Looks like the Resident Evil franchise is trying to take over the media world. In just over a month the brand has released a new movie, Retribution, a new game, and now a CG motion picture, Damnation. To be honest, I don’t think any of the releases now can match any of the products that came out 10+ years ago. But, I’ll try to give an honest review based on just what I’ve seen in Damnation.
The screenplay for Resident Evil: Damnation was written by Shotaro Suga and directed by Makoto Kamiya, both of whom had the same roles in the last film, Degeneration. The film features voice overs by Matthew Mercer (“Leon”), Courtney Taylor (“Ada Wong”), Dave Wittenberg (“Buddy”), Val Tasso (“JD”), and Wendee Lee (“Svetlana”).
In Resident Evil: Damnation, Leon is dropped off in a small European country where terrorists are fighting the government for control over the fledgling country striving for independent from The Soviet Union. Rumor has it, the government has started using B.O.W.’s (zombies, lickers, mutants, etc) as part of their army against any opposition. Leon’s job is to uncover the truth and keep the virus from spreading outside of the country.
Damnation is an interesting addition to the Resident Evil franchise because it keeps up to speed with the types of zombies you see in the major motion pictures. Long gone are the years of shamblers and the sporadic licker. Now viewers get to see a homegrown army of super zombies – the ones whose faces spread out into those four fangs. But, the zombies aren’t the only antagonists in this film. There are three, actually. Obviously the zombies and mutated creatures are the biggest threat, but then there are the corrupt government armies and the ragtag group of terrorists who want to liberate the tiny country.
Speaking of the occasional licker, Damnation is actually jam-packed with dozens and dozens of them. You get to find out why when you watch the movie. More importantly, in this movie the lickers tend to take on a much deeper role than in all the previous games and movies. This time around, lickers are more than just blood thirsty creatures. They have thoughts, attack tactics, loyalties, and even emotions like cowardis. I don’t know about you guys, but I think this new aspect to the creatures is refreshing. Finally some new information on one of the franchise’s most popular staples.
Something that is not so refreshing is the overuse of recurring characters in the Resident Evil universe. The two returning stars in Damnation are Leon and Ada, old friends, once lovers, and sometimes enemies. With a franchise – a brand – so large, you’d think Capcom would introduce some new characters every so often. Damnation does introduce new players – my favorites being JD and Svetlana – but you can guess what happens to them by the end of the film. There have to be other stories out there, more journeys to contain the virus than just those of Leon, Ada, Claire, Jill, etc. How does Capcom dive deeper into the background of lickers, but can’t introduce a new STARS member or survivor girl that lasts more than just one film?
I would recommend Resident Evil: Damnation only to fans of the saga/brand. For most other viewers, the film would simply be average at best. I enjoyed it, but far less than the previous CG film, Degeneration.
