Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) Review

 "What the f**k's a chatroom?"

-Chris Redfield

Raccoon City is a corporate town that is pretty much run by the Umbrella Corporation.  When Umbrella starts moving their headquarters out of town, the population of Raccoon City starts to dry up.  However, Umbrella has a secret and that secret could prove fatal to those that remain.

What Works:

So I wouldn't call myself a super fan of the Resident Evil games.  I played the 4th one and really enjoyed it and watched a video play-through of the first game, so I'm somewhat familiar with the story.  Unlike the previous Resident Evil movies, this one is actually pretty faithful to the games.  It takes parts of the first and second games and combines them into one movie, so I'll give this movie credit where all of the previous movies failed.

There are also a few creepy moments throughout the films.  It's a movie based on a horror video game.  Of course there is going to be tension and jump scares.  I don't typically care for jump scares, but they are appropriate for the movie and some of them are well done.  I especially liked the one where Chris' (Robbie Amell) neighbor charges through the back door of his house.

Finally, my favorite character from the games is Leon S. Kennedy.  When he showed up in Resident Evil: Retribution, I was disappointed because he was pretty forgettable.  However, he's the best character in this movie.  Avan Jogia does a good job making him the comic relief, but also giving him a character arc.  He's a pretty worthless character for the majority of the movie, but it works because that's what he is supposed to be.  Eventually he comes around and saves the day.  Wow!  An actual character arc!  I don't know if a Resident Evil movie has had one of these before.

What Sucks:

While this movie is much more faithful to the games than the others, I'm starting to suspect that the subject matter simply doesn't translate well to film.  Maybe it's time to give up on this franchise.  Stick to making games.

Besides Leon, I didn't give a crap about any of these characters.  Most of them have no development and those that do don't get enough.  It's impossible to care when anyone dies.  It's a shame because there are some talented actors in this cast. and, besides Avan Jogia, they are all wasted.

There is also some wonky editing where the film doesn't make clear what is happening.  There are small movements in the movie that are important to the story, but the film doesn't show us what they are.  They edit around moments and have the characters explain what is happening in bad dialogue.  Just show us what is going on!  We're smart enough to figure it out.

Finally, we've had tons of zombie movies over the years.  Most of them have a memorable set-piece or two.  We never get that here.  It's a lot of characters wandering around dark hallways and shooting zombies.  Sure, it's faithful to the video games, but that's not how you make an exciting action sequence.

Verdict:

Welcome to Raccoon City isn't the worst Resident Evil movie, but it's not good either.  It's definitely weaker than Retribution and Apocalypse.  Leon is a much stronger character this time around, there are a few creepy moments, and it's more faithful to the games than the previous movies, but the other characters suck, the action is lame, and the editing is subpar.  Definitely skip this one.

 3/10: Really Bad