Review of Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) by Tim S — 21 Jan 2009

*Sigh* Well, we have yet another video game adaptation on our hands. They are always hit and miss but always interesting to see. I have a great love for the Resident Evil video game series and I'm always somewhat disappointed when it's translated outside the video game world.

With this one I can safely say...it's the best adaptation of the series so far...but that's not saying too much. The story and the plot are all over the place in this. I had a hard time following the story and keeping up with who was who.

I always knew the Umbrella Corporation was behind it all. Now suddenly the focus is this other pharmacutical company. When did this happen? To me, the story details just seemed lost in between the action sequences.

The animation is nice, but still CGI humans give me the creeps, no matter what the story is. The animation is also slightly jerky in spots and not very natural, but then again, you have to walk that fine line between realism and animation and sometimes that line can be blurred.

There was one shot of Claire getting into an elevator and giving Leon a wink as the doors closed that I thought was particularly sexy. Don't know if that was the intention of the filmmakers, but I had to rewind to see it again.

;) The score is pretty good for the most part. It is completely orchestral and bombastic most of the time, while being intimate other times. So it's not totally an action score, more akin to a dramatic piece.

Personally, I found this movie very uninteresting and not really worth too many replays, but I can see why people are digging it, it's just not for me. Even as a fan of the game, at the end I felt like I wanted more.

And, for god sake's, can we please be rid completely of 'Matrix' style animation, particularly when someone fires a gun?!!