New To Blu: Resident Evil Vendetta (2017) - Reviewed





With the Resident Evil film franchise in the current process of being rebooted for an all new series, the brand once again makes its way into our homes with a full length computer generated animated film that pits weapon wielding heroes against a legion of monstrous undead creations and human mutations. 

Playing it much closer to the video game series, our fearless pack of humans once again finds themselves in the darkened mansion and the city streets fighting for their lives in a movie that brings back the retro horror feel while still striving to add tons of action and gun toting fun. Considering how far the live action movies strayed from the source material, this is a more true representation that gamers may latch onto. Where some may take issue is the lack of emotion that these computer rendered characters just can't show. But, the action sequences more than make up for those shortcomings. 

Much like the last two entries in the animated series of films, Vendetta definitely feels much more connected to the long running series of games. In fact, this plays like an extended series of cut scenes that could very well be part of the platform universe. As a part of all the RE stories we've experienced so far, this one gets the mood right, has some fear inducing cinematic music, and definitely creates a visceral sense of dread as chemically induced zombies once again unleash their taste for the living. Although some of the facial expressions and movements don't look absolutely realistic, Vendetta scores major points for bringing us back to the core persona of the Resident Evil brand. 


So much for cultural diversity. Just a couple of
white dudes fighting off legions of undead white dudes. 

Fearing a full on, city wide outbreak of the virus, a cast of highly trained militants and a lone scientist must once again stop the disease from spreading. With the already established back story and a just enough detail to keep us interested, the action kicks off with awesome fight scenes, tons of head smashing, plenty of jump scares, and story that's both timely and relevant. Not to keep bashing the Paul WS Anderson flicks, but Vendetta strikes a chord that strays far far away from the overzealous, hyper saturated tone of those franchise counterparts. The plot here is much more succinct and will definitely connect with an audience that might actually be fearful of terrorist attacks and the use of chemical weapons in highly populated areas. 

Sorry Milla. But this is real Resident Evil that's way more interesting and has better villains and a far more realized story line. It's still not perfect, but this is on par with what the series is supposed to be about. 

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Score

-CG