Take 87: Resident Evil
In this latest take on Resident Evil, Austin Abrams is Bryan, a medical courier who takes a last minute delivery gig through a snowy mountain blizzard to delivery a little green sack with mysterious contents to a hospital in Raccoon City. Clearly this guy has never seen a Resident Evil movie before. We all now that Raccon City is ground zero for a whole lot of mess. The road ain’t easy. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night… but what about zombies, demons dogs, and other mutated monstrosities? Bryan has to deal with it all and is left wondering if double pay is worth it?
I have been a fan of the Resident Evil series in all of its big screen iterations. The original series was great, but did stumble about bit by the end. The 2021 Resident Evil” Welcome To Raccon City (wow, has it already been than long???) was another solid outing in my opinion and seemed like a promising reboot for the series, but alas, it didn’t last long. Third time the charm perhaps? Director and co-written Zach Cregger (along with Shay Hattan) have created something that is both true to the game and the films that preceded it as well as something vastly different here.
I will say, this one feels like a game. You can imagine this on a console, this hard luck guy starts off making bad decisions five minutes into the film and finds himself in scenarios that would translate perfectly into a lot of fun game play. The sheer absurdity of it all! Upgrading from a pistol to a shot gun to machine gun and being constantly reminded that the ammo supply is very limited is something current games are very aware of. You can easily image encountering these bizarre situations in a game and it works. There are jump scares galore and I could seem the all being incorporated into a game. As much as loved the original series, I can’t say it often if ever, felt like you were watching a video game play out in front of you.
What I was not expecting from a Resident Evil movie was the comedy. There are A LOT of funny moments. I mean, a lot. I might even go as far as saying it could be categorized a a dark comedy. Don’t get me wrong. There is plenty of scary to go around here. Blood, so much blood. Body horror for days. So many heads being blown off. But through it all, it never take itself too seriously.
Looking at his IMDB, I guess I have seen Austin Abrams in a few things, but he really shines here. Here is a character you root for it also want to smack upside the head when he does something dumb, which is often. He plays Everyman well. Too often, regular old folk become action heroes in movies like this, but not here. Nope. He’s a bit awkward and goofy throughout and he really sells it.
This one definitely takes a different path than the ones that have gone before. I appreciate that. The first series ran, what, seven movies? By the end, we had enough of that and I see why filmmakers would want to go a different route. This is just that. It ends in a way that clearly sets up for a sequel. But I am a little torn. Yes, I enjoyed it enough to want more, but can you really sustain this same tone for numerous follow-ups? Typically the stakes are raised with movies like this. Can you maintain this same voice for multiple returns. I don’t know, but for now, I’m pretty much in for the long haul.
My score: 8.3. Really would have like to see more of certain elements (like Bryan’s off-screen girlfriend, Michelle. If we don’t get some progression here,I will be a bit miffed, but yeah, good time and it keep me on my toes
As another resident critic, what say you? Resident good or resident awful? Let’s hear it in the comments. And until next time…
