Director: Makoto Kamiya
Starring: Matthew Mercer, Dave Wittenberg, Wendee Lee, Val Tasso, Robin Sachs
Running Time: 96 minutes
Certificate: 15
Extras: Las Plagas: Organisms Of War, The DNA Of Damnation, Gag Reel, Resident Evil 6 Game Trailer, Dragon’s Dogma Game Trailer
Why play a computer game, when you can watch one? This is the question inadvertently posed by RESIDENT EVIL: DAMNATION, the sequel to 2008’s RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION. Unlike the Milla Jovovich-starring live-action movies, DAMNATION and REGENERATION, are CG and feature characters taken directly from the original game series, chiefly US Federal Agent Leon S. Kennedy (Mercer). At the start of DAMNATION Kennedy sneaks into the ‘East Slavic Republic’ to confirm rumours bio-organic weapons are being used in the country’s civil war, in which the US and Russians are about to intervene. Told to leave on completion Kennedy stays to find the truth about the tragedies caused by the bio-organic weapons, and lands himself in a battle for his life.
So what you have is a bog standard plot, but the means to make it extraordinary thanks to CGI. However, director Makoto Kamiya doesn’t seem to have been told this as he’s put together a film so bereft of originality or excitement it’s just plain annoying. The story plods along with an explosion here, a creature there but there is never any urgency or tension for the viewer to cling to. Added to this, the characters are not particularly likeable and as a result aren’t easy to root/care for. In particular Leon S. Kennedy is an egotist who sees himself as infallible, which is fair enough if you’re playing as him on your Atari but not on film. Yes, this may have contradicted the computer games and is why it hasn’t been changed but this is a review of the film.
On the flipside, the animation is extraordinary, everything is intricately detailed and is a little awe-inspiring: monsters and creatures look almost lifelike, and the shots of fire are breathtaking. There is the issue of the humans’ mouths when talking, but when the rest of it looks so good this is forgivable.
What RESIDENT EVIL: DAMNATION boils down to is are you a fan of the games? If you answer yes, you will probably find much to enjoy. Answer no and you may as well walk away.
Extras: Las Plagas: Organisms Of War is actually a very credible explanation of the foes, and diseases in the film. DNA of DAMNATION is a comprehensive look at the main characters. The Gag Reel is very odd, and not very funny. The game trailers will appeal to fans but no one else.
RESIDENT EVIL: DAMNATION is released on Blu-ray and DVD September 24th and can be purchased here alternatively try and win a copy
