Review: Resident Evil: Degeneration
I know it's a little unusual for a movie to be reviewed on a gaming website, but the direct-to-DVD Resident Evil: Degeneration isn't your average videogame movie. In fact, it ends up feeling more like a new Resident Evil game with all the gameplay removed. It's all cutscenes, all the time.
The plot revolves around a bio-terror attack at an airport where Claire Redfield has just landed. As the zombie outbreak begins again, she takes shelter with other survivors to await rescue. Leading the rescue mission is none other than Leon Kennedy, who has been butched up a little since the last time we've seen him. After the airport level -- I mean scenes, the plot grows more complicated with a crooked senator and an evil businessman and a whole lot of corporate/political intrigue. It's as complicated as the plots in the games can get, although it's slightly easier to digest when it's coming in a 90 minute movie instead of in 5 minute cutscenes that come hours and hours apart. Suffice it to say that there's a G-Virus involved, and the usual scary boss monster with effed-up creature design. Do our heroes survive? Oh, what do you think?
The animation is surprisingly good. Movement was motion captured, so it's very realistic, but while facial animations are expressive, CGI lip synching still has a very long way to go. And naturally, supporting cast and extras are much less detailed than the leads. There are some extremely impressive action setpieces that take full advantage of the freedom of camera movement allowed by working in pure CGI. On the other hand, there's an extraneous female character who essentially takes Claire's place in the action, leaving her on the sidelines, but I felt like that was so they could have some quasi-romance subplot. I guess they figured nobody wanted to see Claire and Leon hook up. Still wish it hadn't taken so long for someone to give Claire a gun. I played Code Veronica. I know she can handle a weapon.
Whatever your opinion of the live action Resident Evil movies, don't let that influence your feelings on Degeneration. It's its own entity. Despite my boyfriend's insistence on squeezing it into the series continuity and fanwanking that Claire gets a makeover at some point that turns her into Ali Larter, it's really a sequel to the videogames. Leon looks as he does in Resident Evil 4, and Claire looks like she hasn't changed since Code Veronica. It's all fan service. There's even flashbacks to Claire and Leon traversing Raccoon City in Resident Evil 2, and even though I'm not the biggest RE fan, even I had a little geek twinge. The DVD extras aren't the best. The 30-minute look behind the scenes at the making of is useful, but the interview with "Leon" and the "bloopers" are a waste of everybody's time. Character bios are vague, but there's a couple trailers for Resident Evil 5 that I hadn't seen before.
Resident Evil: Degeneration isn't the best movie, but fans of Resident Evil should find themselves more than satisfied. There's familiar faces, fan service, overly complicated plots, and more melodrama than you can shake a stick at. (Seriously, that final scene with the three leads is classic RE soap.) And it dovetails nicely into the upcoming Resident Evil 5.
Wootini
Posted to Hot Stuff, Movies-DVDs, Reviews on 29 December 2008
· Comments (5)
Other stuff like this: capcom, movie, resident evil degeneration, review
I just finished watching the movie! I have to agree that the CGI is well done and I do think that they should scrap the live action films in favor of more in this vein and keeping in the original RE universe.
However I do have several bones to pick with the film. The plot is simple and yet muddled. You can essentially put the pieces together within the first ten minutes provided you pay attention to the assortment of news clips and the character foreshadowing while Claire is sitting in the airport.
The thing that distorts the plot is the questionability of the character's intentions and the lack of characterization. Leon is the main star almost in a James Bond like quality, while Claire is... just there, only really as an homage to RE2, the character's pasts are briefly mentioned, but you really have to play the games to know the whole story and there still is a gap of missing information between the character's last adventures and the present (especially regarding the current state of several characters like Chris and Sherry, who are both slated to appear in RE5). The new main character, Angela, starts out great, but midway through feels like a throw away Bond girl due to the love subplot which overtakes any character development (especially closure) and transforms her into another prop with breasts (see end scene costume)
I wish that it had answered more questions about the continuity of the game, but I guess the creators wanted the movie to stand on its own, especially since many present RE fans have started the series with RE4. Overall the movie feels more like an homage to RE2 rather than its sequel.
I have mixed feelings about this movie. There are some scenes that make me go "OH YEAAAHH" and there are others that make me go "LOL WUT just kill the fat politician already." OH YEAH scenes: Claire, when she first gets a gun. Leon, parkour-ish scene. Claire, with a freakin umbrella.
I found myself getting annoyed at the visuals, specifically the tech side of it. The skin ranges from way too shiny solid to way to transparent wax. But that's just the geek in me :P
The only 'blooper' extra I liked is the first one, with Claire blowing up the world. The one scene with the (boss?) monster as the president made me giggle.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps I'm a sucker for fanservice. Best part of this movie: Leon's hair. If I saw someone with that hair IRL, I would slap them. Just sayin'.
i loved it,
im a resi fan boy and this is wat res4 should of been(out of the games a hate res4 and res 5 looks like its gonna follow the trend)rant over!!
ooh where to i buy it? sounds like similar thing to advert child where there just carried on after the ending of final fantasy 7, oh and silent hill the fim love that where it stuck to alot of the game anyway yes i want to see
That dialogue was hilarious, it was absurdly plastic and cold.