A perfect lead up to Resident Evil 6’s release next week, Resident Evil: Damnation is the second in the CGI-animated film franchise based on the iconic video game series (not to be confused with Paul W.S. Anderson’s American live-action theatrical counterparts), following up 2008’s Resident Evil: Degeneration (yet chronologically set between Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6).
Leon S. Kennedy jets off to the ‘East Slavic Republic’ this time round (Where in the world hasn’t seen viral outbreaks yet in this franchise? Is Capcom using a checklist?), where there are rumours that ‘bio-organic weapons’ – zombies etc – are being used in a civil war. Matthew Mercer does a fantastic job voicing Leon, showcasing his talent as Resident Evil 6 releases next week, in which he also portrays Leon. The voice is almost seamless from the replacement of the previous Leon, Paul Mercier (who voiced Leon in Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles and Resident Evil: Degeneration). Mercer maintains Leon’s classic wry (yet somewhat cheesy) humour, but still manages to convey a serious and dedicated character. Resident Evil: Damnation, with Mercer’s talent, shows off Leon at his absolute butt-kicking best. Also fantastic is Courtenay Taylor as Resident Evil’s sexy-but-deadly femme fatale Ada Wong, re-enforcing her voice-acting talent from Operation Raccoon City and anticipating her major role in Resident Evil 6.
As ever with Resident Evil, the plotline revolves around governmental conspiracies and politics. The USA and Russia prepares to intervene to stop the civil war, but as soon as Leon arrives, he is told that the USA is pulling out and all American citizens have to leave. But in typical Leon fashion – where there’s BOWs, there’s a job to do, and so he remains in the midst of a viral outbreak/warzone despite orders to wipe out the biohazard threat.
The visual style is absolutely breathtakingly top-notch, with a gorgeous graphic-novel style opening sequence to the stunning CGI animation that in some places is almost lifelike with its incredible rendering. There are some genius uses of POV shots that compliment some of the most enjoyable scenes in the film, and the fast pacing flatters the fantastic action sequences. There are some dubious moments with the writing, however (a freedom-fighting terrorist states his political motivation: he just wanted to have some fun with his friends).
In a direct contrast to Resident Evil: Degeneration, which was much slower paced and featured some of the older characters and monsters of the franchise, Damnation is a much more action-orientated piece that brings in some of the Plaga zombies (an interesting parallel to how the video game franchise has transformed over the last few years) and introduces an intriguing twist on the way we’ve been trained to view BOWs in the franchise so far. But what’s most exciting is that the tone is dark, tense and creepy as hell, returning to the Resident Evil that once was. There are plenty of nods to some iconic Resident Evil moments (highlights include a reference to the forced Plaga ingestion that we saw at the beginning of Resident Evil 5, and the reference to the first Lickers from Resident Evil 2) to keep the fans happy.
This is where one major problem comes to light: if you are not already a fan of Resident Evil, and in particular the games franchise (rather than just Paul W.S. Anderson’s films), you are going to feel completely alienated by this film. There is too much going on plot-wise for anyone not savvy with Resident Evil terminology (‘Plaga’, ‘BOWs’, ‘BSAA’ etc) or familiar with its characters and monsters to be able to find a connection with the film. In fact, a lot of it may come off as somewhat silly if you had never played the games. One major example of this is the film’s somewhat campy humour, which gamers will be very used to (and may find somewhat endearing) but new viewers may find ridiculous. This film – unlike Paul W.S. Anderson’s series, which has tried to reach a much wider audience and create its own fanbase – is made strictly for fans of the games. It is made to fit with the games franchise’s continuity, as Degeneration did before it. Its various references to the game franchise and heavy use of Resident Evil lingo and style will ostracize non-Resi fans.
Whilst it labels itself as a horror film, it uses the genre very loosely. The heavy video game stylization (almost making the film seem like a feature-length cutscene) will not let anyone engage Damnation as even simply a horror film. Whilst is has some good scary moments and some great action pieces, it is more apt to describe this as simply a Resident Evil film, because of its very strong sense of its own individual identity. If one views this as simply a horror film, or even simply as an action film, they will be heavily disappointed.
But at least Makoto Kamiya’s vision has succeeded in pleasing its target audience, which is the game franchise’s wide fanbase – which is more than can be said for Paul W.S. Anderson’s confused efforts, which have failed to engage both game fans and movie fans alike. It’s an ideal piece of entertainment in advance of Resident Evil 6. If you’re a fan, is it definitely heavily recommended. If you’re not, you may want to avoid this.