Resident Evil: Damnation

Resident Evil: Damnation
Japanese release poster
Directed by	Makoto Kamiya
Produced by	Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Written by	Shotaro Suga
Based on	Resident Evil by Capcom
Starring	Matthew Mercer Dave Wittenberg Wendee Lee Courtenay Taylor
Music by	Rei Kondoh Shusaku Uchiyama
Production company	Capcom Digital Frontier
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan
Release dates	October 27, 2012 (2012-10-27)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	English

Resident Evil: Damnation, known as Biohazard: Damnation (バイオハザード ダムネーション, Baiohazādo: Damunēshon) in Japan, is a 2012 Japanese feature-length 3D animated biopunk film by Capcom and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, directed by Makoto Kamiya and produced by Hiroyuki Kobayashi.^[1] It is a sequel to Resident Evil: Degeneration and prequel to videogame Resident Evil 6. The movie was released on October 27, 2012 in Japan, premièring in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

The story of Resident Evil: Damnation revolves around biological weapons used in a European war zone,^[2] and sees the return of Leon S. Kennedy as the protagonist.^[3] The film was released as a digital download on Xbox Live, Zune and PlayStation Network on September 15, 2012,^[4] just over a week before the Blu-ray/DVD editions on September 25.

The end credits of the film display clips from Resident Evil 6, which was released a week after this film on October 2.

Plot

Leon S. Kennedy sneaks into the Eastern Slav Republic (a fictional country that separated from the Soviet Union) to verify rumors that Bio-Organic Weapons (BOWs) are being used in the country's civil war, which the U.S. and Russia are preparing to intervene in. After his arrival, Ingrid Hunnigan, Leon's mission support, informs him the government has ordered an immediate retreat of all U.S. forces. Determined to stop the BOWs, Leon ignores the order.^[5] Leon comes across his contact, "Scarecrow," who has been attacked and is near death. A Licker finishes off Scarecrow as Leon is knocked out by an explosion; a shadowy figure orders the Licker not to kill Leon. Leon awakens, tied to a chair by rebel fighters J.D., Alexander Kozachenko (Buddy), and the elderly Ivan Judanovich, the group's Ataman.

Meanwhile, President Svetlana Belikova meets Ada Wong, who is posing as a BSAA agent. Ada explains a master-slave relationship between a BOW and a human infected with the virus's dominant strain is possible. Elsewhile, soldiers burst into the rebel hideout; Leon tries warning them of Ivan's infection, but Buddy starts a shoot-out. Ivan tells Buddy to kill him, fearing his poor health is a burden; Buddy reluctantly complies. Elsewhere, Leon meets JD, only for Plaga hosts to attack them; Leon suspects the rebels had Plaga, which have escaped and infected them. JD leads Leon to the church, where they regroup with the remaining rebels. JD helps Leon escape, urging him to stop Buddy; a government bombing of a school (which was mistaken for a rebel hideout) killed Buddy's fiancée and her students, causing his hatred.

Leon runs into Ada, who he thinks she's responsible due to her sample-retrieval mission in Resident Evil 4. Ada denies it and confesses retrieving a sample is her primary objective in Eastern Slav. Ada leaves, warning the city will soon be bombed. Leon returns to the church to find Ganados attacked it, finding JD the only survivor. Buddy arrives, with JD revealing he was infected during the attack; after JD and Buddy share some last words, Leon shoots him. Leon asks Buddy to give up the Plagas. He refuses and escapes when military jets bomb the church, bringing the ceiling down.

Svetlana exposes Ada as a fraud, engaging her in hand-to-hand combat; evenly matched, Ada attempts escape. However, the room is sealed; it doubles as an elevator. Leon arrives shortly later, descending the empty shaft. Ada finds herself tied up, but frees herself with a knife hidden in her high heels. She and Leon meet up at the main hive control. Svetlana and her army troops surround them; Ada releases a smoke bomb and escapes while Leon gets into a shootout with the soldiers, managing to kill several. Buddy arrives, sending Lickers to attack the troops. Svetlana activates her own BOWs before escaping - two Tyrants- to wipe out all opposition, including the Lickers. Leon and Buddy team up and barely make it out of the palace basement, smashing the Tyrants with the elevator.

Outside, a third Tyrant appears; Leon and Buddy decapitate it with tank fire. With the tank overturned, Leon and Buddy are forced out into a confrontation with the first two Tyrants, which have finally reached the surface. Leon grabs Buddy to flee while the Tyrants give chase. With no ammo left, Leon brandishes his combat knife to make a last stand, when USAF A-10 attack planes appear and take out both Tyrants. Just as Svetlana prepares for her press conference, she is informed by her aide that they are under attack by both U.S. and Russian forces. Their bombardment and subsequent occupation eventually forces her to resign.

As Leon and Buddy watch, Buddy believes there is nothing left to live for and asks Leon to kill him before the Plaga takes control. Leon doesn't comply, telling him to carry on living, even without the use of limbs, to serve as the living memory of those who died. Leon then shoots Buddy's spine, severing the Plaga's control over him and confining Buddy to a wheelchair; Buddy resumes being a teacher. Three days later, Leon speaks to Hunnigan about the mission while watching the news about the U.S. and Russia intervening in the civil war on TV. Elsewhere, Ada speaks to her employer about a Plaga sample she retrieved, but haggles and says that she has not quite decided whether or not to give it. The credits display cinematic scenes from Resident Evil 6.

Cast

Voice actors, and motion capture actors in parentheses, for the characters are listed below:^[6]

• Matthew Mercer (Kevin Dorman) as Leon S. Kennedy
• Dave Wittenberg (David Earnest) as Buddy/Alexander 'Sasha' Kozachenko
• Wendee Lee (Melinda Lee) as Svetlana Belikova
• Val Tasso (Val Tasso) as JD
• Robin Sachs (Kirk Thornton) as Ataman/Ivan Judanovich
• Courtenay Taylor (Jolene Andersen) as Ada Wong
• Salli Saffioti (Jolene Andersen) as Ingrid Hunnigan
• David Earnest (Dave Earnest) as Secretary
• Patrick Seitz (Kirk Thornton) as Scarecrow
• Michael McConnohie as Tyrant

Release

Capcom and Sony Pictures released Damnation on DVD and Blu-ray on September 25, 2012. The Damnation disc includes bonus content.^[7]

"Carry On" by Japanese-American Artist Anna Tsuchiya is played during the credits. The film was released theatrically in Japan on October 27, 2012.

Reception

Resident Evil: Damnation was awarded the 2013 International 3D Society Japan Award for animation.^[8]

Sequel

The movie will be followed by Resident Evil: Vendetta, due to be released in 2017.^[9]

References

External links

• Official website
• Official website (Japanese)
• Resident Evil: Damnation at the Internet Movie Database
• Resident Evil: Damnation at Rotten Tomatoes