Starring: Alyson Court, Paul Mercier, Laura Bailey.
Director: Makoto Kamiya
Release Date: 27 December 2008
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Movie 
Something might occur to you while watching the upcoming Blu-ray release of Resident Evil: Degeneration. Am I watching a video game or is this a movie? Yes, the movie exists to whet your appetite for the upcoming Resident Evil 5 video game.
This computer animated film comes pretty close to that line. The newest installment of the Resident Evil series of films is a complete departure from the storyline of Alice (Milla Jovovich) and the rest – this one takes you back to the universe of the original video game, featuring Claire and Leon.
This direct to video release is marred with horrible voice acting, predictably half-baked plot occupied by pencil thin characters who would have more personality if they were actually infected with the T-Virus and transformed into shambling zombies. But these are only small points in a movie that only exists for pure unadulterated action sequences.
Yes, this movie gleefully de-brains zombies with automatic weapons and even gives out a Whoo-ha! in the process. Dialogue, story, character building are only window dressing –every bit of violent CG action is well choreographed and at times intoxicating, drawing you to watch. In true Japanime style you’ll get interesting perspectives through which to watch the mayhem as the characters attempt to survive yet another outbreak of a zombifying virus.
A twist involves a feeble attempt at melodrama involving another even more potent virus and a family
member of one of the main characters, Angela Miller. The voice of Angela is animation voice actress veteran Laura Bailey who provides what is easily the best voice acting in the film.
Video 
Codec: AVC MPEG-4
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
The video transfer is a credit to Sony Pictures consistently high standards. CG animation always seems have that extra bit of wow factor in 1080P and this is no exception. The only drawback is that much of the film takes place in murky and drab environments that don’t let the graphics truly shine as they could.
The animation is masterful. Every bit of action is well choreographed and a pleasure to behold. The detail of many of the 3D models is so lifelike it’s difficult to tell it’s only anime. A plane takes off on a bright sunny day, one of the few scenes involving bright sunshine in the whole movie. It looks so good that it could easily be mistaken for video.
The character look good despite realism being scaled back in anime at this caliber. Individual strands of hair blow in the wind, emotions and expression on the faces are very accurate. On the negative side the lip-syncing is way off. This is at once a credit to the animation that we can see lip movements but it’s very annoying. There are also inconsistencies such as characters hair magically being dry and free flowing after almost drowning in water.
But the main reason you watch action packed anime is for the choreography of the violence. I am pleased to report it’s top-notch. Director Makoto Kamiya doesn’t have a lot of experience with top budget CG direction but he does have plenty of experience with special effects in Japanese anime circles.
Audio
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
If you thought the well-choreographed action was great, the soundtrack backs it up perfectly. Every explosion and complex acrobatic and gunshot holds you on the edge of your seat with remarkable acoustics. Environmental sounds are consistent and its use of surrounds and low frequency effects are mostly loud yet enjoyable as it fits the material.
This won’t be a film to really show off your audio systems surround acoustics. While it sounds good there aren’t any really amazing scenes that push the envelop of your surround system’s directional ability or ambience. While it packs some some serious punches for your sub, it may leave you feeling that the rest of your sound system has been neglected.
Special Features
Interactive Picture-in-picture:
Pop-up Trivia Track:
The Generation of Degeneration: A half hour long series of interviews with producers of the film. They’re in Japanese so you’ll need English subtitles.
Character Profiles:
Voice Bloopers:
Faux Leon Interview:
Resident Evil Trailers:
Resident Evil 5 Special Footage: Fans of the video game will want to see this. But it’s very disappointing that we weren’t given a playable demo of the game.
BD-Live: BD Live as you may know provides downloadable never-before seen features. None happen to be available at this time but if Sony decides this is where they’ll be.
Overall: 
If you’re a fan of the video game series or the movies this computer generated animation film is literally a no-brainer - zombie pun intended.
If you like animation and well choreographed action sequences it might tweak your curiosity, especially if you like the zombie sub-genre of horror. But don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re going to get an animated 30 Days of Night or 28 Days Later.
If you don’t fall into either category you’re probably best to stay clear of this one.
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When I first heard about this I was really looking forward to a sequel of the first three movies... or at least something similar. Sounds like this is no where close. :rats:
), but the gal does good action. 
