Resident Evil: Degeneration: Flawed, but faithful CGI movie, unlike the live-actions.

 

At the time of writing this blog post, it has been thirty years since the very first Resident Evil video game changed survival horror gaming forever. The anniversary saw the release of the ninth title in the mainline series of games known as Requiem. I've been a fan of the franchise for most if not all of its' lifespan, ever since I first picked up the controller to play the first 3 entries on the original PlayStation. As a way of celebrating, I thought it'd be fun to have a look back on the CGI animated movies. I'd been meaning to revisit them anyway and this just provided the perfect excuse. The place to start would naturally be Resident Evil: Degeneration, the very first full-length CGI animated movie released back in 2008.

Seven years after the Racoon City Outbreak, Claire Redfield is working for an organisation named Terrasave. Terrasave aim to prevent any more outbreaks of biological weaponry similar to Racoon City and the casualties that were the result. Whilst meeting a friend and fellow member of the organisation at the airport whilst a protest against WilPharma's major shareholder Senator Ron Davis is happening, there's a sudden terrorist attack. The terrorists unleash the T-virus upon both an airplane and the airport lobby causing an outbreak which infects innocents, turning them into zombies. Fleeing to the VIP zone, Claire along with Senator Ron Davis, the young girl Rani and a couple of others are trapped inside. Rescue arrives in the form of Leon Kennedy who works alongside both Claire and new character Angela Miller. As it turns out, Angela is connected to a man who was seen leaving the airport just as the outbreak began. That man being her brother, Curtis Miller. The protagonists proceed to track the man down and stop his terrorism and apprehend any other suspects. 

As you may have gathered from the description, the plot is rather surface-level and shallow, but it is an enjoyable, non-offensive time and fits into the universe of Resident Evil quite neatly. It's mostly an excuse to have Claire Redfield reunite with Leon Kennedy for the first time since Resident Evil 2. As the movie features the pair facing off against both the T-Virus and the G-Virus, it's much like a call-back and tribute to the aforementioned Resident Evil 2. There are flashbacks that show certain moment of the game redone in CG animation, which I thought was a neat touch. The design of the transformed G-Virus infected antagonist hugely resembled the transformation of William Birkin. I liked that simply for the fact that it made the virus and its' effects consistent. 

I think my personal favourite moment of Degeneration might have been when the news reporter is in the middle of a broadcast when a zombie slumbers up behind her for a good bite. It's just fun stuff. The first person shots when the zombie attacks the police guy is also good. Or Claire telling the senator to shove his ego up his backside. 

The animation is decent for the most part. The action looks good, most movements look smooth. The one glaring issue is just how stiff the character's faces are. It seems as if there was a struggle showing shifting emotions on the characters for whatever reason. The many examples of close-up shots sure don't help in that regard as it just puts the focus on that glaring weakness. Naturally, the relatively small budget didn't help matters either. 

The dialogue and voice acting can be rather cheesy at times. That is part of the charm and was a part of the early games in the series anyway. The English Dub had Paul Mercier back as Leon as well as Alyson Court, the original voice of Claire. It was nice that they both got to voice them once more. 

An issue I had with the movie is how Leon is characterised as this super serious and cold figure. This was a huge departure from Resident Evil 4 where he'd make sarcastic quips and remarks. Not a major complaint, just something notable. He was still cool and in traditional fashion, lost his jacket during the events of the movie. His face looked a little off though. 

Claire's design was pretty good. It seemed like a natural progression from her Resident Evil 2 counterpart. It's just a shame that she doesn't see too much action. Although, the action she does get is great and shows she can take care of herself. 

I really enjoyed the soundtrack with the original score being composed by Tetsuya Takahashi. The usage of an orchestral sound paid dividends and helped to elevate scenes, such as the epic heroics of Leon, the dramatic moments and heightened the tension when applicable. The ending theme 'Guilty' by Anna Tsuchiya is a banger. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed that song.

It's definitely a flawed production, but it is much more palatable and faithful to the franchise and particularly the major characters than the terrible live-action movies. I'd say it's worth a watch, particularly if you're a fan of the franchise in any form, especially as a palate cleanser after having to suffer through any of the live-action horrors. Not sure if it still is, but this movie along with all of the other CGI movies were considered canon to the original timeline. Some incentive to watch and give it a shot.