Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
Director: Johannes Roberts
Starring: Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Lily Gao, Avan Jogia
Primary genre: Action
Secondary genre: Horror
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Say what you want about Paul WS Anderson, but the man knows how to stage an action sequence and most importantly, he does not pretend that he crafts Kubrickian masterpieces. His “Resident Evil” (2002-2016) franchise has made more than one billion dollars worldwide and established Milla Jovovich as an action icon. Following its conclusion after six entries, it was inevitable that a more faithful videogame adaptation would be on its way.
Enter Johannes Roberts who seeks to adapt the first and second “Resident Evil” games with “Welcome to Raccoon City”, a cinematic travesty that is barely 100 minutes. Lacking charisma on every department, Roberts is already on the defense since he proclaimed that his take will be a) scary and b) more faithful than the Jovovich-Anderson entries, failing though in both accounts.
His messy script reads like fan fiction giving awkward and unnecessary backstories for the Redfield siblings as orphans raised by the evil mastermind William Birkin (a rather tragic character originally), resizing Raccoon City to a shanty town (instead of a thriving city) and reshaping every character in surprisingly dull ways. Albert Wesker - the popular master manipulator is just an above his head double agent in it for the money(!) while Leon Kennedy is an incapable wimp and a poor man’s comic relief (!).
The cast has zero chemistry, looking bored as they delivery terrible dialogue - how many times can you hear “fuck” and “what the fuck” within the first five minutes? - plunging the film further into a cinematic abyss that even for a casual viewer seems to have no way out. Kaya Scodelario is the closest that comes to an on screen humanoid but the film bizarrely splits into two minimal and parallel storylines that reduce her main protagonist status to that one of an almost mere observer.
Roberts’ attempts to pay gaming homage several times by recreating (poorly) key moments and scattering visual eggs around his terribly lit sets is an admirable effort which is ultimately let down by his inconsistent direction and low budget values. Boasting subpar special and make up effects, the film is plagued by banal horror sequences that emphasize human stupidity wondering whether Roberts has actually seen a horror movie. The zombies look like a second rate version of the infected in “28 Days Later” (2002), other creatures (e.g., dogs, lickers) are dispatched with ease in tension free moments while Lisa Trevor - one of the most terrifying characters in the “Resident Evil” universe - is a two minute on screen disappointment.
As for the 90’s insistence, it is just an excuse for the novice director to capitalize on a “Stranger Things” vibe by including well-known hits of a more colourful era in inappropriate times that detracts from the film’s overall tone.
“Welcome to Raccoon City” is another film that tried to shake the cinematic waters with a PC casting first and an adequate story later. Its horror elements are banal at best, the homages ill-conceived, the acting sub-par and the script a tonal mess. Its attempt to adapt not one but two games over 100 minutes is mind-boggling, plagued by idiotic decisions, one dimensional characters and a massive gap of logic.
Awful
-Banal horror sequences
-Subpar special and make up effects
-Stupid character decisions
-Unnecessary backstories
-Miscast
-Wrong characterizations
-Abysmal cinematography
-Terrible acting
-Inconsistent direction
-Distracting 90’s soundtrack and references