Starring
the voices of Kevin Dorman, Matthew Mercer, Erin Cahill, Kari
Wahlgren, John DeMita. Directed by Takanori Tsujimoto. (2017, 97
min).
Resident
Evil: Vendetta is the third film in the Japanese-produced
computer-animated series. Unlike the live action franchise starring
Milla Jovovich, these films are considered part of the same universe
as the video games. While that might be preferable to purists, as
someone who isn't much of a gamer, I found myself questioning
Vendetta's purpose as a
movie.
The
story involves three characters from previous games (Chris, Leon and
Rebecca) attempting to thwart the nefarious plans of Glenn Arias. A
psychotic genius, he wants revenge for the death of his wife &
family by unleashing a new virus on New York, which turns people into
ravenous zombies.
The
movie looks like a video game, plays like a video game and has a
story structure like those in a video game (concluding on a rooftop,
which is apparently a tradition in the Resident Evil world). I'll
concede that Vendetta would probably be great fun to
play. But as a viewing experience, well...it's like watching someone
else play.
 |
| Spaceballs 2: Revenge of Pizza the Hut |
While
my own kids enjoy YouTube videos of that very thing, Vendetta
does little to justify its existence as a movie, not helped by
expressionless & dull animated characters and completely implausible action,
the latter best exemplified in a scene where a character falls 500
feet and splats to the ground like a water balloon, yet survives long
enough to speak. Sure, it's just an animated movie, but totally
negates obvious efforts to make these characters move and behave
realistically. Hell, even toddlers knew Mufasa was toast when he fell
into that ravine.
The characters are inconsistent, as well. In a single scene, Arias goes from being creepily obsessed with marrying Rebecca (the spitting image of his dead wife) to deciding she he'd rather turn her into a zombie. As for Chris...for someone who's supposedly the world's most badass zombie killer, he sure spends a lot of time staring dumbstruck at the hordes of undead shambling his way.
Though
plenty bloody and full of action, Resident Evil: Vendetta would
probably be more exciting if you could pick up the controller and
inflict the carnage yourself. As a movie, the CG mayhem quickly
becomes repetitive and boring. Hardcore gamers might enjoy it, but there's a good reason the live
action films chose to go in a different direction.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTES:
"CGI to Reality: The Creature"; "CGI to Reality:
Designing Vendetta"; "Motion Capture Set Tour with
Dante Carver"; "Designing the World of Vendetta"
"BSAA
MISSION BRIEIFING" - Character Profiles
TOKYO
GAME SHOW FOOTAGE - The creators speaking at a Comic-Con
STILLS
GALLERY
AUDIO
COMMENTARY
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEH...
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