Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017)
This is a story of bloodshed, a story of revenge.
As I pondered what to watch for tonight’s movie, I had a momentary stroke of utter genius. My cousin, whose been joining me for these frequent movie viewings as of late and doing a stellar job of picking out some good stuff to watch within the constraints of “I can’t have already done a write up on it” has done other things with me besides just watching movies, the most note-worthy I would think is our playthrough of Resident Evil 6 - a game that has long been on the “I should have played it and never did” list for me. So it went up on sale, and we have had some jolly good co-op times playing it. Of note, it’s interesting in the dynamic of what is probably my favorite character - Leon - having a chapter as well as his favorite - Chris. So, back to the tie in as to what we are watching, I thought I would give him one heck of a what-it-could-be Resident Evil movie by going not to the Anderson series that could care less about it’s source, but instead to the ones right out of Capcom. Tonight, we look at Resident Evil: Vendetta.
Ready to forget that it’s the year 2022? I was surprised to find out that not only have I not already written up this movie - which I viewed originally some time ago - but any Resident Evil movie. I might have to make myself a bit of a marathon at some point if I have a hard time coming up with ideas! Anyways, tonight’s entry has more to do with the the games - generally I would say pre-RE6 - in which we have characters from the games coming back as themselves, taking part in events that didn’t happen in the games. Here, an arms dealer has gotten himself a hold of some pretty potent BOWs, and it’s one Chris Redfield’s task to bring him down. After creating an antivirus and finding herself in a bit of a bind, old buddy and fellow S.T.A.R.S. member Rebecca joins up with Chris, and the two go to enlist the help of Leon Kennedy for his expertise with a certain strand of BOWs that he has the most experience with. With mounting enemy pressure and running out of time, can they save themselves, let alone the city or world?
The thing I like the most about how this - or any of the “Capcom direct” type movies as I refer to them, largely in reference to them all being animated and sticking with the characters from the games - plays out is that it feels like it can have so much better story than it’s somewhat plodding brain-cell killer live action counterparts. Like, I love live action movies, I think they could really do these franchises some darn good credit if they ever actually tried, but so many disengage from what makes the source material loved by fans to appeal to this imaginary “super-idiot” that knows not just nothing about the franchise, but in fact barely knows how to breath. People have brains - they don’t always use them, but I can guarantee that they can figure out some pretty elaborate stuff if you do a good job with your movie or shows. With just a few practically throw away lines, we establish not only that BOW is just an acronym for Bio Organic Weapons, but also that it’s big old evil corporations that have brought them about, then in short order show a small sample of what terror these things are capable off. Yes, it might still boil down to a bit of a revenge plot from multiple angles, but that isn’t an automatic failure in entertainment value - look how stellar John Wick was - and that was simple as heck despite feeling like a literal masterclass in action movies.
The fun thing about revenge is it’s also super easy for a person to understand. With a single scene we set up the villains motive - wedding got bombed by a government, killed his loved ones, and now he wants to watch the world burn. If Thanos taught me anything, it’s that you don’t need more than that for a villain to be consider well done for most. Of course, his actions set forth a revenge backbone to the moral high ground of our characters who are just out to stop the massive innocent collateral the villains actions are going to cause, and we get a movie where only the side characters ever feel like they could use more - but then it gives you enough to wash those questions away with a few more scenes or by having them be a part of a group one way or another. The thing just clicks together, it doesn’t end up being hard to follow, the characters work even if there isn’t a huge wealth of radical improvement or change in their characters, and it does it all within the confines of the established world and characters, splitting up time between them pretty effectively (although admittedly leaning towards Chris and Rebecca, to which I have no problems because Leon basically has three movies of his own at this point, he needs to share the stage lights).
Insert “Nooooooo”
So how about the actors? Well, the voice lines are done good. I’d say totally passable - plenty of emoting where they want it, good use of the old struggling and hurting oomphs and ouches. Some are a bit better at having a range than others, but that’s less the voice actors and more the writing in my opinion - outside of one scene, the main bad isn’t really supposed to be an emotional display I think. Of course, some of the side characters who barely get any scenes may not impress you as much - but I don’ think there was ever a line delivered that I really felt took me out of it or felt phoned in. If anything, stuff can get a bit over-dramatic, near soap-opera. I’d also say that this feels right at home in the franchise, considering that’s basically what it became by the time it settled back into horror proper and the lines that got delivered way back when like “You were almost a Jill sandwich!”
Of course, the main meat-and-potatoes some might be expecting here is the effects work. Can’t say costumes don’t stand point - although I guess it might not really be considered costumes considering it’s all CG models huh? Anyways, characters retain iconic looks even with changes - it might not be that RE4 Leon bomber jacket, but you know it’s him before it pans away from his hands. By the time she’s kitted up, people that have a decent memory of the first game and it’s train-based prequel game will be able to pick Chambers out of the crowd. Chris - well, the man is a wall in combat armor, you never mistake him unless you thought he was a brick house on steroids. There is a bit of a mix bag here though - people who crave super realism will be somewhat disappointed that it feels more like a decent-end game engine, one that’s actually outpaced by the most recent game entries at the time of writing this, but for people who have played the games and wanted to watch this because of that - oh boy you’ll feel right at home. It’s good enough to not be bad with a few spots that don’t shine as bright for the common person, but good enough at times - particularly with facial expressions - it might even hit you with a bit of that uncanny valley.
Audio is pretty well done. As mentioned, actors do a good job with deliveries and the balance helps make sure you hear what they say without struggling despite guns, explosions, and groans. The music fits the scenes quite well, but also doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. The action scenes in this thing are great, particularly the massive gun-fu sequence at the end. Is it the most realistic? I mean, not entirely, but it is a sight to behold for sure, and I wouldn’t be surprised to know someone did a bunch of training to pick up some of those moves.
Cheerful woman and rage monkey try to convince emo cop to join forces.
Look, it’s cheap to rent so there isn’t really a reason someone shouldn’t check it out if they are the slightest bit interested. It does have zombies - I know some people can’t do those. I guess if you have a really high bar of graphic fidelity you might have issues, but I’d wager that’s more your problem than the movies. Like Resident Evil? I’d say you should check it out over the live action ones to be honest.