Hooptober Neun (2022) - Film #10
2 animated films; films from 6 countries (Japan)

I went into this film with low expectations. I got what I expected - an extended 7th generation video game cutscene. In general, this is a pretty tedious watch and I struggled getting through it.

I’ve watched a good chunk of the live action Resident Evil films, and while they aren’t amazing, I’ve found them more enjoyable than this. That said, I’m aware that this film is significantly more in line with the games, and pretty sure that for someone deep into the games series and lore, this film will be more appealing. I like the games, and have played RE4 and RE5, but I can’t say I like them enough to make this film worth watching. If, even worse, you’ve never played the games, I can imagine that this film would be very confusing. To be frank, and I’m rarely this negative, the people behind Resident Evil: Degeneration have some nerve calling this a feature film.

The characters are quite lacking in personality, with all of the protagonists being various shades of generic badass. The few exceptions are simply caricatures - the slimy senator, for example.

The animation is fine for a video game of the era, but feels lacking for a feature length film. The action is fine for what it is, and the plot is largely incidental. The hallmarks of the video game series are clear; there are momentary first-person perspective movements, and, sure enough, a boss fight.

If you’re a hardcore Resident Evil fan, get stuck in. If not, you could give the live action films a go, which are at least sometimes fun. If you’re out for high quality cinema though, you might have to wait a while for that to be something that exists with the Resident Evil branding attached.