The work of adaptation is not easy. Each project has to face various challenges that apply to its own media. How can you bring the feel of a video game to a movie? How do you shape the lines and lines of description that a book offers? How do you make a feature film interactive? These are quite complicated questions that are usually not answered effectively. It is possible, we have successful cases like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, but when we talk about the form of interactive entertainment that we love so much, things are totally different.
Even when we refer to video games that are adapted to the big screen, we have the case of the first movie of Silent Hill… and that’s it. In the last few years we have seen a couple of attempts that are slowly approaching general good acceptance, but usually fail at the end of the day. This is the case of Detective Pikachu, Sonic the Hedgehog and the new tape of Mortal Kombat. Each one has positive elements that make them superior to their predecessors, however, they continue to make several mistakes. Now, this group is added Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City.
After six Resident Evil movies by Paul WS Anderson, audiences had had enough of his interpretation of Capcom’s play. Thus, a reboot has arrived in theaters, which boasts of being completely faithful to the original games. Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City Not only does he try to captivate the audience by introducing new versions of Albert Wesker, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy, but he has raised the concern of more than one by adapting the plots of the first two titles in a span of less than two hours. Does this feature film meet expectations? Is this adventure better than the ones starring Alice? Discover the answers to these and more questions in our Atomix Movie Review.
Two for the price of one
Adapting a game is complicated. However, Johannes Roberts, director and writer, decided that Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City Not only would it be in charge of counting the events that occurred in the Spencer Masion in 1998, but it also adds the outbreak of infection that took place in Raccoon City. Instead of completely focusing on a series of events and taking time to pay tribute to one of the original games or its remake, we have in front of us a film that does not do its job well, and simply falls short in more than an occasion.
However, it seemed that this was not going to be the case. Not only does the film start off with something completely new, but the first few minutes do a decent job of setting the atmosphere of horror. Iconic scenes, like the trucker eating his hamburger from Resident Evil 2, they make a good first impression. Sadly, as the film progresses, it all comes down to simply complying with a list of scenes. Quickly, the characters feel like simple chess pieces that are moved only to cover with the moments we all look forward to, but without the emotional weight.
It all begins in a very similar way. Claire Redfield arrives in Raccoon City in search of her brother. Leon S. Kennedy has his first day as a policeman in town. Chris Redield, Jill Valentine and Albert Wesker go to investigate the disappearance of the Bravo team. The only difference is that this time those events occur at the same time, and not on separate days. Outside of the first minutes of the film, where these two plots are basically one where the five main characters interact with each other, the story is divided into two marked paths, and it is not until the last seconds of the film that these two are rejoin. For most of the film, the side adventures are unrelated to each other, which is a disappointment considering the potential the opening presents.
Along with this, constantly changing scenery feels quite awkward, as usually one scene is cut abruptly to make way for a different one. This is one of the worst decisions ever made. Each section has enough potential to be its own story, and dividing it causes that not only certain scenes in the games are eliminated or not last long enough, like the entire police station, but this also has negative repercussions on the characters.
Controversial changes
You have to clarify something, these are not the characters you think. Albert Wesker, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, and Leon S. Kennedy may have the same names as their video game counterparts, but their personalities and even motivations are completely different. This, for a change, is quite interesting, but on more than one occasion it feels like a slap in the face to the fans, and you never get to do anything with them, which I consider to be the most serious insult. For example, Leon S. Kennedy is not the cool, tenacious cop we know from games, but a buffoon everyone makes fun of and never becomes interesting on screen. The rest of the cast changed similarly, with the exception of Claire, who, in an unexpected twist, feels more like her brother than herself.
These are not characters, they are just pieces of cardboard with a familiar coat of paint. None have a single bow. Nobody changes throughout history. There is no one who can be considered charismatic. All are reduced to simple pieces of meat that move to activate a scene that brings us closer and closer to the precious credits. To make matters worse, the performances are terrible. Hannah John-Kamen, in charge of Jill, Robbie Amell, responsible for Chris, and Avan Jogia, Leon’s actor, are terrible. The way they award their lines makes anyone sorry for their work. On more than one occasion it is noted that the first shots of them were used for the final version. The rest of the cast don’t do very well either, but they’re not as noticeable as the three mentioned.
Similarly, the script does not help them. Each dialogue seems to have been written by a robot that does not know how humans really speak. The presentation of information is terrible, since the different conversations are abruptly interrupted just to explain something that at the end of the day the public can intuit on their own, or that is not so necessary. Adding to this mountain of problems, we have the duration. 90 minutes is not optimal for this movie. Various characters from the beginning disappear only to be reintroduced at the end. One particular event happens without warning and is unexpected, implying that no scene was included to serve as a foundation.
Part of the problems in the film would have been solved if the running time had been extended by about 30 minutes. This would give certain events more time to happen without being unforeseen, and it would provide the space for the characters to have some kind of development. However, there is a section that any duration would not solve.
And the budget?
Although Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City It has a couple of pretty interesting shots, each and every one of the special effects is terrible. GCI movies on Netflix look better on multiple occasions. Each location looks like a set, completely eliminating the iconicity of the Spencer Mansion or the police station. Nothing looks real. However, it is the monsters that receive the worst treatment. Every zombie looks like a member of a fan event, and not like the creatures with millions of dollars in makeup that they theoretically are.
Monsters like lickers and Lisa Trevor are creepy, not because of their design, but because of how cheap they feel. I think a movie on the Sci-fi channel looks better. There’s a shot of an open field at the end of the tape, which I can’t believe how bad it looks. Never in my life have I seen a modern CGI so, but so scary. There is no excuse in this section. When an explosion happens in front of the actors, it is clearly seen that there is a green screen. Blood is fake, and it’s not even as ridiculous as in a Quentin Tarantino movie. There is only one moment where this is solved, and this is thanks to the fact that the lighting is basically non-existent. When zombies appear for just a second this is not a problem, but when there is a close-up or a shot that includes many of these creatures, one can easily notice the poor work that was done this time.
Even the audio is awful. Multiple scenes feature recordings that were clearly made in a studio, and are not well placed on film. At one point a character may be dying, but a second later his voice does not reflect his clear state. This shows the lack of attention that was given to this section.
Of the worst of the year
Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City it’s not a good movie, and I think that’s not a surprise to many. The story and the performances are lousy. Characters are basically pieces that move to activate certain scenes. Although the new interpretations of the leads are interesting, some versions come to feel like disrespect for the Capcom series, and none go through some evolutionary time or arc. The duration of only 90 minutes is a problem that ends up damaging several sections.
Although the cinematography has a couple of decent shots, the special effects are a joke and the lack of attention in the audio and dialogue is ridiculous. Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City It is sold as the great video game adaptation, but at times it feels inferior to many fan projects that can be found on YouTube. At least this is a better film than any of the Paul WS Anderson films.