Resident Evil 2 Remake – Looking back at the original

Originally published on Set The Tape

This week sees the release of the new version of the 1998 Resident Evil 2 on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC. Completely remade from the ground up, with a new and dynamic story, redesigned environments and game-play innovation, it’s already set to be one of the biggest releases for the franchise in years. The excitement around the new game is based largely upon the popular opinion among fans that Resident Evil 2 was the series’ highlight.

Even before the success of the original Resident Evil, development began on a sequel just a month after the first game was completed. Whilst this game, which would later go on to be referred to as Resident Evil 1.5 by producer Shinji Mikami, differs greatly from the final version of Resident Evil 2, it did introduce some story elements that would carry over to the game, such as a citywide outbreak, Leon Kennedy and Sherry Birkin.

Upon its release in 1998, Resident Evil 2 became an instant hit, wowing fans and newcomers alike as it shifted from a small story set within the confines of a single mansion to a story that took players across Raccoon City and explored the inner workings of the evil Umbrella Corporation.

Whilst the first game allowed players to choose from two separate campaigns to play through, with neither one of them interacting with each other, Resident Evil 2 was much more ambitious, offering four scenarios. If players completed Leon’s campaign they would gain access to a ‘B Scenario’ for Claire, which intertwined with the events of Leon’s story, and even relied on items being left behind in your first play-through for Claire to use. Alternatively, you could play as Claire, which allowed you to unlock a second scenario for Leon. This was a bold innovation to the series, and one that allowed players a greater opportunity for replaying the game, exploring both scenario options for each character.

As well as more story options, the sequel also offered improved storytelling and acting. Yes, there are a few moments where the dialogue feels awfully clunky, even back in 1998, but it’s still a big improvement over the original. The game looked more into how Umbrella worked, exploring how they bribed the chief of police to hide evidence against them, and how internal factions worked against each other, leading to a confrontation that resulted in the infection of the entire city.

Game design also made a sharp improvement allowing players to explore bigger and better looking environments that made much better use of the Playstation technology. Locations were better designed, puzzles took more thinking through and enemies were a bigger challenge.

It’s not hard to see why Resident Evil 2 is held up as an all time classic. It took everything that made the original a success and improved upon it in every way. Story was better, gameplay was improved, replay value was increased. Filled with excitement, action and horror, it became the Aliens to the first game’s Alien.

The game may be more than 20 years old, but it’s still a great experience today thanks in large part to the effort that was put into making it. It began development before the first game was a success, so it wasn’t a cash-in or a money making sequel. It was made because the creators believed in the product, because they wanted to make something great and that’s why it’s still one of the best entries in the entire franchise. If the remake remains true to these values, if it’s made with the same love and care that the original was, it’s sure to not only live up to the legacy that Resident Evil 2 created, but will be a huge success in its own right.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2×04 – ‘Face My Enemy’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

Ming-Na Wen’s Agent Melinda May was one of the standouts from the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., an experienced agent with a history, a trained fighter on the same level as Black Widow or Hawkeye, and someone with hidden depths and emotions; she was the most exciting character in a cast of young inexperienced agents, apart from Coulson (Clark Gregg).

Whilst the second season has done a good job of showing how some of these other characters have begun to grow, such as Skye (Chloe Bennet) becoming a competent field agent, or Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) living with his trauma, May seems to have been relegated to the background. ‘Face My Enemy’ changes this, however, as we not only get May being a central focus of the episode, but we even get two of her!

When a mysterious church fire destroys everything but a painting that contains the same strange writing that has been plaguing Coulson he and May infiltrate a fancy gala in order to steal it. This feels very much like the early season one episodes, taking on a bright, almost fun, Mission: Impossible style feel. There’s great chemistry between May and Coulson in these scenes, and it really helps to sell the idea that these two have known each other for years, and that they’ve been on dozens of missions like this together. These scenes also let Ming-Na show us that she can do more than just act as the colder, stoic member of the team, as she takes on a persona that smiles and laughs, much to the surprise of some of the rest of the team.

This being Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., however, means that the mission does not go as planned, as the painting appears to be stolen by General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar). Whilst it’s initially worrying when this happens because it would mean another apparent good guy turning out to be working for Hydra, the reveal that it’s actually a disguised Sunil Bakshi (Simon Kassianides) makes for a great moment. Plus the face swapping masks makes this feel much more like Mission: Impossible.

Making a return from the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier the face changing tech is a great addition to the series. It allows for interesting narrative challenges for the characters, as shown in this episode, but it also makes a tiny bridge to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. The fact that it just appears here, rather than having someone say ‘ah yes, this is the same technology that Black Widow once used’, much like they kept doing in season one, actually feels very organic too.

Hydra make good use of this device here by having the brainwashed Agent 33 (Maya Stojan) take on May’s identity to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.. Unfortunately for her Coulson knows May well enough to be able to see through this ploy and figure out that she’s a fake. The fact that the episode went out of it’s way to have Coulson and May spend so much time together in the early part of the story and establish how comfortable they are around each other makes this a much stronger moment, Coulson didn’t catch her out because she slipped up on an obvious detail, it was something that only he would notice because of their friendship.

