Movie review: Resident Evil: Death Island
Released: 2023
Apart from the feature movies and the live action series on Netflix which was cancelled after one season, there’s been a steady flow of Resident Evil CGI movies through the years. Leading up to this latest one, Death Island. We’ve had Degeneration, Damnation and Vendetta, and even the CGI TV series Infinite Darkness.
Although there are plot connections between all the CGI movies, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the others, my focus here will be Death Island on it's own.
In an attempt to connect these CGI movies closer to current game releases in the franchise, Death Island has made Jill Valentine one of the main protagonists. Designing her akin to her latest appearance in RE3make, review here. Rectifying what I’ve always felt, the CGI movies being disconnected from the games.
The previous attempt, Vendetta, was such a bad movie it made me sceptical to Death Island from the minute it was announced. Luckily, after watching it I ended up enjoying my 90-minute stay.
Death Island has fewer stupid scenes and exaggerated personalities, the hilariously bad pistol fight from Vendetta with Chris comes to mind. This latest movie feels more grounded, focusing on just surviving a zombie outbreak. It collects fan favourites Jill, Chris, Rebecca, Leon and Claire in one happy reunion and collaborative effort to survive the Alcatraz Island they’re stuck on.
In classic RE fashion, the premise is eye-rolling: an earlier Umbrella mercenary wants revenge after being abandoned to die 17 years ago. He swears revenge on the world by building a secret base full of tiny mosquito-like drones that'll kill off the world's population. This main baddie is stereotypical weird, like many a Japanese anime or game villain, complete with a messed up fascination for playing Russian roulette to calm his PTSD.
Apart from the feature movies and the live action series on Netflix which was cancelled after one season, there’s been a steady flow of Resident Evil CGI movies through the years. Leading up to this latest one, Death Island. We’ve had Degeneration, Damnation and Vendetta, and even the CGI TV series Infinite Darkness.
Although there are plot connections between all the CGI movies, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the others, my focus here will be Death Island on it's own.
In an attempt to connect these CGI movies closer to current game releases in the franchise, Death Island has made Jill Valentine one of the main protagonists. Designing her akin to her latest appearance in RE3make, review here. Rectifying what I’ve always felt, the CGI movies being disconnected from the games.
The previous attempt, Vendetta, was such a bad movie it made me sceptical to Death Island from the minute it was announced. Luckily, after watching it I ended up enjoying my 90-minute stay.
Death Island has fewer stupid scenes and exaggerated personalities, the hilariously bad pistol fight from Vendetta with Chris comes to mind. This latest movie feels more grounded, focusing on just surviving a zombie outbreak. It collects fan favourites Jill, Chris, Rebecca, Leon and Claire in one happy reunion and collaborative effort to survive the Alcatraz Island they’re stuck on.
In classic RE fashion, the premise is eye-rolling: an earlier Umbrella mercenary wants revenge after being abandoned to die 17 years ago. He swears revenge on the world by building a secret base full of tiny mosquito-like drones that'll kill off the world's population. This main baddie is stereotypical weird, like many a Japanese anime or game villain, complete with a messed up fascination for playing Russian roulette to calm his PTSD.
By his side he has a well-endowed, leather clad, female sidekick called Maria. Who first showed up in Vendetta. She's good at martial arts and wants a personal revenge on Chris. Clichés all round for the bad guys.
And, sure, some of our classic RE heroes are cliché too: Chris is big, bulky and one dimensional, while Leon flicks his annoying fringe out of his face every possible moment, with a cocky attitude to boot. However, since the cast is so large, the broader character focus leaves less room for their individual annoying quirks.
And, sure, some of our classic RE heroes are cliché too: Chris is big, bulky and one dimensional, while Leon flicks his annoying fringe out of his face every possible moment, with a cocky attitude to boot. However, since the cast is so large, the broader character focus leaves less room for their individual annoying quirks.
Jill is clearly the star of show, grounded and tough in a realistic way, even Leon seems to have more compassion and less of an attitude next to her. Rebecca fills the role as the researcher with the brains of the gang, while Claire is the resourceful one that resorts to protecting Rebecca.
The quality of the CGI is good, although residing in uncanny valley when it comes to facial expressions. Characters models are detailed, with their own style compared to their game counterparts. Confusingly, these models have changed a lot through the years between games and movies. Otherwise it’s fine work but nothing spectacular. It feels like a feature length cutscene from a game, rather than a dedicated CGI movie of Hollywood quality.
The movie focuses on surviving, be it from zombies or hunters, and escaping entrapment in a prison with tense scenes to stop the main bad guy from destroying the world. We’ve seen it all many times before in its simple story premise, but at the end of the day it just works.
The quality of the CGI is good, although residing in uncanny valley when it comes to facial expressions. Characters models are detailed, with their own style compared to their game counterparts. Confusingly, these models have changed a lot through the years between games and movies. Otherwise it’s fine work but nothing spectacular. It feels like a feature length cutscene from a game, rather than a dedicated CGI movie of Hollywood quality.
The movie focuses on surviving, be it from zombies or hunters, and escaping entrapment in a prison with tense scenes to stop the main bad guy from destroying the world. We’ve seen it all many times before in its simple story premise, but at the end of the day it just works.
By offering lots of zombies, gore and guns with the franchises heroes doing their confident one liners, moves and fighting. The final boss battle goes all-in for a cooperative attack from all our heroes, ending it on a high note and will put a smile on many a Resident Evil fans face. Even though it’s cheesy as hell.
Unlike a lot the other CGI RE movies, I sat through this without rolling my eyes or losing my interest, it’s clearly aimed at getting closer to the magic the newer Resident Evil games have, without quite getting there. They’ve succeeded at finding the balance of horror and action at least, making it an enjoyable b-flick to watch one evening. Just tone down that smugness a notch or two next time, please.
