Review of Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017) by Shaun%20 C — 29 May 2017

The film succeeds more as a love letter to long-time faithfuls to the canon stories that were told through the various games, ranging from the original Biohazard release all the way to Resident Evil 6. The storyline of the film itself is based in between the 6th and 7th installments of the game series. There are many references to the previous games littered throughout the movie, so a prior knowledge of the Non-Hollywood lore is a plus. You can easily navigate the movie's straight-forward plot without any homework, however.

The movie's greatest strength lies with its breakneck-pacing and rather rousing soundtrack (composed by Kenji Kawai). Unlike the Hollywood offering, the film sticks very close to the roots of what makes the Resident Evil series of video games so memorable - which are the characters doing what they do best, slaying zombies and overcoming apocalyptic odds. Vendetta never shies away from its lineage, and instead - doesn't hesitate to show off the various elements of the franchise that is so well-loved by fans from around the globe.

Where the movie falls short is perhaps on the animation quality, and also the role of a returning character from the series that we haven't seen in a while. The animation CGI for the most part, is very well executed and presentable on the big screen, but there are a few spots where it looked like it should have been worked on more. One of the characters, Rebecca Chambers - makes her big-screen debut and also a special return as she has been out of the picture since Resident Evil 0. Her role however, isn't as engaging as I had hoped it would be.

Audiences that will love this movie are the ones that have played through the previous video games, and would love to see fan-favourites in action once more - at least before the transition to first-person horror that the franchise makes in Resident Evil 7. If you're only familiar with the Hollywood iterations, this movie will be a strange viewing indeed. This is a good time and an easy recommendation, even better if you can watch it with friends who are also fans of the video games.