25 years after the release of the original Resident Evil/Biohazard we all know what we want to see from a Resident Evil game and/or movie. We want some resourceful, plucky heroes and it’s not a problem if they’re a little on the dumb side. We want some overly ambitious scientists messing about with the T-Virus/G-Virus/Plaga parasites/whatever zombie-causing MacGuffin from the series is available. We want some slimy politicians and/or corporate skuzzballs behind said research, and once it all goes horribly wrong, we want lashings of zombies for our heroes to fight through, along with some terrifying, horribly mutated Bio Organic Weapons (B.O.W. s). Bonus points if those B.O.W.’s turn out to be the careless scientists/corporate skuzzballs. Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness assembles some of these elements but fails to assemble them into an inspiring whole.
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As with previous entries in the series of animated films, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness features the return of Raccoon City survivors and protagonists of Resident Evil 2, Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield. Taking place in the “present day” of 2006, apparently between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, Leon is an agent tasked with investigating an attack on The White House, while Claire is working as an aid worker in the war torn country of “Penamstan.” Both find evidence that zombies are, once again, being created as weapons, with Leon finding out a little more first-hand when zombies are used to attack The White House.
Resident Evil Down?
Although they meet briefly, Leon and Claire embark on separate investigations to discover who is creating the latest zombie weapons, and to what ends.
Animated films take a long time to produce so you can’t expect a CGI Resident Evil movie to capitalize on the elements that made the most recent games so popular. You won’t find any very large women here for example, but Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness feels like it fails to capture any of the appeal of the franchise.
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In what feels like an attempt to splice the DNA of Resident Evil with that of 24, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness sees our heroes globetrotting to find the latest source of bioweapons. In between some basic B.O.W. fights in The White House and on a submarine, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness subjects it’s audience to scenes of “jokey” banter and machismo between stiff characters, nonsensical plotting, and an admittedly impressive but ultimately pointless animated rehash of Black Hawk Down.
The CGI characters don’t look too bad, at rest or in motion, but much of the scene setting and action feels stiff and unimpressive. A zombie attack on The White House sounds exciting in concept, but in execution it feels more like the opening of the first Resident Evil: limited skirmishes in dark corridors. There are some unintentionally funny scenes, as agents quickly flick their flashlights off and on as they clear rooms, but the sequence does at least lead to one “iconic” line from Leon: “Rest in peace, assholes!”
Secret Agents or Pop Trio?
Plot wise the “series” feels very much like a movie that’s been padded out. At one point our “heroes” embark on a secret mission via submarine but there’s no real reason for a submarine to be used. except someone thought it would be a good idea to shoehorn a fight on a submarine. That they then reach the location of the finale with no explanation whatsoever only strengthens the plot-by-set piece approach. It doesn’t help that there’s no real indication where this climax is happening apart from “right under everyone’s noses.”
In another episode the action transitions awkwardly from one flashback to later on in the same flashback, simply to obfuscate information that will be revealed in the next episode anyway. This doesn’t build mystery or anticipation, its just confusing. I had to rewind twice just to make sure I hadn’t hit the skip button accidentally. What makes it worse is that the reveal does nothing for the story and won’t come as a surprise if you know anything at all about Resident Evil.
As the finale arrives and the plot is finally revealed, it all adds up to… nothing much really. A sudden attack is blamed on someone for no reason, a character is laid down after being wide awake in the previous scene, and in the end, a villain winds up more sympathetic than the hero.
What the Hell Leon?
It’s hard to root for the good guys when the “bad guy” just wants to expose a secret operation that uses mutants as weapons, aka the plan of almost every Resident Evil villain. It would be one thing if Leon voiced his reasons for opposing this, but he doesn’t. Maybe it’s revealed in the other movies or subsequent games, but here it just adds to the list of baffling decisions. Seeing as this movie is set in 2006, after Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Degeneration, but before Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil: Damnation, and Resident Evil: Vendetta, I don’t even know where I’d start.
Say what you like about the Paul W.S. Anderson/Milla Jovovich Resident Evil movies, even if they got more and more ridiculous, at least each movie was somewhat internally consistent and usually had some fun action scene or scenery chewing villains. Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness fails to do even that. You’d probably be better off getting stuck back into the Resident Evil 2 remake, or Resident Evil 7, or Resident Evil: Village.
A failed experiment for anyone but the most hardcore of fans.
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