The Hydra story comes to a head as the two May’s come face to face in a fight that is hands down the best one the series has given viewers up to this point. It’s clear that this is a big part of why Mortal Kombat: Legacy director Kevin Tancheroen was given this episode to direct, as the two versions of May fight each other suing their fists, knives, lamp poles, and even electrical cables. They tear apart the room their in as they keep beating the crap out of each other. Whilst there are moments in the fight during the wide shots where you can tell that it’s Ming-Na fighting a body double it works very well for the most part and looks great.

May’s finishing move where she does a mid-air spinning face slam into a table is a moment that is guaranteed to make you cheer out loud just for how absolutely awesome it is.


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Frost/Nixon – Throwback 10

Originally published on Set The Tape

It’s interesting to go back and watch Frost/Nixon with a new perspective. When the film was made in 2008 the current US President was George W. Bush, a man who was at the time a contentious and divisive figure, but one that was seen as ‘not as bad’ as the titular Richard Nixon. Now, ten years later, in a time when the world has lived through two terms of Barack Obama and is a number of years into the presidency of Donald Trump it does alter how you think about Nixon.

Richard Nixon has been seen as a villainous president by many for decades, and the story of his downfall and corruption has been one that has fascinated, yet now, in a time where the US President splits up families and praises Nazi’s can we still look at Nixon and see him as a villain?

Frost/Nixon seemed to want to answer this question a decade ago, shining a light onto the world famous moments in which Nixon admitted live on air that he had engaged in illegal activities, yet chose to portray him as a very real and flawed man, something that many films that feature the historic figure have failed to do.

A large part of the success of the films portrayal comes from director Ron Howard’s decision to include the two leads from the stage production to be part of the film, having Michael Sheen play David Frost and Frank Langella reprise Nixon. You can tell that both actors are incredibly comfortable in the parts, having played them so long before even coming onto set, but it’s Langella as Nixon who shines the most.

Having studied the former president Langella captures the speech patterns without it becoming an over the top impression, and copies the physical mannerisms to the point where he is able to embody the man without the need of ridiculous prosthetic that exaggerate his features, as many films do. He doesn’t come to the production playing Richard Nixon, he plays a man, a real everyday person who happens to be in this situation, going through these events. This helps him to avoid the pitfalls of many other film Nixon’s, and even brings a lot of depth and sympathy to the role.

Come the end of the film you will find that preconceived notions about Nixon may have changed. He may no longer be the terrible figure that he’s been made out to be in the past, but simply a man who made poor choices and is trying desperately to hold onto the respectability that his former position should afford him. Sheen is excellent in his role as David Frost, though doesn’t stand out as much as Langella simply due to Frost being a much smaller personality. That’s no slight against David Frost, the man was an amazing interviewer, but simply a reflection on how Nixon towered over him during these events.

The film reflects that fact well, selling the audience on the idea that despite being a rising star David Frost was somewhat out of his depth at the beginning of the interviews with Nixon, having come across an opponent instead of a normal interviewee. Sheen plays this well, showing the highs and lows that Frost went through over the course of the process. He sells the audience on David Frost and his journey so well that when Nixon finally says the iconic line ‘when the president does it, that means it’s not illegal’ you’ll be cheering on Sheen for finally getting the win.

Whilst the two leads dominate the screen the film’s supporting cast is just as perfectly acted, with some truly brilliant character actors helping to keep the plot moving forward, including Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Matthew Macfayden, Toby Jones, and Sam Rockwell. It’s never an easy job to portray a real life figure, especially when the events are still firmly in many people’s memories and the subjects still alive, but every single cast member is perfectly on point throughout.

Ron Howard described Frost/Nixon as the ‘thinking man’s Rocky’, and it’s not far from the truth. Not a single punch is thrown between the two, but the constant back and forth during the interviews makes for some incredibly tense moments, and you’ll be willing one side to win. Frost/Nixon is a clash of titans, two men who feel that they are right locking horns and fighting to show the public their side.

If it were simply fiction it would be a fascinating and well made film, but because it’s real world history it becomes a much more important and intriguing piece.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2×03 – ‘Making Friends and Influencing People’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

After spending the first two episodes of the new season as a hallucination ‘Making Friends and Influencing People’ sees the return of Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). The opening scene of the episode focuses of Simmons, following her through her morning routine as she gets ready for her day at work. It’s a very different scene than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. usually delivers; it’s bright and colourful, it has cheery music, and it shows one of the heroes in a very normal, domestic setting.

This light scene takes a sudden turn when it’s revealed that Simmons is actually working for Hydra. This makes the different tone make a lot more sense, as it’s very clearly done to make the audience believe that Simmons has left espionage behind her and is enjoying an ordinary life only to surprise viewers with the reveal. It might be a fairly heavy handed technique, but it does make for a genuinely surprising moment.

Thankfully, the episode doesn’t try to trick the viewers into thinking that the incredibly loyal Jemma Simmons had joined a Nazi led organisation that had murdered her friends and colleagues as it’s quickly revealed that she is actually working undercover for Coulson (Clark Gregg). Sent into Hydra as a low level scientist/agent Simmons has been tasked with gathering useful intel, something that she’s been struggling to accomplish.

