Dante Reviews: Resident Evil- Damnation

2nd Critic review:
http://www.rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120620/REVIEWS/120629989/1023

Resident Evil Damnation

Resident Evil, also known as Biohazard in Japan. A popular title that started out as a survival horror game for the Playstation 1 in the 1990s. From there came many sequels & most of all, movie adaptations.

Ask a general population of people about Resident Evil, most will think of the movies. The video gamers will obviously think of the original video game series. The two have their differences in the media, for the Live Action series is from what I believe is a rip off from the games & barely keeps a resemblance to it's origin.

However in 2008, a CG film for Resident Evil was made called "Resident Evil: Degeneration." Though while this movie stayed true to the Resident Evil universe the gamers all know & love. It's iffy story mainly played a part amongst the video game like animation. The movie wasn't bad, but it wasn't real good either. It felt more like a reference to their game sequel Resident Evil 2 in a later time frame.
Now this year the latest CG movie for Resident Evil has bee released along with the game known as "Resident Evil: Damnation"

Summary:
Resident Evil Damnation takes place in in Eastern Europe where a civil war is known to be using B.O.W.s (Bio Organic Weapon) in the fight. CIA agent Leon Kennedy arrives to Eastern Europe to handle the war between the two & take care of the B.O.W.s.

Story:
The story has a better pace of when there's action or not than in Degeneration. The story definitively is not something new people to the series should watch, which basically means, it's something the fans would enjoy more. The playout of the events was pretty well done in terms of the transition of events. Though certain dying characters did not have enough development to have any sympathy for, in my opinion. The action sequences were nostalgic & also nerve rising with the proper music arrangements.

Acting:

All the new characters exclusive to the movie HAVE to be Russian. I managed to recognize some of the voice actors from other games I've played in their accent, but I digress.
The voices for Leon, & Ada (Matthew Mercer & Courteney) are exactly the new voice actors they use for Resident Evil 6, which I kinda miss Paul Mercier & Sally Cahill in Resident Evil 4 with their smoothness. However they try their best to at least sound close to identical. Though with Sally Cahill playing the part of Ada since her first appearance in the series in Resident Evil 2, having a new voice actor for Ada just throws me off a bit. And Matthew sounds rougher than Paul for the role & definitively have a distinction for those who actually pay attention.
Otherwise, the effort for the voice acting was well done.

Visual Graphics:

The visual graphics were just astounding when they show the environment. Of course, only after seeing the characters does your eyesight register that it's a CG. The shading & texture detail were just eye candy & I didn't notice any errors in the effects. The sound quality was boom'n on the beautiful bass & sound authentic in the scene & environment.

Presentation:

The historical introduction the problems in Eastern Europe were average & it's not that memorable other than the main points of why Leon would ever bother in the rebellion.

Overview:

Resident Evil Damnation for me, a person who would be considered a veteran at Resident Evil, was a nice cliche fan service to see two classic characters have their kick butt screen time. The story may have been a bit rushed & the voices for Leon & Ada may not have been Paul & Sally. The beautiful visual graphics & action sequences still captivated my attention & it was a step up from the confusing mess of Resident Evil Degeneration.
I'd give it a 8.5/10.