The Biggest Complaint About Zach Cregger's Resident Evil Was Addressed In Another Movie
by Ryan Scott · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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This article contains minor spoilers for Zach Cregger's "Resident Evil."
The "Resident Evil" franchise has been given new life thanks to director Zach Cregger. The man behind "Weapons" and "Barbarian" has worked his magic on Capcom's beloved video game property, delivering a reboot for the big screen that has been met with a great deal of praise. Cregger's "Resident Evil" has even set a Rotten Tomatoes record, becoming the highest-rated video game film ever. But that doesn't mean everyone is on board.
Even before it reached theaters, quite a few people online were vocally irritated that Cregger's flick doesn't directly adapt any of Capcom's games. Rather, Cregger's movie fits into the "Resident Evil" video game timeline by existing alongside "Resident Evil 2," telling a new story that happened during the events of that game. At least, that's how Cregger sees it. Still, a lack of familiar characters such as Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine has left a sour taste in the mouths of certain vocal fans.
Cregger's film specifically centers on Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in a race to survive as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him into chaos. As such, he's forced to navigate his way through the monsters that have overrun Raccoon City with his package intact if he hopes to make it out alive.
It's easy to sympathize with "Resident Evil" fans who wanted something a little more explicitly faithful to the franchise's video games. That said, another film previously addressed those desires head-on. To be sure, 2021's "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" is very much the answer to these complaints.
Welcome to Raccoon City was very faithful to the Resident Evil games
Directed by Johannes Roberts ("47 Meters Down"), "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" is set in the titular city, the once booming home of the Umbrella Corporation (a pharmaceutical giant that's crucial to the "Resident Evil" lore). By the late 1990s, however, Raccoon City has become a dying Midwestern town, with the Umbrella company's exodus having left the place a wasteland. This is also when the evil that's been brewing below the city's surface is unleashed, leaving a group of survivors to uncover the truth behind Umbrella.
"Welcome to Raccoon City" trades the action of earlier "Resident Evil" movies for horror, i.e. the thing the "Resident Evil" games are mainly known for. What's more, it features fan-favorite characters like Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario), Chris Redfield (Robbie Amell), Jill Valentine (Hannah John-Kamen), Leon Kennedy (Avan Jogia), and Albert Wesker (Tom Hopper). On top of all that, it takes place around the same time the first "Resident Evil" games were released in real life. So, overall, Roberts' film is a pretty faithful adaptation.
Need more proof? Beside showing us the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon City Police station, the movie has its leads interacting with game-accurate monsters. It even includes stuff like the famous "Turnaround Zombie," the initial zombie players encounter in the very first "Resident Evil" video game. On paper, then, fans who wanted a direct movie adaptation of the games absolutely got that in 2021.
Be that as it may, "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" flopped, failing to earn praise from critics and underperforming at the box office. That explains, in part, why Capcom, Sony Pictures, and Constantin Film decided to take the franchise in a new direction. They tried earnestly to be faithful, and it didn't work.
Zach Cregger's Resident Evil is faithful to the experience of playing the games
"Resident Evil" is my favorite video game series of all time, and the remake of the original game for the GameCube is my favorite game. I've played almost every mainline entry in the franchise (save for "Resident Evil 5" and "Resident Evil 6," which do not have favorable reputations). So, on some level, I appreciated what "Welcome to Raccoon City" was doing.
For my money, it was an okay movie, but by no means great. Yet, it's seemingly what people wanted. That left a lot of us to wonder: What would make a "Resident Evil" adaptation successful? After all, Netflix's live-action TV show failed after a single season, too.
2002's "Resident Evil" movie beat the video game movie curse, generating five sequels and a $1 billion franchise. But those movies are by no means faithful to the games, and we've come a long way since then. That brings us to Zach Cregger. Rather than tell a story we already know, Cregger (an admittedly big fan of the games) decided to tell a new story in that universe, while staying faithful to the spirit of the games.
Cregger's "Resident Evil" movie just feels like the games, from Bryan having to collect items to survive to the monsters being ripped directly from the games. Even Raccoon City actually feels like Raccoon City. Essentially, of all the "Resident Evil" films to date, this one feels the closest to the experience of playing the games.
I can sympathize with fans who want authenticity. Nevertheless, a very faithful adaptation of the games already exists. Why do the same thing over again? "Welcome to Raccoon City" is there for those who want that particular itch scratched.
"Resident Evil" is in theaters now.