Resident Evil: Endless Darkness is outdated. But it will still hook not only Resident Evil fans
Miscellaneous / / July 31, 2021
The series is glued together according to the templates of a typical military blockbuster and terrifies with outdated dialogues. But it has great action.
An animated series based on Capcom's Resident Evil media franchise will be released on Netflix on July 8. We must say right away that in fact it is rather a full-length cartoon, divided into four short episodes. The action takes place between the fourth and fifth parts of the video games.
In the story, federal agent Leon Scott Kennedy (one of the key characters in the series) arrives at the White House to help investigate the hacking of secret presidential files. But his plans are interrupted by a horde of zombies.
Meanwhile, Claire Redfield (another major heroine of the franchise) is located in the Republic of Penamstan, which was shaken by civil war six years ago. A drawing of a boy who survived the massacre accidentally falls into the hands of the girl. Claire realizes that the picture depicts the victims of a virus, due to which people turn into the living dead. Moreover, the events in Penamstan are linked to a recent hacker attack and may be the result of a conspiracy by the authorities.
Outdated war drama, but great plot in places
Resident Evil has long grown into a massive pop-cultural phenomenon that has spread far beyond the computer game series. To date, as many as six full-length feature films with Milla Jovovich and three animated films have been filmed. Netflix recently announced‘Resident Evil’ TV Series From ‘Supernatural’ EP A Go At Netflix; Plot & Dual Timelines Revealed / Deadline also a series with live actors, and at the same time preparing‘Resident Evil’ Reboot: Kaya Scodelario, Robbie Amell, Hannah John ‑ Kamen & More To Star In Origin Story Adaptation / Deadline and relaunched into cinema from other authors.
It is clear that few will want to thoroughly study such a huge universe with all its aspects. The question is how much the authors of "Resident Evil: Endless Darkness" managed to make their project interesting not only for gamers and fans of the series, but also for the rest of the audience.
It all depends on expectations. The series is unlikely to surprise sophisticated moviegoers, since it is similar at once to all well-known military blockbusters: "Apocalypse Now", "Platoon", "Black Hawk Down". Not without a war veteran suffering from PTSD. Characters, without a shadow of irony, throw phrases: "Rest in peace, creatures!" or “Let's see what this beauty is capable of” (the first is about a crowd of zombies, the second is about a submarine). Even the topic of US expansion into the Middle East seems to have come from another time and does not in the least correspond to the current political agenda.
But with an abundance of clichés, viewers will still be surprised at the plot twists. In addition, the action here is not linear. Basic twist in general, it very abruptly turns the perception of some heroes, forcing to sympathize with them from the heart.
Memorable and dangerous, albeit formulaic zombies
"Resident Evil" has always had a powerful social connotation: here you and the corporations, who have lost all shame in the pursuit of profit, and sponsoring terrorism, and much more. But still, the main thing, without which the franchise cannot be imagined and what made it so famous, is the zombie. They are much quicker than the classic walking dead of George Romero, and therefore very dangerous. In addition, in different parts one could see the most bizarre types of monsters, mutated from dogs and even plants.
Ordinary enemies in "Endless Darkness" look exactly like in games and are not particularly memorable. And against the background “Armies of the dead"Zach Snyder is no longer surprised by such a modern viewer.
But the authors did a great zombie-rat. These creatures are born in the most disgusting way, which terribly resembles the xenomorphs from "Aliens". And in the end, the heroes will meet one of the most recognizable and popular creatures in the franchise, and gamers will definitely rejoice at such a reference.
Nice CGI animation and catchy action
For some reason, the announcements called Endless Darkness an anime. But everything that makes her in common with the famous cartoons with big-eyed characters - this is the country of production. In addition to the Japanese director and screenwriter, the Americans also took part in the creation of the series. So, Leona and Claire were voiced by the actors from the Resident Evil 2 remake.
To the credit of the authors, the graphics in the picture do not look repulsive. At times, the movements of the characters are a little clumsy, but the faces are beautifully animated. In close-ups, the mimics of the characters look incredibly expressive at all.
I would also like to praise the action scenes: they are inventive and not boring to watch. Of course, there is no smell of realism here: Leon shoots the zombies back over his shoulder, without turning around (and hits!). But the action, firstly, is animated, and secondly, it is staged according to the game. And in such a movie, you just want more madness and incredible stunts.
If we abstract from the war drama that was 20 years late, even those who are not familiar with the universe of Resident Evil will be able to enjoy Infinite Darkness. But to make it complete, it is better to read at least something about the franchise before watching or watch a YouTube video about the history of the series.
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Journalist, I have been working in the media for several years. She studied to be a psychologist, but she began to study the history of cinema and realized that fictional people are even more interesting than real people. I write with equal love about the treasures of the French new wave and the new Netflix, I adore Charlie Kaufman and Terry Zwigoff, a fan of sloburn and niche horror.
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