Resident Evil: Degeneration (Makoto Kamiya, 2008)
As I queued up Resident Evil: Degeneration, I hardly expected a masterwork. Degeneration does after all belong to the substantially execrated group of films known “video game movies”. This genres lackluster roster speaks for itself: Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros, the list goes on. So why would I voluntarily subject myself to a film belonging to this less than stellar genre?
For one, I am a big fan of the Resident Evil video games. Also, unlike the previous live action filmic adaptations of the game series, Degeneration, which is a computer-generated effort, is directly connected with the storyline from the games. The idea of seeing familiar characters from the games in a feature length animated film was admittedly quite enticing to the gaming fan that dwelled deep within me. Surely there was enough potential here to conjure a half way decent movie? How foolish and naïve I was.
The story is a convoluted and contrived affair that chronologically takes between the third and fourth Resident Evil gaming titles. Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, the two main protagonists from several of the games, take center stage here as well. To fully explain the needlessly intricate plot would be an exercise in tedium. Suffice to say that there are a lot of big bad corporations messing with viruses that turn people into big bad monsters, and its up to our heroes to expose these corrupt conglomerates and save the day.
Degeneration also commits the cardinal cinematic sin of telling and not showing when dealing with its narrative. We are constantly treated to characters that spout out manufactured lines that serve no other purpose besides explaining what has happened, what is happening, and what is going to happen. It is the laziest form of plot exposition that exists, and Degeneration is filled to the brim with it. Characters also are controlled by the plot instead of vice-versa, commit entirely unmotivated actions for the convenience of the story, etc.
On the visual side, the film is surprisingly dated. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, made nearly 8 years before this film, was infinitely more visually astounding and aesthetically pleasing. Granted, the makers of Degeneration most likely did not have $135 million dollars to throw around in creating it like the staff of Final Fantasy did. Nevertheless, the film has an extremely unpolished look that at times looks no better than a cut scene from some of the original gaming titles. Characters move awkwardly like marionettes and their clothing clings stiffly to their bodies like cardboard. Peoples skin and clothes all have an inexplicably glossy appearance, and the lip-synching is quite off.
The action scenes, most likely the main reason for watching a picture such as this, are curiously uncompelling and are nothing that a person would not see if they played the games instead.
Resident Evil: Degeneration is one of those films where nothing is a surprise. You can finish lines before characters are done speaking them and predict actions before they occur. It is one of those movies where you spend the entire time thinking about all of the other films you could, and probably should, be watching.
