I would like to make one thing clear from the get-go;
I'm a "newer" fan of the Resident Evil video game franchise. I always knew about the video game when it first came out in 1998, but back then I was into PC's and by the time I had my first PC building experiences, the Resident Evil franchise wasn't on my must-play radar.
My first "experience" with Resident Evil was pretty much the first Live Action movie featuring Milla Jovovich. And while I 'knew' it wasn't "faithful", honestly, I appreciated it for what it was, a genetics-military-zombie action-flick that you can easily watch and just enjoy the music, ambiance and energy without going into full-on "2001-A-Space-Odyssey-mode". (I'm more a Star Trek type, I like Sci-Fi, Psychological Horror, Cultural movies, etc..)
In the recent years, my actual gaming experience with RE first came with the RE2 Remake, which I really loved and that pushed me to go back and pretty much play every Resident Evil game I could play on PC, in order of release.
The games are pretty fresh in my mind, and I might make reference to one or two during my 'review' of this movie.
So, on to my thoughts about the movie!
MOVIE REVIEW ============
For the most part, I appreciated this more "nerdy" and subtle attempt at the Resident Evil franchise compared to the movies with Alice as the protagonist. While far from perfect, I feel like my time was well spent here. I'm already looking forward to watching it a second time. Usually, I find the second time let's you notice or see things you missed the first time and this movie has plenty of little subtle details and "easter" eggs that point back to the games, or characters.
Where I enjoyed this movie especially, was with the toned-down action sequences, they felt more realistic, more like the video games actually and less like superhero movies. Slower paced, not extravagant running and jumping scenes with huge explosions and all that ridiculous overdone superhero crap that has flooded the market.
The setting - small town, rain, nighttime - was the right choice for setting the mood and recreating the setting and feel from the games.
One of the more subtle detail that really pulled me in, was the way the actors handled their firearms. Resident Evil is (for those who don't know) about a pharmaceutical/experimental company (Umbrella) that also tries to create these creatures for military purposes, and the story always revolves around some containment breach and having to fight some zombies, monsters and other freak creatures. Where Capcom differs from many other "similar" styles of games, is that they tend to go in with a slightly more realistic feel to weapons and such.
The movies recreated this very well and it shows the actors had the proper training sessions to know how to properly move, handle and use the firearms (for movie-level entertainment anyways). I appreciated this, because it felt like I was watching scenes from the game, but with actors.
Another area I appreciated, was the locations that were visually recreated, like the Police Department (and the underground parking lot) and the Mansion Entrance and surrounding forest.
The actors really played their roles VERY well, although, I am puzzled by some of the liberties taken with actors, but I'll touch on that further down.
So, why not 7, 8 or 9/10 ?
I feel a little divided on the whole Claire and her childhood parts. It felt like it ate away at the movie and wasn't necessary. But at the same time, I think I understand the motive; which was most likely to make the video game adaptation a little more palatable by an audience that may have never played or even know about the games. But being a fan of the games, it felt a little out of place.
While the actors seriously did a very good job and I cannot say anything negative about their acting skills, I was quite puzzled by the choice of the actors in terms of looks. Apart from Chris Redfield, the other actors weren't even remotely close to the look of the in-game characters. I can't say I particularly appreciated that.
I also did not like how they introduce the meeting between Claire and Leon, nor the way they portrayed Leon at the start. It felt "off". I would have preferred seeing something like them meeting at the front of the Police Department instead of Leon being portrayed as a little bit of a loser.
But all that was "okay" in terms of liberties taken when adapting a video game. Where it loses most points, in my own opinion, is the pacing and the lack of scenes in the very memorable locations.
I was honestly expecting a little more slow creep and exploration of the Mansion and the Police Department. I would have like them to at least have a little more of the puzzle element that is one of the main points in the video games.
I don't mean they have to copy the puzzles in the games and recreate them in the movie, but at least a memorable room that would have forced the characters to go find something somewhere else to unlock a particular location.
All we see of the Mansion is the entrance, a room with a piano and a tunnel leading to a "secret" exit. The mansion hides MANY secrets, many rooms and, well, it felt a little shallow and like they took too much time with Claire's childhood, but too little with the locations that really set the tone for the video games.
Same goes for the Police Department; sure, the underground parking felt good, the PD entrance was really cool, but they could have "recreated" some form of video game backtracking/puzzle by making them have to find a special weapon in the equipment room, by having to go back to Police Chiefs office desk for the right key, but backtracking there would have led to a few standoffs with some "walkers".
While I think Birkin (the end monster) was VERY cool with the eyes on the shoulders and all that, it was slightly underwhelming. The bazooka shot in the closed train was maybe of a little bit much.
And the scene with the Licker and how it was "easily" dispatched in a struggle with that masked test-girl (I forget her name) really didn't feel all that hot.
In the end, when I look back and think of the time I spent watching the movie, I feel like this is a step in the right direction when it comes to a movie-adaptation of a video game... and thank the movie realms for this not turning into a Uwe Boll movie!
I actually appreciate the feeling in Johannes Roberts horror-style movies (I really like horror movies!) and I think he did a pretty good job adapting and melding two video games into a movie that is palatable by fans and by an audience that might completely ignore the games.
Naturally, this is going to be a pretty devisive aspect, and anyways, 5 or 6 out of 10 in the realm of "horror" is pretty good! So 6.5 or 7/10, I feel, is pretty good!
