Resident Evil: Damnation

Resident Evil: Damnation: Japanese 3D animated film, based on the original game rather than the live action film series, a sequel to Resident Evil: Degeneration. Leon is back in a an ex USSR state which is now in the throes of civil war. He's investigating the use of Bio Organic Weapons (BOWs) allegedly being used by separatists. The monsters are created by humans being infected by a virus.. But all kinds of conspiracies are at play in this game of smoke and mirrors. Most of the characters are being manipulated by those with agendas. Great battle scenes with the monsters, even one monster type which looks like an Engineer from Prometheus. It's animated and shoot-em-up like the games but the characters here aren't two dimensional, they really have back stories. Directed by Makoto Kamiya from a screenplay by Shotaro Suga. On Netflix. 7/10.

As usual in anything Resident Evil, we've got villains that are so cartoonishly evil as their plans and motives are ridiculous. Every single faction in the movie is a carbon copy of Umbrella Corp. The movie is supposed to occur in the Eastern Slav Republic, so everyone speaks flawless English, even among them, but with a Slavic accent. The monsters suck. Bullets and other projectiles are small, fast-moving, autonomous plot devices that cause variable damage depending on the importance of the character their hit. In some cases, hundreds of bullets that go towards a specific target disappear midair and let him/her/it get away. In other cases, a monster that survived constant rifle fire at short range several times unharmed is killed by a single 9mm bullet.

The CGI is bad. The voice acting is bad. The lip-syncing is even worse.

The pro-American propaganda is pathetic, obvious, and omnipresent throughout the movie.

There is no script.

It's as if the director of this movie took Shoot 'em up, removed the sarcasm, replaced the hitmans with monsters and the actors with poor CGI models.

All that said, if you've seen every other umbrella-related thing, if you've played the games, and it's a gray Sunday afternoon and you really have nothing better to do, shut down your brain, and the action will be enjoyable.

This movie definitely feels like a Resident Evil title to a fan of the game series which is good for all RE players, so most of us will like this movie definitely not like those Mila Yovovych movies... The story is interesting with some small twists, the political aspects even make it nicer. The action which is very well and interestingly performed (or directed) and can actually surprise you in a good way, not like most of those new Hollywood action movies that seem to get more and more boring... Leon S. Kennedy is again the protagonist of this movie, I would choose a different guy this time but they managed to portrait him well in this animated movie, but not as good as in RE: Degeneration. The side-characters were not well enough developed and they lacked a bit in background story and ambitions. I really liked the president of this "Eastern Slav Republic", she was hot, she was well development and simply an intriguing character. Compared to RE: Degeneration this movie felt a bit weaker because I think the dramaturgy didn't go that well and too many things were left unclear which is really sad - maybe some of the games give an explanation, but that certainly doesn't make this movie better. A really interesting thing is how this story actually kinda foresaw the Ukraine/Krim-Crisis in a very abstracted way, because this movie was released a short while before stuff started to go wild over there... even the president kinda reminds heavily of the general-secretary of the Krim Republic (and internet-star) Natalja Poklonskaja which is an (almost?) prophetic coincidence. In a short sentence: Watch it if you like RE, watch if you want to see some good action stuff.

Of note, this is a movie. It will not scare the pants off of you like the games can. Understanding that it is not the game makes the film easily enjoyable.

The CGI is VERY well done and the English voice acting leaves little if anything to be desired. The storyline is simple and recurring characters are portrayed faithfully. The fight scenes are choreographed very well.

Leon seems to have more quips in this film, but those are forgiven in the light of everything else. Thankfully, he is starting to show a bit of weariness in his plight. JD steals the show for a short bit without detracting from the mood of the film. Ada is ruthless and manipulative as ever. All in all, a fun ride.

You do not need to have seen Resident Evil: Degeneration to enjoy this film, though I would suggest you see it anyway as it is a great film in its own right.

For fans of the video games, there is a treat to be had that is not on the cover.

This film, as well as Degenerations, are considered to be canon whereas the travesty known as the live action films are not.

I can't say anything more! it's amazing to me that Capcom and Sony have brought the best movie of the series to all of us, and importantly the fans of the video game. Resident Evil Damnation was a spectacular breakthrough, more interesting and better than RE: Degeneration. The Effect and CG was great to me, it showed the monsters extremely vividly, beautiful slow-motions. You must keep your eyes open all almost 2hrs because of the very-fast rhythm and nice action of Leon and Ada. The noteworthy thing is about the Lickers- fast,many and even they were the good assistants (know while watching!!!???). Dramatic has been pushed up to the climax when Leon and Buddy against 2 giant Tyrans. And that was the 2nd anniversary of Leon when he was getting on the brink of death to save someone (1st in RE Degeneration)!!! Will you have a good day off? So let's buy the DVD or Bluray from 25 Sep. and enjoy it, maybe you'll agree with my reviews. My rating: 9/10