Resident Evil: Damnation Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Resident Evil: Damnation Blu-ray Movie Review

Where's the 3D?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 20, 2012

Gather and fight.

When the going's good, there's usually no good reason to take the foot off the accelerator. Capcom's Resident Evil franchise first debuted on the PlayStation back in 1996 (when controllers were still wired, high definition was still largely a dream, and optical disc-based video games were still in competition with cartridge-based platforms from Nintendo, so yes, quite a long time ago in terms of entertainment technology) and earned an immediate following across the globe as a game that absolutely defined the Survival-Horror experience. It was followed by Resident Evil 2 two years later and so on and so forth. Fast forward to today's marketplace which is about to welcome Resident Evil 6 to the PlayStation 3 (wireless controllers and all!) and behold an era where numerous iterations of the games -- new stories, newly remastered favorites -- have appeared across various platforms, where cinema screens have become a permanent home to the Milla Jovovich-starring series (number five's on the way), and the small screen has enjoyed a couple of digitally animated films, Resident Evil: Degeneration and now Resident Evil: Damnation, a sequel to Degeneration that takes place before the events of Resident Evil 6, the video game. Confused? Don't be. Even if that's a lot of Resident Evil, Damnation works well as both a standalone Action flick as well as a canonical extension to the series. It's fun, fast, and bloody-slimy. It's a treat for fans, not much of a chore for newcomers, and a good little venture that will prime viewers for RE6 or just entertain casual audiences for 100 minutes of creature-infested war zone fun.

Bloody mess.

In the years following World War II, the Cold War between East and West divided the world, with the Soviet Union's sphere of influence reaching far and wide throughout its hemisphere. That all changed with the toppling of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Soviet era in 1991. Nations once under that behemoth's purview broke away to form their own independent nations, adopting a capitalistic system and eschewing the old Bear's ways. One such breakaway nation was the Eastern Slav Republic. It embraced Western ideals and economic systems but quickly saw the gap between its rich and poor citizens widen, and widen to such an extent that the nation became divided, civil unrest fomented, chaos erupted on the streets, and all-out civil war was the grand result. After several years of fighting between rebels and government forces, a new leader took charge. President Svetlana Belikova (voiced by Wendee Lee), first female leader of the Eastern Slav Republic, extended the hand of friendship and peace to the rebels. Unfortunately, the peace was short-lived. Government forces soon learned that the rebels' territory was rich in natural resources, and the government undertook a new offensive to recapture the land and get a stranglehold on that untapped source of wealth.

Word has it that the ever-desperate rebels are employing new, mysterious tactics against the government forces. The United States and Russia are set to intervene in the civil war, but before doing so require a more complete picture of what's happening on the ground. Enter Leon (voiced by Matthew Mercer), an American operative sent to the region to discover the truth behind the rebels' heightened attacks and to flesh out the rumors surrounding the use of BOWs ("Bio-Organic Weapons") making their deadly debut in the field. As soon as Leon arrives in-country, however, he's ordered out. The U.S. government is pulling all assets and instructing all civilians to leave immediately. Leon defies his orders and remains, determined to sort out the dark underbelly behind the superficial civil war. He's taken captive by the rebels -- who believe him to be a CIA operative -- and it's while in their custody that he learns that mutated creatures are indeed being deployed in battle and that they're subservient to man in a master-slave sort of relationship. As Leon becomes further entrenched in local politics and the field of battle, he teams up with Ada Wong (voiced by Courtenay Taylor) and finds himself neck-deep in a much darker conspiracy than he could have ever imagined, a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top of the political food chain.

Resident Evil: Damnation doesn't break new ground in any way, but even so the end product offers entertaining escapism aimed at the Survival Horror/franchise/video game crowd. It's a modest success, greater, perhaps, in its niche but probably not a movie that's going to immediately wind up on the proverbial radar screens of all that many consumers beyond its target and established audiences. That's just fine. The movie is therefore allowed to focus exclusively on the people and stories and backgrounds that allowed the movie to be made in the first place. Fans will enjoy the characters, the revelations, the way movie comfortably nestles into the Resident Evil world. The adherence to genre, the dedication to characters, the expansion of the world, a few new twists, and the grasp and utilization of relatively new technologies in the making of what is, fairly, a rather small movie with a limited window for success is admirable. Unfortunately, Sony or Capcom or whomever's in charge up at the top of the Damnation release dropped the ball, failing to provide audiences with a 3D version of the film, of which there is a fascinating and rather thorough discussion in this release's supplemental content. It's a movie that would clearly benefit from its 3D visuals -- there are plenty of shots in the film that will immediately leave audiences craving that added dimension -- but for whatever reason it's not here. That's a shame and enough to dampen the spirits despite an otherwise quality film and good all-around presentation.

