In a series of purposely timed events, Sony Pictures has decided to re-release the 4K edition of the Resident Evil collection (the Milla Jovovich live action movies) in a package of sleek looking steelbooks housed in a steel house nearly three years to the date of the first release. For a better idea of what the packaging is like, think the Harry Potter, Jurassic Park/World box sets, not the Transformers steelbook set which came house in a thick board substance. While this re-issue in new packaging contains the exact same Blu-rays as the 2020 release and *almost* the same identical 4K UHD disks, this new collection contains Dobly Vision. The only added bonus aside from the aforementioned Dolby Vision are four new special features on Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Now, to ask an audience to shell out for a collection of films is always a tall order, and considering the slight differences between the 2020 booklet/box edition and the 2023 steelbook collection, are fans of the destruction of the Umbrella Corporation going to shell out nearly another $200 to replace a set they surely already own; the short answers is — yes, yes they are.

To start things off, we’re going to talk about the packaging for this franchise and the differences/improvements between this and the previous release. First and foremost, if space is an issue for your collection, adding this rather hefty box to your shelf may not be ideal as the previous release was no thicker that a Manta Lab One Click box, that’s to say one standard case wide, two to three standard cases thick. However, this steelbook set is approximately eight movies wide and three or four movies thick, so you will need to find some space to accommodate the superior version of the Resident Evil franchise. Now, before we continue to dive into the packaging of the steelbook set, we must acknowledge the headache and exhaustion that comes with the 2020 set. The set came with six separate cases that weren’t enclosed but just opened with a thicker cardboard exterior and the snapback plastic disk holders inside. It beats the media book style where you have to dig the movies out of their sleeves, but it certainly is not a great style of packaging. When it comes to the steelbook release, like most dual-disked steelbook collections, the movies are stacked with the Blu-ray being the underlying disk and the 4K being housed on top so there is no careful lifting required to ensure a scratch proof disk. Part of me wishes that similarly to some three-disk released steelbooks, both sides would be used to ensure safe removal of each disk, but then there is no unobstructed view of the artwork on the inside of the case. Moreover, and most importantly, the new Resident Evil steelbook six-movie collection, from a packaging standpoint, is superior to the 2020 casing.

When looking at the artwork on the steelbook box set on the side of the box, we have the Umbrella corporation logo, the back features the Umbrella logo again with six different versions of Alice (Jovovich), each representing an installment in the franchise. As well, the snapshots of Alice on the back seem to be the same artwork on the front of each of the steelbooks in the set which are different from the 2020 set, but only marginally. The back of each steelbook is also the Umbrella logo. Overall, they’re a very safe choice of images to use for the Resident Evil collection on both the 2020 version and this 2023 steelbook collection.

The original set from 2020, also in 4K UHD, normally retails at $96, give or take, while the 2023 steelbook edition has a near $231 price tag attached to it. The question that must be asked is what makes this new set worth an extra 135 big ones? First and foremost, steelbooks always, always, cost more than the regular edition, that goes without question, but this is quite a substantial leap. The answer is incredibly simple — Dolby Vision. While the 2020 4K UHD disks look great, they are not quite at the level of what one would call a reference quality disk. The new Dolby Vision disks are simply that, they are reference quality disks, and the quality looks better with each entry in the franchise. While the three-year-old set does look incredible and proved to be the absolute best that Resident Evil has ever looked, the new version with the Dolby Vision added just cranks the quality of this set that was already a 8.5/10 or even a 9/10 to a perfect 10/10. This transfer with the Dolby Vision is just simply sublime and astonishing in its slick presentation which just captures the viewer in sheer amassment. Simply put, if you are a fan of the Paul W. S. Anderson movies and never succumbed to buying the first box set, this is hands-down the easiest choice to make. If you already have the 2020 release and can sell it for a decent amount to upgrade to the new Dolby Vision copies, then that’s even more excellent. And, lastly, if you just love steelbooks and their sleek designs and look to them as a whole, and you like the Resident Evil movies, then this new set is, without a doubt, the best way to own these cheesy action flicks that get more outrageous as the franchise goes on.

Resident Evil Ultimate Collection Special Features:

RESIDENT EVIL Disc Breakdown

4K ULTRA HD DISC

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
• Dolby Atmos + 5.1 audio
• Special Feature:
  • Theatrical Trailer

BLU-RAY DISC

• Feature presented in High Definition
• 1 audio
  • Special Features:
  • Cast and Filmmakers’ Commentary
  • Visual Effects Commentary
  • Alternate Ending with Director Paul W.S. Anderson’s Video Introduction
  • 12 Featurettes
  • “My Plague” Music Video by Slipknot

RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE Disc Breakdown

4K ULTRA HD DISC

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
• Dolby Atmos + 5.1 audio
• Special Features:
• Theatrical and Extended Cuts of the Film
• Theatrical Trailers

BLU-RAY DISC

• Feature presented in High Definition
• 1 audio
• Special Features:
• Filmmaker Commentary
• Cast Commentary
• Writer / Producer Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• “Game Over: Resident EvilReanimated” Documentary
• “Corporate Malfeasance” Featurette
• “Game Babes” Featurette
• “Symphony of Evil” Featurette

RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION Disc Breakdown

4K ULTRA HD DISC

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
• Dolby Atmos + 5.1 audio
• Special Features:
• “Resident Road Map: Reflections on the Future of the Series”
• Theatrical Trailers

BLU-RAY DISC

• Feature presented in High Definition
• 1 audio
• Special Features:
• “Under the Umbrella” Picture-in-Picture
• Filmmaker Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• 4 Featurettes

RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE Disc Breakdown

4K ULTRA HD DISC

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
• Dolby Atmos + 5.1 audio
• Special Features:
• “Alice Activated”
• Theatrical Trailers

BLU-RAY DISC

• Feature presented in High Definition
• 1 audio
• Special Features:
• “Undead Vision” Picture-in-Picture
• Filmmaker Commentary
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Outtakes
• 7 Featurettes

RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION Disc Breakdown

4K ULTRA HD DISC

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
• Dolby Atmos + 5.1 audio
• Special Features:
• “Evil Goes Global”
• “Undead Retribution”
• Theatrical Trailers

BLU-RAY DISC

• Feature presented in High Definition
• 1 audio
• Special Features:
• Director and Cast Commentary
• Filmmaker Commentary
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Outtakes
• “Project Alice: The Interactive Database”
• 8 Featurettes

RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER Disc Breakdown

4K ULTRA HD DISC

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
• Dolby Atmos + 7.1 audio
• Special Features:
• “Directing The Final Chapter”
• “Rola as Cobalt”
• “From Saints to Sinners”
• “From Script to Screen: The Making of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter”
• “Maximum Carnage: Best Kills”
• “Creature Chronology”
• Theatrical Trailers

BLU-RAY DISC

• Feature presented in High Definition
• 1 audio.
• Special Features:
• “Retaliation Mode with Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich”
• 3 Featurettes

Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo steelbook collection November 21st, 2023.

For more information, head to the official Sony Pictures website.

Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming

Tags: 4K UHD, action, adaptation, home release, home video, horror, Milla Jovovich, Paul W.S. Anderson, Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Retribution, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Sony Pictures, steelbook, video games