I'm a "newer" fan of the Resident Evil video game franchise. I always knew about the video game when it first came out in 1998, but back then I was into PC's and by the time I had my first PC building experiences, the Resident Evil franchise wasn't on my must-play radar.
My first "experience" with Resident Evil was pretty much the first Live Action movie featuring Milla Jovovich. And while I 'knew' it wasn't "faithful", honestly, I appreciated it for what it was, a genetics-military-zombie action-flick that you can easily watch and just enjoy the music, ambiance and energy without going into full-on "2001-A-Space-Odyssey-mode". (I'm more a Star Trek type, I like Sci-Fi, Psychological Horror, Cultural movies, etc..)
In the recent years, my actual gaming experience with RE first came with the RE2 Remake, which I really loved and that pushed me to go back and pretty much play every Resident Evil game I could play on PC, in order of release.
The games are pretty fresh in my mind, and I might make reference to one or two during my 'review' of this movie.
So, on to my thoughts about the movie!
MOVIE REVIEW ============
For the most part, I appreciated this more "nerdy" and subtle attempt at the Resident Evil franchise compared to the movies with Alice as the protagonist. While far from perfect, I feel like my time was well spent here. I'm already looking forward to watching it a second time. Usually, I find the second time let's you notice or see things you missed the first time and this movie has plenty of little subtle details and "easter" eggs that point back to the games, or characters.
Where I enjoyed this movie especially, was with the toned-down action sequences, they felt more realistic, more like the video games actually and less like superhero movies. Slower paced, not extravagant running and jumping scenes with huge explosions and all that ridiculous overdone superhero crap that has flooded the market.
The setting - small town, rain, nighttime - was the right choice for setting the mood and recreating the setting and feel from the games.
One of the more subtle detail that really pulled me in, was the way the actors handled their firearms. Resident Evil is (for those who don't know) about a pharmaceutical/experimental company (Umbrella) that also tries to create these creatures for military purposes, and the story always revolves around some containment breach and having to fight some zombies, monsters and other freak creatures. Where Capcom differs from many other "similar" styles of games, is that they tend to go in with a slightly more realistic feel to weapons and such.
The movies recreated this very well and it shows the actors had the proper training sessions to know how to properly move, handle and use the firearms (for movie-level entertainment anyways). I appreciated this, because it felt like I was watching scenes from the game, but with actors.
Another area I appreciated, was the locations that were visually recreated, like the Police Department (and the underground parking lot) and the Mansion Entrance and surrounding forest.
The actors really played their roles VERY well, although, I am puzzled by some of the liberties taken with actors, but I'll touch on that further down.
So, why not 7, 8 or 9/10 ?
I feel a little divided on the whole Claire and her childhood parts. It felt like it ate away at the movie and wasn't necessary. But at the same time, I think I understand the motive; which was most likely to make the video game adaptation a little more palatable by an audience that may have never played or even know about the games. But being a fan of the games, it felt a little out of place.
While the actors seriously did a very good job and I cannot say anything negative about their acting skills, I was quite puzzled by the choice of the actors in terms of looks. Apart from Chris Redfield, the other actors weren't even remotely close to the look of the in-game characters. I can't say I particularly appreciated that.
I also did not like how they introduce the meeting between Claire and Leon, nor the way they portrayed Leon at the start. It felt "off". I would have preferred seeing something like them meeting at the front of the Police Department instead of Leon being portrayed as a little bit of a loser.
But all that was "okay" in terms of liberties taken when adapting a video game. Where it loses most points, in my own opinion, is the pacing and the lack of scenes in the very memorable locations.
I was honestly expecting a little more slow creep and exploration of the Mansion and the Police Department. I would have like them to at least have a little more of the puzzle element that is one of the main points in the video games.
I don't mean they have to copy the puzzles in the games and recreate them in the movie, but at least a memorable room that would have forced the characters to go find something somewhere else to unlock a particular location.
All we see of the Mansion is the entrance, a room with a piano and a tunnel leading to a "secret" exit. The mansion hides MANY secrets, many rooms and, well, it felt a little shallow and like they took too much time with Claire's childhood, but too little with the locations that really set the tone for the video games.
Same goes for the Police Department; sure, the underground parking felt good, the PD entrance was really cool, but they could have "recreated" some form of video game backtracking/puzzle by making them have to find a special weapon in the equipment room, by having to go back to Police Chiefs office desk for the right key, but backtracking there would have led to a few standoffs with some "walkers".
While I think Birkin (the end monster) was VERY cool with the eyes on the shoulders and all that, it was slightly underwhelming. The bazooka shot in the closed train was maybe of a little bit much.
And the scene with the Licker and how it was "easily" dispatched in a struggle with that masked test-girl (I forget her name) really didn't feel all that hot.
In the end, when I look back and think of the time I spent watching the movie, I feel like this is a step in the right direction when it comes to a movie-adaptation of a video game... and thank the movie realms for this not turning into a Uwe Boll movie!
I actually appreciate the feeling in Johannes Roberts horror-style movies (I really like horror movies!) and I think he did a pretty good job adapting and melding two video games into a movie that is palatable by fans and by an audience that might completely ignore the games.
Naturally, this is going to be a pretty devisive aspect, and anyways, 5 or 6 out of 10 in the realm of "horror" is pretty good! So 6.5 or 7/10, I feel, is pretty good!