RESIDENT
EVIL: DEGENERATION
Starring the vocal
talents of:
Alyson Court, Paul Mercier, Laura Bailey, Roger Craig Smith, Crispin Freeman
and Michael Sorich
Director:
Makoto Kamiya
Running Time:
97 mins
Out to buy on Blu-Ray & DVD 12/01/09
"Leon!!"
Returning home to Harvardville, Claire Redfield (Court) becomes caught up in the latest bio-terrorist attack to hit the US. As a plane crashes into the airport and the T-Virus, that caused the destruction of Racoon City, is unleashed. With US Senator Ron Davis trapped inside the wreaked airport, the President sends in a specialist in tackling the affects of the virus, Leon S. Kennedy (Mercier) and it is up to him and Claire Redfield to save the survivors and discover who released the virus.
The live-action 'Resident Evil' movies have been a little hit and miss but now the game's producers CAPCOM bring us their own version but can it do any better?
The 'Resident Evil' or 'Biohazard', as it is know in Japan, games set the standard for the survival horror genre when the game was release in 1996 on the original PlayStation. Sequels and spin-offs followed making the series one of the most popular in video game history. Of course this made Hollywood take notice and produce three movies based on the franchise but of course, these didn't really stick to the storyline of the original games and introduced some characters that were never even seen in the game. Now CAPCOM themselves have the chance to change this with their own computer generated movie.
Produced as a sequel to game 'Resident Evil 2' and following on from events of 'Resident Evil 4', the computer-generated film utilises motion-capture technology to produce a movie that looks like an elongated cut scene from one of the games. While this technique has now been embraced by the film industry, it has been a common part of videogame production for over a decade and CAPCOM have taken what they have been doing for years and then pushed it to a full motion picture.
The story is a continuation of the events that have happened in the games and has no real connections to the Milla Jovovich movies that just happen to bare its name. Instead we have a mix of the second and fourth game storylines that will lead to the introduction of the event that will unfold in the fifth game. The movie also brings together two of the franchises best loved characters to work together again, as they did in the second game, Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy. Voiced by the original actors that provided their vocals for the game, Alyson Court and Paul Mercier, the film really does film like an extention of the games and adds to the history of the franchise for all of the fans you adore the games.
'Resident Evil: Degeneration' is an action packed, zombie filled extention to the game universe that is better than the live action, Hollywood efforts. For fans of the game, this is a must as it sets up the fifth game in this horror filled franchise. For everyone else, this is still a good Zombie movie that fills you in on the franchise and has enough blood and gore to bring some joy to horror fans.
PICTURE & SOUND
The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 1:85 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound.
BONUS FEATURES
Interactive Picture in
Picture
Watch the movie and see picture-in-picture streams that show animatics,
the motion capture sessions and storyboards for key scenes in the movie.
Pop up Trivia Track
Watch the movie with trivia snippets appearing at key moments within the
film that reveal facts about the making of the motion picture, facts from
the games and the history of the franchise.
The Generation of Degeneration
(30.04 mins/High Definition)
Director Makoto Kamiya and writer Shotaro Suga take you behind the scenes
of the making of 'Resident Evil: Degeneration'. With footage of the motion
capture sessions, the creation of the graphics and the characterisations,
this featurette gives you a fascinating insight into the making of this
computer-generated movie.
Character profiles
View the profiles for Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Angela Miller,
Greg Glenn, Curtis Miller, Senator Ron Davis, Frederic Downing, Rani Chawla,
Ingrid Hannigan and G. Voice Bloopers Entitled 'Claire's flare', 'Being
the man', 'It ain't been the man' and 'Virus of Love', the sound editors
have some fun with some of the outtakes.
Faux Leon Interview (4.47
mins/High Definition)
Watch an interview with the actor playing Leon in the motion capture room,
even though he isn't really Leon in the movie.
Resident Evil: Degeneration
Trailers
Watch the promotional trailers for the CG movie
Resident Evil 5: Special
Footage
Watch the trailer for the game from the Tokyo Game Show and a special
trailer for the release of Resident Evil: Degeneration.
Trailer
Watch a preview of 'Redbelt'
OVERALL
The Blu-Ray treatment of 'Resident Evil: Degeneration' is one that fans of the franchise will enjoy. The interactive picture-in-picture and trivia tracks are good and the rest of the special features will appeal to fans.
BLU-RAY
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