Resident Evil: Damnation

Of the three animated, in-canon RESIDENT EVIL films released as of this writing, DAMNATION is by far the best in nearly every department. Top notch animation quality, impressive visuals/cinematography, and a winding story full of surprises that are sure to tickle the most loyal RE fans. And that's to say nothing of the charming English voice cast (which includes Matthew Mercer and Courtenay Taylor in their roles from RE6), and the impressive fight choreography, action design, and mocap stuntwork. With regard to the others in its trilogy, I find DAMNATION to be consistently more exciting than DEGENERATION, and a better told narrative than VENDETTA. Of course, in the action department its hard to top VENDETTA's choreography, but if you bounced off the clunky dialogue and fan-fiction-level storytelling in that film, then DAMNATION may be a better fit for you. The legacy characters such as Leon and Ada are everything you want them to be, and the new characters are equally intriguing. The scenes are well blocked, and the director wields cinematic language with surprising effectiveness for a film of this kind. The entire production is clearly a love letter to the RE universe, taking elements from old and new games alike while weaving an original story that expands the lore in interesting ways. The returning monsters are redesigned enough to renew their flavor, but still recognizable from their iconic in-game counterparts. But regardless of your level of investment in the RE canon, you will find in this film a fun and action-packed monster/spy adventure with plenty of heart, visual splendor, and most importantly: decent cinematic storytelling.

Very good for a first attempt

Finally...an adaptation that is worthy of being called a Resident evil movie. Resident Evil: Damnation rose to the occasion on this second installment of the CG movies. It does a great job of captivating a viewing experience that will appeal to hardcore fans of the video game franchise as well as viewers who are unfamiliar with the games. The storyline was thoughtful, entertaining and engaging. The mood and tone of the film stays true to the games and the overall themes conveyed in the game come through in the film beautifully-- without making it any less of a film. As I watched the film I felt myself being immersed in the gameplay all over again when the composition of a scene looked eerily familiar to one I remembered from one of the games. Leon and Ada's characters remain respectful to their originals in the game and are not overshadowed by characters created in the adaptation. BOW's do not become uncharacteristically humanized -- or beautified into infected superhuman heroines in tight clothes--insuring the integrity and the severity of the threat they pose. In essence, this was a film made with the intention of making a respectful adaptation of the Resident Evil Games franchise--not a series of shameless mockeries disguised as Resident Evil live action films. In surmise, yes, you have the introduction of new characters and a new setting but the overall important core elements of a Resident Evil based movie are not lost unlike the live action films. If you want to experience the survival horror series Resident Evil without playing the games or if you just want to see a good CG horror / action / zombie movie, then this movie is a must see.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not a fan of Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil movies. The best thing I can say about them is that they can be pretty looking pieces of schlock, but for me, to try to enjoy them on any other level is nearly impossible, as they take themselves way too seriously. You can't do that when everything happening in your movies is completely over the top and ridiculous. Resident Evil Damnation, for the most part, doesn't have the problems that plague Anderson's movies. The plot in Damnation makes sense, with clear character motivations (other than Ada, who is meant to be ambiguous, as usual), good pacing, and a suitable amount of action, particularly towards the excellent climax. The monsters are well done, too, with the Lickers in particular being well represented. They are suitably slimy, scary and ferocious as ever. The CG also seems to be a step up from the previous CG Resident Evil movie, Degeneration. Leon's character model in Damnation, in particular, is a clear improvement from the always scowling Leon from Degeneration. As a side note, I've always regarded Leon as being the most relatable character in the franchise alongside Claire Redfield. Leon's constant streak of bad luck in both the games and movies, and his ceaseless optimism and ability to maintain a sense of humor despite this, makes you want to root for him. To compare, Alice from the live action Resident Evil movies is a completely soulless cipher, a leather-clad Barbie doll designed to shoot the bad guys. This is not to say that Leon is an amazing character or anything, but he's the best we've got, in my opinion. I wouldn't mind if they rebooted the live action movies with him as the central protagonist of the series. So, what are Damnation's shortcomings? I could have probably done without JD. Seems like you can't have a horror story without a wacky comic relief character anymore. It's too bad, because there's a fairly competent, dramatic story going on here, and JD drags it down a bit. If JD were more, I dunno, SUBTLE, I think I would have liked him more. He sort of redeems himself as a character during his final scenes, though, I will give him that. It goes to show you how smart this movie is that it can mine a goofy comic relief character for a bit of good drama. Some of the dialogue in this movie was also a bit ham-fisted. One scene in particular sees Leon surviving a Licker's talons thanks to a flask that he keeps hidden away in his vest. After the Licker is disposed of, Leon APOLOGIZES TO HIS FLASK. I'm not kidding. He actually looks mournfully at his flask and apologizes for not being able to save it from the Licker's talons. I know this was supposed to be a shot at humor, but I couldn't help but feel that this is the kind of cheesy stuff that I'd see in one of the live action movies. Also, Leon's monologue to Buddy at the end sounds awkward and forced. There are other examples, but these were the ones that stuck out in my mind while writing this. My only other real criticism is the weak antagonist. She's not terrible by any means, just under-developed. It almost feels like they ran out of money while making this thing and had to cut some of her scenes. It's too bad, I enjoyed her, especially her fight with Ada. Good choreography work there. So, to end, I really liked Damnation. The flaws that haunt Resident Evil stories don't seem to be going away any time soon, but in this case, the good far outweighs the bad. Hopefully we can get another one of these CG movies in the next few years. They're pretty decent, this one being better than the last.

