Before I elaborate on my headline of what this article is about, I will start by explaining Leon to the best of my ability, Leon Scott Kennedy is a main protagonist of the Resident Evil video game series, and is perhaps the best of them all. He has always had a string of luck on his side that would make Chris Redfield jealous. Now, I personally, grew up with Resident Evil 2, and I thought of Kennedy as a strong, reliable presence. Easy to look up to, and favorable among the other survivors and heroes of the outbreak that plagues the world of Resident Evil. He knows how to survive. He is one of the greatest action heroes in the history of video games.
I remember back when I was introduced to
Resident Evil-I would watch my uncle play through
Resident Evil 2 every night, and soon, started playing it myself. I fell in love with the survival-horror genre ever since then and became a huge fan of the like, with games such as this, and
Silent Hill. I could never really find a
Resident Evil title that I could just sit and play through besides the first and second, until
Resident Evil 4 was introduced, with Leon as the starring character. Today, no matter what I play,
Resident Evil 4 still holds strong as the best game I have ever played, hands down. That though is a different story.
Kennedy rose from skilled rookie who had potential in
Resident Evil 2 to the highly-resourcful, tactically brilliant goverment agent in
Resident Evil 4 and it was known that he rose quickly within the ranks, further showing off his use of skill in the environment. Now, for the film, we don't know much of yet, but I am very skeptical on Urb's performance as Leon. He just doesn't jump up and shout "LEON!" like I had expected. I saw the article by
ComicBookMovie's own
WolvieCBM, and I didn't have to watch the video, I was already disappointed. I honestly had some faith that I would get to see Leon light up the silver-screen, but instead I get some half-assed wannabe backstreet boy that looks as if he is till stuck in the times of when they were ever popular.
I am honestly so disappointed. Atleast Wentworth Miller favored Chris Redfield, and I could recognize his part If I didn't know it in the first place. But Johann as Leon would have had me stumped for a good while before I could figure it out.
I mean, they couldn't even go with an original look...just a rip-off to the outfit, and some unknown actor sporting facial hair, and looking like he's also sporting a generic wig. Hell, if you want to get even more technical, the combover is even on the wrong side. The silver lining to this film is that the role of Barry will be portrayed by Kevin Durand. He is a good actor and I can see him as Barry.
As for the casting of Leon, they could have went with better choices. Jensen Ackles or Jared Pedalecki of the hit show
Supernatural would have filled Leon's shoes better than that of Johann. He seems like a friendly guy and all from watching the video, but It just looks like another random survivor to me. It doesn't look like Leon. I will inevitably see this film, but not when it comes to spending a large amount of money. I have been waiting for Leon to show up in these films for some time now, and when he finally does,
Resident Evil: Retribution totally kills all anticipation I had for the character on live-action film.
Well that is enough of my ranting, and I am sure that the community feels the same way I do, but as that goes, we will just have to wait and see how Urb does in the upcoming
Resident Evil: Retribution. To see Johann as Leon if you haven't already, just view the news article, or watch the video below.
Starring Milla Jovovich as Alice, Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine, Boris Kodjoe as Luthor West, Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker, Michelle Rodriguez as Rain, Johann Urb as Leon Kennedy and Kevin Durand as Barry,
Resident Evil: Retribution is set to blast into theaters, September 14, 2012.