movie. Lines are cheesey and utterly B-movie territory... yet the casting is a rather high moment for the series. Oded Fehr makes a rather surprising apperance as 'Carlos Olivera,' a pre-established character from the games alongside Sienna Guillory as another fan-favorite 'Jill Valentine.' Milla Jovovich returns as Alice, and her role is an interesting one to watch, considering the character's ever-evolving talents. And, of course, the effects are as top-notch as ever - the Nemesis being a most excellent real-live translation of the villain from the games.
Despite being a two-disc feature, it's interesting to note that both movies are actually on the first disc. Neither movie suffers from this fact, meaning that the compression rate is a good one. There are no commentary tracks, but you can also watch the movies in French with 5.1 surround sound if you so desire. This leaves all the special features to the second disc... which contain nothing of the previous releases, instead a handful of simple concepts and a preview for (then) upcoming Extinction. However, there's also a short preview for the coming-out-late-December-2008 CGI movie Resident Evil:Extinction, which is at least worth glancing at. It's not bad, but ultimately a touch disappointing.
Long story short, if you don't own these two movies already, and don't mind losing most of the bonus features found in the earlier releases, it won't kill you to pick up this (somewhat cheap) release. If you've already got one or both of the movies, though, don't bother - the previous releases are already so much better.
Review ID: 10000000008776436

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