- Actors: Matthew Mercer
- Director: Takanori Tsujimoto
- Format: 4K
- Region: Region A/1
- Release Date: July 18, 2017
Just because the
live-action films Resident Evil films
have completed doesn’t mean that there won’t be a continuation of the animated
series, and Resident Evil: Vendetta
serves as timely reminder. Unfortunately, the film also leaves no desire for
future entries, and for long stretches doesn’t feel like a Resident Evil film at all. Heavy on the sci-fi elements of the
narrative, there are huge sections of the film that don’t even include zombies
or other monsters. In fact, if it weren’t for the quality of the animation,
this film would be impossible to recommend to anyone, fan of the RE franchise
or not.
While the story
does include a few reappearing characters from the franchise, it doesn’t have a
narrative that connects to previous films in any significant way. Chris
Redfield puts together a team to hunt down a global arms dealer with a weapon
with a new zombie virus, ones which can be directed at specific targets. So,
essentially the film is about putting a stop to the weaponization of zombies,
rather than about the zombies themselves. Chris initially fails to stop the man
behind the virus, Glenn Arias, but enlists the help of recruit Leon Kennedy and
a scientist named Rebecca Chambers, to help track him down and stop him before
he spreads the virus.
There are a lot
of problems with the film from this point on, and the biggest is how much is
spent talking rather than giving us the much desired zombie action. We get to
know the characters through these seemingly endless jab-fests, most of all
villain Glenn Arias. His tragic backstory is laughably melodramatic, giving him
motivation to kidnap Rebecca for the mere fact that she resembles his deceased
wife. Ironically enough, his plan is to kill her. If only this film had learned
to utilize the asset of the visuals more, the bad melodrama and predictable
storyline would have been easier to forgive.
The visuals are
impressive, even if too much of the film is spent forcing us to watch CGI
characters attempting to emote, the one thing that realistic animated films
still struggle with. The characters tend to look dead in the eyes, and it is
distracting when so much of the film is focused on just that. But when the
movie does have an action sequence or other elements of visual spectacle, Vendetta is allowed to shine. Plenty of
the action is immersive enough distract from the unfortunate story, but there
simply isn’t enough of it.
The visuals are
particularly impressive on 4K. If ever there is a way to truly appreciate the
latest in visual technology, it is by watching an animated film. You will see
things you never knew existed. The Blu-ray of Vendetta is impressive, while the
4K is on another level. The third disc in the special edition set is a bonus
disc, including all of the special features which couldn’t be fit onto the
Blu-ray. The 4K disc only has the film.
The special
features on the Blu-ray include an audio commentary from filmmaker Takanori
Tsujimoto, as well as a stills gallery and three featurettes. All three are
about the special features, though two are about the designing of the visuals,
and the third is a motion capture set tour with one of the performers, Dante
Carver. The bonus special features disc has three featurettes, which make up
just over twenty-minutes of material. The longest is Tokyo Game Show footage,
with the creators addressing the crowd before showing the trailer. There are
also two brief promotional featurettes, one about creating the world of Vendetta
and the other is a BSAA mission briefing, essentially just laying out the
narrative to track down Aries.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4 /10
Special Features: 6.5/10
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