Una excelente compra, la mejor de la saga. Viene en una excelente calidad.

For some fans, like me, the RE live action films are considered atrocities and should be skipped altogether. Luckily, Capcom decided to make things right by following the storyline in the CG films and this second is one fine example. The plot might be a little too murky but hey, it's Resident Evil and all the goodies are there. Old but very well known characters that we all love, awesome CG animated scenes and zombie/B.O.W. action all the way. If you liked Degeneration, you'll love Damnation!

Great animation horror film

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Capcom ist nach dem sehr gut gewordenen Degeneration ein weiterer CG-Motion Picture gelungen. Der Film spielt nach den Ereignissen von Resident Evil 5, wobei Leon S. Kennedy wieder Hauptprotagonist ist. Neu dabei ist diesmal Ada Wong. Leon überzeugt als US-Special Agent und Ada als Agentin für eine geheime Organisation auf ganzer Linie. Mit der Handlung hat sich Capcom selbst übertroffen. Diese zeigt neue Ansätze, einen interessanten Verlauf und bietet besonders gegen Ende einige überraschende Wendungen. Es wird viel Action, Resident Evil-typische unheilvolle Atmosphäre, viel Blut und nervenaufreibende Spannung geboten. Die klassischen RE-Licker Kreaturen sind ebenso wie die aus RE5 bekannten, vom Plaga-Virus befallenen Infizierten mit von der Partie. Die Pharma-Konzerne Umbrella und Tricell werden in dem Film zwar nicht mal erwähnt, dafür punktet der Streifen besonders in Sachen Ideen. Ohne zu viel zu verraten, so sei die Tatsache erwähnt, dass nun die Möglichkeit gefunden wurde, BOWs zu steuern und gezielt einzusetzen, was bisher nicht möglich war. Etwas weniger gelungen sind die sterilen und kalen Schauplätze, denn die sind weder innovativ noch RE-originell, zudem leidet auch die Gruselatmosphäre darunter, die in dem Vorgänger Degeneration deutlich besser eingefangen wurde. Man merkt deutlich, dass bei Damnation der Fokus auf Action und Hetzjagden als auf horrortypische Elemente gelegt wurde, was der Güte des Films aber keinen Abbruch tut. FAZIT: Auch wenn es irgendwie schade ist, dass auf die Resident Evil-typische Kernhandlung von Umbrella und die stilvollen locations verzichtet wurde, so schafft es RE Damnation trotz etwas weniger Horror-Anteil dennoch, den unverkennbaren Resident Evil-Stil einzufangen und sich hervorragend zu präsentieren. Bei dem Film geht es handfest zur Sache. Eíne absolute Empfehlung an alle Resident-Evil Fans! Zur DVD sei erwähnt, dass die Bild- und Tonqualität sehr gut ausfällt. Scharfe computergenerierte Bilder, kaum Schmutz, kein Flackern, keine Ruckler bei den Cuts, flüssige Wiedergabe auch bei bombastischen Explosionen, intensiver und glasklarer 5.1.-Sound, gut gelungene deutsche Synchronisation und korrekt eingesetzte Gesichtszüge. Bonusmaterial ist ebenfalls vorhanden, wenn auch nicht viel, allerdings gut ausgewählt und informativ.