From a more generalized perspective, there's a fair bit to like about Resident Evil: Damnation. The animation is quite good, certainly not up to the same level viewers expect from modern kid-centric pictures, but the CG work impresses and betters the less fluid, fairly unremarkable cutscene-style animation from the most recent Starship Troopers computer animated film. The plot is intriguing but fairly linear, even considering a few of the twists that appear from time to time and the general shape the story takes as it progresses towards its conclusion. It's hardly riveting stuff, but longtime series fans will certainly enjoy the pacing, style, revelations, and winks and nods throughout. The characters are fine, established yet growing through the film. The action's big, the humor's subtle, the drama's palpable, the monsters are slimy, and the gore is sometimes heavy. In essence, it's the quintessential Resident Evil outing. Supported by quality voice acting and good motion captured performances, Resident Evil: Damnation is likely to satisfy hardcore fans, please casual audiences, and suck in newcomers stopping by to see what all the fuss is about -- provided the latter two step up and watch a movie that's not really aimed in their general direction. Now if only that 3D version had been included...

Resident Evil: Damnation Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Resident Evil: Damnation slithers onto Blu-ray with a solid, but not necessarily eye-catching, 1080p transfer. Much of the first act is rather dark, with little in the way of flashy colors or even dazzling textures. Brighter scenes offer a more complex, complete, satisfying picture. The image is as detailed as its animation permits; the disc displays all of the hard work conducted on the Damnation computers, revealing all of the brick textures and rusty metals and general war-torn elements around the city. Faces are suitably complex, too, whether fine lines on faces and lips or clothes. Brighter scenes deliver more well-defined colors. This is not at all a brilliantly colored animated picture, but the palette carries through with satisfying results. There's some readily evident banding, aliasing, and jagged edges throughout, nothing over which to become alarmed, but certainly pieces of the puzzle worth pointing out. Sony's 2D transfer does offer some satisfying, evident depth; one can only image what the 3D transfer might have been. All told, however, this is a quality presentation that should have been more but doesn't otherwise disappoint too badly in its current form.

Resident Evil: Damnation Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Resident Evil: Damnation features a potent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film opens with a satisfying presence, a nice recreation of a war-ravaged environment. Gunfire pops in the distance to strikingly real effect, gently immersing the listener into the environment and making him or her aware of but away from the danger -- momentarily, at least. Once things heat up, the track explodes. Gunfire tears through the stage, exploding from every corner and slashing through the listening area with realistic presence and volume. The stage is wide and the surrounds are used to regular effect. Explosions pack a good, heavy wallop, sending rumbly bass and leftover debris alike through the soundstage. Music is clearly delivered, with rich sonic textures and a balance in clarity and spacing alike. Dialogue is firm and center-focused, never lost underneath the sonic chaos. Lip movements don't exactly match up, but the track more than makes up for that with its wide stage and immersive sound field. It's not the end-all, be-all of audio soundtracks, but Sony's once again delivered a high-quality listening experience.

Resident Evil: Damnation Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Resident Evil: Damnation contains the following extras:

• Conceptual Art Gallery (1080p): A collection of hand-drawn sketches.
• Las Plagas: Organisms of War (1080p, 6:59): A short film from the world of Resident Evil: Damnation that fills in some back story surrounding the creatures seen in the film.
• The DNA of Damnation (1080p, 30:03):The filmmakers discuss the film's story, style, structure, tone, action, place in the series, and characters. The piece then moves on to examine the process of creating the film in the digital realm, the use of motion capture technology, and crafting the 3D experience. In Japanese with English subtitles.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 6:03).
• Resident Evil 6 Game Trailer (1080p, 3:54).
• Devil May Cry Game Trailer (1080p, 2:14).
• Dragon's Dogma Game Trailer (1080p, 2:06).
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• UV Digital Copy.

Resident Evil: Damnation Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Resident Evil: Damnation isn't the greatest video game-based movie out in the wild, but considering that the genre really doesn't have an excess of exemplary movies under its belt, Damnation does rank, well, fairly damn high within that group. It's true to the source, entertaining, well-written, nicely acted, and satisfactorily animated. Hardcore Resident Evil fans will get the most out of it, casual viewers should enjoy, and newcomers might even be hooked and finding themselves plopping down some cash on Resident Evil 6. Unfortunately, and inexplicably, the 3D version of the film is not included and is not available separately at this time. That alone dampens the spirits and lessens one's enthusiasm for Sony's Blu-ray, even if it does offer good 2D video, fine lossless audio, and a few supplements. Recommended to dedicated Resident Evil fans. Others should rent, and all should hope for a 3D release sooner rather than later.