Fortunately for Simmons, her mission improves when she finds herself being brought into a manhunt for Donnie Gill (Dylan Minnette),  the temperature controlling former S.H.I.E.L.D. cadet from the season one episode ‘Seeds’. This brings her into contact with one of the heads of Hydra, Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamond), and his underling Sunil Bakshi (Simon Kassianides). Whitehall and Bakshi are definitely built into the same mould as Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) and Armin Zola (Toby Jones), men who want to rule the world and revel in their evilness. It makes a big difference from previous Hydra villains we’ve seen before yet feels perfect for the show.

We learn in this episode that S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra are both after the same thing, powered ‘gifted’ individuals. The hunt for Donnie is entertaining, taking the action across the globe to a large tanker trapped inside ice. Whilst the location might not be the most exotic or visually interesting, but the tension and emotion in these scenes make them much better, particularly when Skye (Chloe Bennett) has to pull the trigger and kill her first person.

The best scene, however, has to go to Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) coming face to face with Ward (Brett Dalton) for the first time since he dropped him out of a plane. Any complaints made during the first season that Fitz wasn’t an interesting enough character on his own are well and truly shelved now, with the traumatised and wounded Fitz delivering a truly chilling and emotional scene. It’s moments like this that reinforce that De Caestecker is the best actor in the cast, as he takes Fitz through a range of emotions from shock, to fear, to anger, as he processes the fact that the man that tried to kill him has been secretly locked in the base, before he comes to the decision to try to murder him. Thankfully Fitz fails to go through with his revenge, choosing to let him live.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may be filled with action and comic book shennanigans, and this episode is no exception, but it’s the character moments that make the series special. We get to see in this episode how far characters like Fitz, Simmons, and Skye have come since those early episodes where Zitz and Simmons were interchangeable and felt like one character spread over two, and Skye was an annoying hacker with no training. The series is showing that there are consequences to previous actions, that these characters are not just archetypes who will always remain the same, but will evolve.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2×02 – ‘Heavy is the Head’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

The second episode of season two of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. very much feels like a second part to the season opener, even beginning seconds after the last episode ended. It’s surprising to see that this wasn’t originally a two parter, or even aired back to back, as it very much feels like one extra long introduction to the new status quo.

Despite the pre-season marketing making a big deal out of Lucy Lawless joining the cast as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Isabelle Hartley it’s a shock to discover that the car crash at the end of the last episode killed her. Yes, she may have been under some kind of attack or infection from the alien obelisk, but she could easily lose an arm and stay a part of the show; as such, her sudden death is a genuine surprise.

The one silver lining from her exit from her brief time as a part of the team is that it puts Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) on a path where he’s determined to get revenge for her, which means that we get to see a lot more of Crusher Creel (Brian Patrick Wade). Whilst we still hardly know Hunter I found that we learnt a lot about his character from him in this episode. He’s manipulative, he’ll lie and double cross to get what he wants, but he’s fiercely loyal and has a sense of justice, characteristics that could make him a strong new addition to the team.

In a lot of ways he already feels a lot better than other secondary male leads the series has had. Bret Dalton was fairly bland as Grant Ward across the whole first season, even when he was revealed to be a Hydra agent, and whilst I love B.J. Britt as Antoine Triplett it took a lot longer to get to know him, and even then we’ve not got to see much of his character. Speaking of Ward, this is the first episode of the show to not feature him, and it’s absolutely fine. Perhaps this is a sign that Ward and his story will begin to work its way into the background to make room for better characters.

One of these better characters is Mack (Henry Simmons), who spends much of the episode getting to know Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) better, and helping him with his neurological trauma. It’s a little bit of a disappointment to learn that most of the other characters have kind of just left Fitz alone to deal with his problems himself. I understand that there’s a lot going on for the other characters to have to deal with, you don’t really get days off from being an international super-spy, but this is one of their best friends, left alone to struggle through an incredibly traumatic experience.

Thankfully Mack is too good a person to leave the suffering Fitz on his own, and we get to see that start of what appears to be a very real and caring friendship form between the two men. Mack pushes Fitz when he needs it, supports him when it’s right, and because of this has quickly become one of the best characters on the show only his second episode in. The episode also introduces a big new player to the series this episode, Skye’s mysterious father, played by Twin Peaks Kyle MacLachlan. The episode gives nothing about him away, even his name, but the fact that he has Raina (Ruth Negga) working for him, who is clearly afraid of him, sets him up to be an interesting potential antagonist.

‘Heavy is the Head’ also continues the further evolving mystery of the strange symbols that Coulson (Clark Gregg) has been carving by revealing a connection to the alien obelisk. We know from the flashback in the previous episode that the obelisk was taken from the same Hydra facility that housed the blue alien used to save Coulson, so a connection between the two isn’t a huge leap in logic. How this will play out is anyone’s guess at this point, but hopefully it won’t be teased out as long as the Tahiti mystery in season one.

With some great action moments and a lot of character and plot development the second episode of the season has continued at a great pace and has established a great foundation for season two to continue to build upon.


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