Six movies later, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is the crowning chapter of Alice's saga, and it looks as explosive as you'd expect. Over the course of 15 years, Paul W.S. Anderson and a select group of directors have told the tale of the Umbrella Corporation and their fight against a disgruntled ex-employee with an escalating sense of scale. So with an epic closing in mind, the visuals are going to have their work cut out for them, especially since the film continues the franchise tradition of 3D madness.
But is Resident Evil: The Final Chapter worth the 3D ticket price, or are you better off investing in some Umbrella Corporation stock? To 3D or Not To 3D is on the case to help answer that question! If you want to find out what we thought about the movie, you can read our proper review here. Otherwise, it's time to go back to The Hive and check out the 3D presentation of the final Resident Evil film. Glasses on, folks; it's time to go.
The Resident Evil franchise has been going 3D since the fourth installment, Resident Evil: Afterlife, was one of largest roll outs in the early days of the 3D boom. At this point, they practically write the script with 3D in mind, with the gags being so obvious that even if you watch it in 2D, you can see where the eye-popping moments reside. So to finish the series in the third dimension is a fitting end, if you ask me.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is a textbook case of good 3D being hampered by horrible editing. Knowing full well they'd be converting this film into a 3D presentation, there are portions of this film that are so choppy, you don't get the full effect of the 3D in front of your eyes. When the film decides to linger on an image, it's to great effect. But for significant portions of this film, you're lucky if you can even make out the action, much less the 3D effect.
As I said before, with Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the script was practically written and converted into 3D before a frame was even filmed. While there's no flinch worthy moments of items flying out at you, there's still a healthy amount of objects and characters that come out at you. Even a couple of the jump scares throw creatures out at the audience, and they don't fail to elicit a couple gasps. There are a couple of effects that stop short of breaking the window and popping out, but it's not a deal breaker. Not to mention, this film has some of the best "gun pointed at the audience" projection I've seen in some time.
There is a fair amount of depth to be conveyed in the world of Resident Evil: The FInal Chapter. Long hallways, chambers full of cryopods and even long stretches of highway and cityscapes are all represented - and they have a pretty solid amount of depth perception. There's even an interesting shot where you can see Alice's full 3D depth through a clear marker board. Objects and persons are spaced out with a reasonable amount of depth as well, with clear divisions visible between the two.
Believe it or not, there are no huge problems with the brightness level in a film that showcases a lot of dark sequences. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter has merely the prerequisite dimming behind the glasses that usually happens with a typical 3D film. Your mileage may vary with this factor, as the brightness level depends on whether your theater properly calibrates their projectors between 2D and 3D showings.
The blur is strong with Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, right down to the finale. The strong depth seen in the film is thanks to this heavy blur, which is used to full effect throughout the film's various action sequences and moments. There are very few moments where the blur isn't working on the picture, as even close up elements are slightly blurred to pop off of the screen. All signs point to a heavy amount of manipulation, which is a very good sign of the love and care Legend 3D put into their conversion efforts.
For the majority of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the 3D doesn't bother your eyes at all. One sequence in particular, when Alice gets caught up in a snare trap set by Umbrella's goons, the 3D happens to wonk out for a moment. This is really the only moment that breaks the third dimensional effect in the film's presentation, and considering the fact that this film is laden with jump cuts that jumble the action, this is not a very visually taxing film.
If you're going to splash out for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, then IMAX 3D is the way to go. Leaving out the horrific editing of the actual film, there's some genuinely great 3D at work here in a franchise that's always pushed to actively integrate the format into the storytelling through organic means. Here's hoping a new champion picks up the crown though, as we won't be seeing Alice around again anytime soon... unless the studio backtracks on that whole "Final Chapter" moniker.
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