Now available on DVD & Blu-Ray
Cast:
Graham McTavish as Dante
Mark Hamill as Alighiero
Steve Blum as Lucifer
Kevin Michael Richardson as Phelgias
Directed by Mike Disa
Review:
One of the wackier game concepts in recent memory, Dante’s Inferno uses the titular source material as the backdrop for a God of War-style hack ‘n slash through each of the nine circles of Hell, with Dante in the Kratos role as he attempts to kill Lucifer and reclaim his stolen love, Beatrice (so it’s sort of Ghost ‘n Goblins-y, too). And as they did with Dead Space, EA has commissioned an animated movie to coincide with the game’s release, appropriately titled Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic.
Unlike the Dead Space movie, Dante’s Inferno does not flesh out some backstory and serve as a prequel to the game – it in fact tells the same story, which is both a blessing and a curse. On the plus side, you don’t need to play the game in order to appreciate the story being told. However, the game allows you to kick ass and “earn” the plot twists, doled out carefully over the course of a 8-10 hour game, whereas in the movie the exposition almost never stops coming, as there is a lot of ground to cover in an 80 minute movie.
Most of the movie breaks down like this: Dante and his guide, Virgil, enter a new circle of Hell. Dante asks “What IS this place?” and Virgil delivers a monologue about what circle it is (Lust, Greed, etc.) and the type of poor souls that inhabit it. Then a big guardian (read: boss) appears and Dante quickly dispatches it. Then we cut to Lucifer giving Beatrice an update about Dante’s progress, and then it’s back to Dante entering the next circle. Lather, rinse, repeat. Along the way we get some flashbacks that explain how the two lovers got into this predicament in the first place (hint: Dante’s a guy. Guys have needs. Beatrice was far away.), but precious little that explains how he is able to swiftly destroy these giant and seemingly powerful beasts, which also is a bit troubling. Isnât this HELL? Shouldn’t the things that run Hell be a bit harder to take down than with a few swings of a scythe? The lack of any real threat to Dante keeps the film from feeling as epic as the source material would seemingly lend itself to.
Another blight is the ever-changing animation. Five different animation houses worked on the film, which means every 15-20 minutes the animation changes entirely. Dante goes from having long hair to having short hair to having questionable hair length due to a helmet that appears out of nowhere and covers his entire head. Virgil and the other characters also undergo “plastic surgery,” and it is often disorienting, as the differences will be drastic enough to think that you’re looking at a different character entirely. I’m all for different approaches to similar subject matter, such as in the Animatrix or Batman: Gotham Knight releases, but when it’s done like that for a single narrative, it seems more like a distraction than a creative design. Luckily, all of the animation itself is quite good (particularly Film Roman’s segment), and even though it’s distracting, if you for some reason DON’T like a particular style, you can rest easy knowing it will change again in a few minutes.
But all said, it’s a harmless way to kill 90 minutes. For every scene of exposition, there’s one of Dante killing stuff, and the various monster designs (particularly in the Lust level) are always worth appreciating, particularly on the crystal clear Blu-Ray. The voice work is great throughout (though the lip-syncing is off at times; certain animation teams seem to be better at it than others), and Heavy Metal fans should enjoy seeing a new strange and violent story told with top of the line animation. And come on – it’s about a guy killing the devil to get back his woman. That is pretty much the definition of awesome.
As always, Anchor Bay has provided a top notch 1080p transfer, and continue to be one of the most consistent studios when it comes to high def releases – both their library titles and brand new releases look outstanding every time, and Dante is no exception. The sound mix is also quite good; enjoy the cries of moaning souls and such continuously belting out of your surrounds. Extras are a little thin, however – all that’s here is a trailer for the game and a few storyboard animatics.
Unlike the game, you can see the left-field story told in 90 minutes, and without causing tendon damage from all the button mashing. The thin extras might make a purchase hard to justify, but as quickie tie-in promotional films go, it’s a cut above the norm.
