The reason Leon has been sent into the thick of things is because there is evidence of BOWs (Bio-Organic Weapons) being used in the fight. BOW is apparently the term being used by the international community for the genetic creatures that Umbrella created, as well as the Plagas parasites that were the main enemy in Resident Evil 4.
Leon quickly discovers that Lickers are being used by the freedom fighters and they are being controlled by fighters implanted by Plagas parasites. It seems someone has discovered a master/slave relationship with the parasites, and someone infected by the master slave can control creatures and people infected with the slave parasite.
A lot of Damnation has Leon basically running for his life and fighting his way through a series of enemy creatures. While he doesn’t necessarily agree with the freedom fighters and their anti-Western views, he is pretty much forced to stick next to JD (Val Tasso), the comedic relief, and Sasha (Dave Wittenberg), the cell’s leader.
Meanwhile, it seems the government, led by President Svetlana Belikova (Wendee Lee), has its hands dirty as well. When she teams up with Ada Wong (Courtney Taylor) to employ BOWs themselves, the fights in the streets become more than just man-vs-man and a few interesting fights between some of RE’s iconic creatures take place.
There is a 20 minute featurette about the making of the film that should interest anyone who enjoyed Damnation, but be warned, it is in Japanese and you will need to read the subtitles. There is also a featurette explaining the different types of creatures found in the film, as well as an art gallery. The oddest of the special features though was the Gag Reel. Where this is typically outtakes and goofs done while animating the film or reading the lines, instead these are "funny" alternative dialogue put to the same animation as seen in the film … except sometimes the segment is added to in order to fit what is being said. I was left more confused than anything after watching this special feature.
Resident Evil: Damnation is a lot of action with enough story to put the various creatures and people in some interesting fights. The film isn’t too deep, but then, it doesn’t really need to be. In the end, it feels like a hype-generator for Resident Evil 6 and is a fun ride for those times you want to turn your brain off and just watch some explosions and fights.
