Resident Evil Review

Things were very different in 2002. There were a few spin-offs, but Resident Evil boiled down to the original Raccoon City trilogy on PS1. The GameCube remake had only just been released! That was it, Survival Horror. We didn’t have RE4 and all that would follow yet.

With just that trilogy, which I still adore, in mind, I hated the original Resident Evil film at release.

It wasn’t like the games!

But since then Resident Evil has grown to accommodate everything from slow paced terror to outright bombastic action. Over nearly thirty years I’ve built strong preferences on what I like to see. But I can, at least some of the time, appreciate the rest. Like RE5 being a fun cooperative experience.

With that broadening of what RE can be in place, I thought it would be interesting to give the film another chance. Is it what I’d want it to be? No. But there are definitely some of the right vibes as the decent cast work their way from house to labs. It’s all a bit too Slipknot in a way that only a film from 2002 could be, but there’s a style and a certain knowing seriousness to it all.

As you might expect, the CGI hasn’t aged very well, though the practical Licker looks cool. I appreciate putting prosthetics on Dobermans too.

I figured my issue would be Alice. But I forgot that she isn’t superpowered yet (ugh). My conclusion as to why they used Alice instead of STARS is a mixture of attractive lady and a single character being easier to write for rather than trying to introduce a whole team. The soldiers who accompany her are all broad strokes. Not a problem, but I’d want more for STARS so maybe it’s best.

Then again, I’ve seen Welcome to Raccoon City, so I know that including the OGs isn’t a straight line to a great result. In some ways it can be far more infuriating.

This is far from a definitive cinematic take on the franchise. I still hope we’ll get that one day. I try to meet films at their intended level. That means understanding the time and landscape they were made in. Plus what sort of vibe they were going for. With all that in mind, as a piece of early noughties entertainment, Resident Evil is actually pretty good.