Resident Evil: Damnation's True Roots: A Movie Review

Director: Makoto Kamiya.

Writer: Shotaru Suga.

Cast: Courtenay Taylor, Matthew Mercer and Robin Sachs.

When the live-action Resident Evil movies feel like one giant bio-hazard, maybe turning to the owners of the franchise, Capcom, for their help is required. Shinji Mikamise created this universe and his series bible should be followed. Along with one of the original video-game programmers, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, the team has gone on to create more magic in one front while the set of films by Paul Anderson are ailing.

Quite often, the cut-scenes in this series of video games are more fulfilling in exploring the world that the Umbrella Corporation has devastated. By playing through all the video-games, fans of this series will get to see how truly methodical the mega-corporation truly is and how the people affected by the horror manages to survive. Instead of one central figure, the games look at the lives of freedom fighters who have yet to band together.

In the latest CGI product, Resident Evil: Damnation continues the tale started in Degeneration (2008). Special Agent Leon S. Kennedy (voiced by Matthew Mercer) leaves his love interest behind and he enters a small country in the Slavic Region of Europe in search of evidence. He is there to verify the rumours that Bio-Organic Weapons are being used in this country's civil war.

Before he can get anywhere, his superiors order him to leave. But this maverick is already in too deep. He goes to uncover a few unsettling truths. The political maneuverings are nothing more than sinister. President Svetlana Belikova (Wendee Lee) intends to infect everyone with a modified version of the famous T Cell virus.

The story is engaging enough to keep some fans of the franchise happy. This movie has more of a feel of being involved in the plotline of a videogame, especially with the single person point of view shots, compared to the live-action flicks. But to understand the story, a few nuances are missing. The Umbrella Corporation is hardly mentioned. True to their corporate agenda, they are a shadow player and hopefully more about them will be revealed in future films. Also, the Resident Evil games will show what their grasp around the world is like. At least this film is a perfect lead-in to the release of Resident Evil 6, due Oct 2nd.

But when considering the technology to create these films can sometimes be years in the making, the next movie may not be out for three or more years. Maybe the length of time will be enough to give some voice talents a chance to mature in their experience. Sadly, the English-speaking voice-over talent used in these imported films will never match the same quality as the Japanese performers in similar products. The English language direction was just lacking.

While the CGI is gorgeous to behold, the technology is still not perfect. The human face is the most difficult muscle to recreate with computers, and no motion-capture device can monitor all the nuances required in the close-ups. When the camera uses wider or longer angles, some detail can be skipped, and those moments are more photo-realistic than the computer generated in-game sequences from L.A. Noir.

Even the terror sequences are a bit displaced. The previous movie, Degeneration, is far better at creating the horror of the situation, where being trapped was very real. Even a few characters, like Claire, seemed to frown at the use of violence. Virtual characters need to be spiritually alive than to behave like plastic avatars. An ideal CGI film should showcase the performing arts than the fancy worlds being made. Instead of mo-cap performers taking on these roles, the directors should have the actors wear the ping pong ball suits.

Maybe the producers of these CGI films should hire Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings) as a consultant. He knows how to bring out a character when wearing the suit. His performances are far too precious.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10

The Resident Evil Damnation Homepage at Sony Pictures:

Resident Evil Damnation at Sony

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