Resident Evil: Degeneration

Or perhaps you could say, bridging the gap between the video-games and the film adaptations with this spin-off CG motion picture. DEGENERATION tells a new story that happened about seven years after the first incident in Racoon City. It has some references to the game story lines (aswell as some returning characters), but in all honesty, this new script isn't really offering much new angles or anything. It's a little thin and not all that engaging.

It's okay as a stand-alone (animated) feature, meaning: I was happy to see it not tie in with the Milla Jovovich films (mainly because I liked the latest, post-apocalyptic EXTINCTION so much). The only two highlights of DEGENERATION (that brings in RE4's game character Leon S. Kennedy again, as the main hero) are the first act at the airport (which has a fabulous game-feel to it) and the main mutant monster (consider this a Bigg Boss Fight) at the facility later on. The other aspects in the film don't really matter much.

The CG animation looks slick enough, the camera angles are nicely directed, but the action (and especially the movements and facial features of the characters) comes across as fairly wooden and far from realistic. I remember being more impressed with the first FINAL FANTASY (THE SPIRITS WITHIN) film when it came out. In the end, DEGENERATION is a fun addition to the franchise, but nothing more.