6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
A zombie attack brings chaos to Harvardville Airport. Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield who fought the sinister Umbrella Corporation during the Raccoon City tragedy 7 years ago, are back. In high-octane Resident Evil style, they're ready to battle a rogue warrior who is seeking revenge after his family was killed in Raccoon City. The deadly G-Virus is unleashed and a new mutated monster goes on the rampage. Will Claire and Leon be able to terminate the virus before history repeats itself?
Starring: Alyson Court, Paul Mercier, Laura Bailey (II), Michael Sorich, Roger Craig SmithAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 68% |
Thriller | 58% |
Horror | 43% |
Anime | 32% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Thai
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Bonus View (PiP)
BD-Live
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Resident Evil franchise has become quite the monster (sorry for the obvious pun). Having spawned four video games, and three live-action movies thus far, it seems the next logical step was to create an animated movie.
Following on the heels of the Final Fantasy films (Advent Children is excellent), Sony Pictures Entertainment and Capcom joined forces to bring a “realistic” CGI movie to fans of the Resident Evil video game series that would bridge the gap between the fourth and fifth video games. Given the film’s limited appeal to general movie-goers, Degeneration only received a limited release in Japan and the United States (the films two major markets).
My first exposure to this animated film was in the form of a trailer included on the Resident Evil: Extinction Blu-ray. While I can’t say the trailer was all that great, I was intrigued by the idea of taking the franchise in an animated direction (though at that time I had assumed Degeneration would be a continuation of the Resident Evil film series).
I know what your thinking....How can I get an eyeball for a shoulder?
Presented in 1080P high-definition, Sony Pictures has delivered a nice shot to the brain with this transfer. Framed at 1.78:1 (which will fill your 16:9 display perfectly), and utilizing the AVC CODEC, this is a nearly flawless presentation. I spot checked the bitrate throughout the movie, and it hovers right around 25 MBPS. Given the fact that this is a direct digital to digital transfer of a CGI movie, I can certainly say I was impressed with the video quality.
Although there are occasional daytime scenes, the majority of this movie takes place in dimly lit locales. Even in the darkest scenes, I could easily make out the finest details, and the depth looked almost 3-dimensional. Color reproduction covered a broad spectrum, and appeared accurate given the filmmaker's intentions for various scenes. I did not detect any noise, digital artifacts, or line shimmering at any point during the film. On a side note, if you would like to see an example of stellar contrast, watch one of the scenes where the characters are walking through a dimly lit corridor with their flashlights on.
The only lossless audio track on this Blu-ray is an English TrueHD mix. Since the film was made primarily for English-speaking audiences, there is no Japanese track included on the disc. Unfortunately, that also means the poor lip-sync issues cannot be blamed on dubbing. Overall, the audio on Degeneration is excellent. My surround speakers were noticeably active throughout the movie, and my subwoofer received a much-needed work out (I haven't been watching nearly enough action films lately). The sound engineers that worked on this film must have had a blast creating this audio mix, and I believe it's safe to report this Blu-ray accurately reflects their effort.
In addition to the English TrueHD mix, we also have a French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai mix in 5.1 Dolby Digital, with a wide assortment of subtitle options.
A Look At Resident Evil 5: (1080P, 5.1 digital, 4:35) This feature includes 2 trailers for the fifth title in the Resident Evil video game series. The trailers consist of cut-scenes (no in-game footage) that provide a glimpse of the objectives and plot for the upcoming game.
Interactive Picture-In-Picture: (Plays over the film if selected) This feature presents icons throughout the movie that allow you to view storyboards, crude animation renderings, or footage of the motion capture activity during certain scenes. It was interesting to play around with a little, but not something I'd bother with throughout the length of the movie.
Pop Up Trivia Track: (Plays over the film if selected) If you're a big fan of this film, then this may interest you. I re-watched about a half hour of the film with the trivia track on. The majority of the pop-ups provide additional information about subtle references made in the movie that are not fully explained in the dialogue.
Character Profiles: You can cycle through a list of the characters in the film and see a brief biography. Some characters have a link to an action montage you can select, while others have a link to snapshots taken from the movie.
Voice Bloopers: (1080P, 2.0 digital, 9:06) If you have 10 minutes to spare after watching the film, be sure to check out this supplement. Several scenes from the movie are presented with different dialog that is truly hilarious at times. Sadly enough, the dialog in these scenes sometimes lined up better with the mouth movements than the actual film dialog.
Faux Leon Interview: (480P, 2.0 digital, 4:47) The actor that presumably played Leon in the motion capture portion of the animation process is interviewed. He is wearing the motion capture suit, and the interview is conducted as if the actor is "Leon" talking about the movie and his experience.
The Generation of DEGENERATION: (1080i, 2.0 digital (Japanese), 30:05) When this feature begins, you will need to use your remote to turn on English subtitles (unless you speak Japanese). Given this is a domestic release, I was surprised the subtitle option was not automatically chosen when the featurette begins. Regardless of that minor technical issue, this is the most in-depth feature provided on the disc. The producer, director and writer provide information about many aspects of the film's production.
Lastly, the disc includes 12 trailers for other Sony films, and is BD-LIVE enabled for the inclusion of future special features via download. The only BD-LIVE features available at the time of this review are two clips from Comic-Con International 2008.
If you are a fan of the Resident Evil series (video game or movies), then I would at least recommend this as a rental. The action sequences are staged well, the plot is entertaining, and the video/audio quality is top-notch. Some of you may be able to get past the lip-sync issues easier than I can, but it greatly diminished my enjoyment of the film. Hopefully the studio will take a little more time with the inevitable sequel, and make sure animation problems like this are kept to a minimum.
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2017
2002
2007
2007
2004
2010
2016
Unrated Extended Edition
2005
2012
3-Disc Set
2010
2013
2007
1987
2021
Ultimate Collector's Edition
1986
2009
2010
2011
1990