#Ada Wong was supposed to be in the movie apparently cause she’s in the cast???

[tmascfatal]

Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City movie rant/analysis (if you can call it that?) -because I just finished watching it and I have A LOT to say

SPOILERS!! obv

Let’s start off with the good!

Overall, I think it was a decent movie. The pacing was surprisingly decent and it introduced all the characters and gave them a foundation that the watcher could build off very efficiently. The story telling was great, the transitions from one chapter to another wasn’t smooth but decent enough for the watcher to not be confused or annoyed. And the character designs for the monsters!! I could not tell you how honestly scared I was (though I have an irregular fear of zombies). Not only that but they didn’t entirely rely on jumpscares! They use tension instead, which is what most horror enthusiasts look for! Especially with that scene where Chris is trying to light up his lighter and the zombie moves closer with every flick. If someone watched this without ever playing or knowing about the resident evil games, I think they would somewhat enjoy it. And I love this 90s/80s vibe they have going on, it really fit into the cheesiness of the Resident Evil games though I wished they leaned onto more because I felt like that would’ve make-up for the ridiculousness of the games. I loved Avan Jogia as Leon, I know many people didn’t like that change but I think he really fits the role of Leon plus diversity is always good! And Hannah John-Kamen is an amazing actress, that betrayal scene with Wesker really made me really felt her anger. Along with Kaya Scodelario, who I think is the best movie adaptation Claire we’ll see. Having this very fiery attitude that doesn’t mock her in a way.

But it has its flaws, more so than it’s positives. The story was a bit weird, it disregarded a lot of the original storyline from the games and canon lore. I think trying to shove 2 (3 so I’ve heard?) games into a hour and a half movie isn’t the best idea. A lot of perspectives are completely disregarded, such as Jill’s and Leon’s. Most of the movie is told from Claire’s perspective but they still do a good job in intertwining them. Jill is barely even given some screen time for herself, she feels more like a background character if anything. They also added this weird orphanage storyline that I understand was supposed to show us how fucked up Umbrella Corp is but doesn’t play much into the rest of the movie or the characters at all. I feel like they didn’t need to go into Chris’ and Claire’s childhood. Also the additional of Sherry Berkin felt forced, like they had to do it cause it was in the games. We weren’t introduced to her until the near end and we honestly never had a reason to even see her in the first place (which they also do in the game but a personal pet peeve). I understand that adaptation movies aren’t always 100% but they really changed up a lot. Chris’ and Claire’s relationship was bitter, they seemed to resent each other. Which in the game is completely different, the reason she even came to Raccoon City was because of Chris. And let’s talk about Wesker, they gave him a totally new personality. A cheery hunk that was a complete opposite from his stoic in-game character. His betrayal didn’t have a motive, his character seemed like he saw his friends as family not as expendables nor as someone who turns into a full fledge villain. Tom Hopper is an amazing actor but not the right one for this character. He isn’t the only one that’s wrong with the cast. As much as the actors were amazing, I think they didn’t fit the part. I don’t think Hannah John-Kamen made a great Jill, maybe the writing is to blame or the lack of screen time but I couldn’t recognize her as Jill at all. Along with Robbie Amell though he doesn’t capture Chris at all, I felt like Tom Hopper would’ve fit Chris way more than Robbie Amell did. Not only that but we’re barely introduced to the characters other than Claire and Chris. We get a whole backstory about Claire’s experience with Umbrella Corp and why she ran away but nothing on for the rest of the cast. They could’ve explained why Leon chose to join RPD or go into more depth with Chris’ personal experience with Umbrella Corp but there was nothing. For someone going in blind, it’d be very boring to watch these characters you know nothing about for an hour and a half. Last but not least, the cgi was giving off 2000s vibes but not in a good way. The Licker was very CLEARLY cgi, and it really took away the immersion from the movie especially with it being mostly practical. They did in amazing job of doing the make-up on zombies. And William Berkin’s final form at the end was just so out of place. Though I really loved the effects when he first started transforming. I understand it wasn’t a big production but they could’ve gone with more practical effects like look at Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark!

To summarize, the way it was directed and choreographed was honestly better than expected but the story along with the characters were disappointing. I don’t think it deserve it’s harsh rating of 1 stars but it’s no where near a 7 star. I’d say it’s a 3.5 star out of 10 because I can see how someone who doesn’t know Resident Evil at all getting confused and a fan of RE being very disappointed of the character + story adaptations.