Resident Evil: Degeneration shares more in common with Final Fantasy VII Advent Children than just being feature-length, CG films based on popular videogames; they are both rather disappointing, canonical additions that could have been so much more. With Hollywood and German filmmakers consistently running game adaptations into the ground, it was up to the originators of these franchises to show the world how it’s done.
Unfortunately, while Degeneration is not as head-scratchingly exorbitant as the 101-minute Dragonball Z music video masquerading as a Final Fantasy VII side-story, it is undeniably a missed opportunity nonetheless. The convoluted plot revolves around an outbreak of the T-Virus at the fictional Harvardville Airport, seven years after the destruction of Raccoon City in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and one year after the events of Resident Evil 4.
Leon is no longer the rookie police officer that appeared in Resident Evil 2, however, he lacks the sort of easy-going hero attitude that made him so endearing in the fourth installment; instead coming off as a squinty, emotionless robot who could just as easily be the villain. The fact that the art team rendered him to look more like a Korean pop star-turned-serial killer certainly doesn’t help. Claire on the other hand, despite her very John Woo-ish turn in Code Veronica, takes a surprisingly passive role this time out. In fact, she plays more of a third wheel to Leon and the new female character, Angela. Angela is an unrealistically attractive Special Response Team (SRT) member who acts as if she was pulled off the catwalk to join this supposedly elite task force. Angela is the kind of leading lady who takes every opportunity to do something that will confound and upset the audience, such as running off by herself or doing exactly what Leon told her not to.
Like Resident Evil 4, Degeneration is light on scares and heavy on action. In fact, the entire second half of the film is practically a boss battle, which must be the filmmakers attempt to make up for all the tedious exposition preceding it. There is an ample amount of slow-motion bullets and diving out of danger at the last moment, making each consecutive action sequence less intriguing than the one before it. While Degeneration is free of the stench of Paul W.S. Anderson, it is still riddled with horror movie clichés and painfully weak dialogue, topped off with a completely unnecessary romance shoe-horned in to the third act. To further exacerbate the lack of satisfaction the film offers, all of the most gruesome moments occur off-screen; pretty tame coming from a source material that has no qualms about sicking zombified dogs on a 12-year-old girl.
Technically, Degeneration is found lacking, especially in the sound department. There are plenty of opportunities to flex Blu-Ray’s True HD 5.1 Dolby Digital muscles, but the effects are often muted, lacking the ardor necessary to make them the pulse-pounding affair they should be. Rather than an enthralling score to accentuate what could be intense moments, the filmmakers randomly mix in misplaced heavy metal tunes. Unlike the games, Degeneration was created in Japanese first, meaning the lip-synching is not matched up to the English voice-overs…at all.
Digital Frontier’s work is on par with Advent Children; the characters and environments often look smooth and rubbery, never quite achieving a believable appearance. There are some visual anomalies and jaggies during certain scenes, an oversight that is simply not acceptable outside of the game world. The cinematography is amateurish, choosing bland, “videogame-y” angles which diminish the scenes rather than fortify them, including one extremely questionable viewpoint from the slimy antagonist’s crotch.
Recommendation:
At least with Advent Children, you can turn your speakers up, your brain off, and sit back to enjoy all the shiny fanservice. But Degeneration could just as easily be an original film and it wouldn’t be any better or worse. Once the initial disappointment of your first viewing wears off, fans should feel free to watch the special features, then wait patiently for Resident Evil 5.
Resident Evil: Degeneration
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Rated R for Bloody Violence
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Find: Amazon - Netflix - IMDB
Credits
Director - Makoto Kamiya
Writer - Shotaro Suga
Music - Tetsuya Takahashi
Leon S. Kennedy - Paul Mercier
Claire Redfield - Alyson Court
Angela Miller - Laura Bailey
Special Features
The Generation of Degeneration Featurette
Character Profiles
Voice Bloopers
Faux Leon Interview
“BonusView” Interactive Picture-in-Picture
Pop-Up Trivia Track
January 1st, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Your reviews are like, zomg awesome.
January 1st, 2009 at 6:42 pm
So it is as good as all the other movies but this time it’s animated? AWESOME!
January 1st, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Also Haley, your reviews are alright, I guess
January 1st, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Well now I don’t know which one of you to believe…
January 1st, 2009 at 8:27 pm
You’re so dreamy Billy.
January 2nd, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I like the review and my sentiments are the same in all but one regards…
Okay, so most of you know that I work LAPD… well let me tell you, and being a guy I know… man, there are some beautiful women who work both in SWAT and the Bomb Squad (which has become somewhat of an inside joke if you can get it). This perception that female officers, especially ones that work in specialized sections, kind of gets me just as much as the stereotype girl gamers get…
But that is just me. Like I said, other than that, I am in almost complete agreement in your review.
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:30 am
It’s not that Angela is beautiful, but that she doesn’t act the part. I’m sure that you can attest to the fact that if she pulled the same crap she does at the beginning of the movie in real life, she’d either be dead or severely disciplined for insubordination.
There’s a moment where she follows Leon after he makes a death-defying leap, without hesitation. That was a short-lived glimmer into what I would expect an elite RTS member to be like, female or otherwise, but besides that she might as well be a half-naked blond in a scary movie splitting up with the others to go see what that noise was.
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:55 am
Well darn, I find this After I got the DVD already. Still havent watched my copy yet, and now I’m not sure I want to… darn wish I hadnt opened it already >.<
January 6th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I see. I know what you mean now. Just the way it was stated as “unrealistically attractive” … I took it in a different context as to how you intended. My apologies.
January 7th, 2009 at 12:12 am
First, the part where the plane flies into the airport is awesome. Second, you are correct in that the movie is not that great - although I still enjoyed watching it as a RE fan. Third, the best part is the voice acting “Bloopers” in the special features. WATCH THEM NOW.
Leon: “I’m scared!”
January 30th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
The part where the plane crashes was ridiculous and underwhelming, in my opinion. This movie was pretty lackluster overall, I’d much rather play one of the games!
January 31st, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I noticed some of those visual anomalies you mentioned too, I thought it might just be my TV.
Since I foolishly bought this movie before knowing anything about it, I try to get my money’s worth by occasionally watching the second half in the background while I’m doing something else. When you do that, it’s actually not that bad of a flick…
January 31st, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Sharp review. I didn’t believe you so I rented it anyway, and you were dead on. Why is it so hard to make a good movie game?!!
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 am
–”101-minute Dragonball Z music video masquerading as a Final Fantasy VII side-story”
That’s one of the best descriptions of Advent Children I ever heard.