The plot: Arms dealer Glenn Arias (John DeMita) is preparing
to unleash a new zombie apocalypse on the masses, having engineered a virus
that he is able to control. After an infiltration mission goes south, BSAA
agent Chris Redfield (Kevin Dorman) enlists the help of scientist Rebecca
Chambers (Erin Cahill) and former agent Leon Kennedy (Matthew Mercer) to help
him stop Arias and find a cure for the virus. However, as Arias’ plan goes
ahead, the three of them will have to work fast to save the world once again.
Dorman gives a certain gruff authority to his
military role, although he’s honestly the blandest of the main three. Cahill
may be saddled with a ‘damsel in distress’, but credit to her as she manages to
convey genuine smarts and even a dry sense of humour without any of it feeling
beyond who visually looks the most out-of-place of any of the characters here.
Mercer is in full action hero mode here, selling how tired his character is of
all the fighting and carnage has gone on in the series prior while also nailing
a bravado that shows while he may be run down from all the fighting, he is more
than willing to deal some damage if he has to. DeMita makes for a great villain
here, balancing out the vengeful backstory with an absolutely batshit depiction
of a mad scientist and making them both stick. Sure, he’s far more entertaining
just being crazy, but he doesn’t waste his chance for at least some character depth.
Studio Marza Animation Planet, who are behind
the animation here, are best known for their work with Sega,
particularly on the more recent Sonic games. That experience in game cutscenes shows here as the
CGI quality has a very pre-rendered feel to it, like it was all made in a game
engine. Not only that, it feels like it’s at least one generation behind as far
as graphics, leaving a shiny and rather plastic sheen to what we are seeing.
That
said, while the textures are a bit lacking, the actual animation is still
pretty good. The motion capture is solid, allowing for some very energetic and
lively movements during the action scenes, and while the lip-sync can be pretty
hit-and-miss, the modelling on the character faces overall look lifelike
without stepping into Uncanny Valley territory. The same goes for the
environments they run around in, from the creepy corridors of the mansion in
Mexico to the chaotic streets of New York, which all feel like they have
separate identities as locales and enough atmosphere to fit with the frequently
gear-shifting tone of the story. And then there’s the action scenes, which are
remarkably fluid and show a good understanding of pacing and scope to get the
blood pumping.
Something that I keep noticing with Japanese
video games, especially those with more cinematic aspirations like Resident
Evil and Metal Gear Solid, is a recurring fear about corporate privatisation.
This idea that those in power, those who control capitalist empires, will end
up destroying society as we know it. Here, that fear is embodied by the
machinations of Arias, a weapons merchant who doesn’t deal in tempered steel
but flesh and blood. The notion that not only can he turn everyday civilians
into undead bio-weapons, but that we could already be tapped for the
transformation without even knowing it, is quite unsettling and highlights a
lot of the dehumanisation that is inherent to the zombie genre. It taps into a
key idea of the original games, and something that Paul W.S. Anderson’s live-action attempts completely missed: You don’t need overblown ideas to make
zombies seem scary. Just the idea that a single bite can turn a human being
into a weapon is creepy enough, aided by the characters remarking on how much
their conflicts with the Umbrella Corporation have changed them and their hopes
for the future.
But I’m not going to pretend that this film’s
main goal is exploring human fears of corporatisation and the dead coming back
to life. When I said that Resident Evil has cinematic aspirations, that’s more
in reference to how much of the series’ identity is comprised of a B-movie
aesthetic. Right from the first game’s legendarily awkward acting and dialogue,
there’s always been this spectre of the ridiculous hanging over the franchise.
And here, it seems that the filmmakers have grabbed onto that aesthetic with
both hands because this thing is seriously ri-goddamn-diculous. Whether it’s
Leon Kennedy showing that a motorcycle can be the most effective weapon for
fighting zombies, Arias trying to re-write his own past through a particularly
kooky attempt to recreate his dead fiancé, or the BSAA agents connecting over
their shared love for Breaking Bad (considering how much the RE world has been
ravaged by zombies, that show existing in it is a bit of a mindfrag
moment), there’s this recurring feeling that a lot of what we’re watching is
here because it’s supposed to be cool. However, it gets that across without
feeling like it’s talking down to the audience or trying to be more than it is.
The film knows that it’s a bombastic zombie flick, and as the story carries on,
it only gets more and more glorious in how over-the-top it is. It’s enjoyable
without being dumbed down, and it’s goofy without being too self-conscious; the
kind of zombie film I can absolutely get behind.
All in all, I really hope Paul W.S. Anderson is taking notes
on just how much he got wrong.
The acting is damn good, the animation can be a bit muddled but pulls off
spectacle where it counts, the writing taps into certain cultural fears to
wring out some decent horror and the action is so over-the-top that it’s
difficult to watch without grinning like a complete idiot. It’s more than a
little insane, but not to any insulting degree; instead, it allows the audience
to enjoy what’s on-screen because of how
bombastic it gets, not in spite of it.
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