The live-action adaptations of the Resident Evil franchise have had a real rough time of it, huh? Paul W.S. Anderson’s six-movie take on the series — while commercially successful — was widely slated by fans of the games and critics alike for diverting too far away from the tone and scope of Capcom’s source (plus, some of them were just straight up bad), and the 2021 reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, didn’t fare much better. Despite being significantly more faithful to the games, Johannes Roberts’ movie was criticised for its writing and attempts to cram as much fan-service into one movie as possible.
When Netflix announced its own take on Resident Evil via an eight-episode series, fans were understandably sceptical that the streaming juggernaut could pull off what Anderson and Roberts failed to do. Not only that, but initial details on the series set off alarm bells immediately: a series focusing on the daughters of Albert Wesker? What? It didn’t sound promising, particularly when show-runners would later promise that the series would tie in with the game series' canon.
Having now watched the entire series (in near enough one sitting — phew), we can now confirm that Resident Evil on Netflix isn’t quite the disaster that many were fearing it to be. But it isn’t good, either — far from it. It’s a commendable attempt to break away from the core narrative of the game series in a way that makes sense for newcomers (mostly), but at the same time it tries desperately to please long-time fans of the franchise, ultimately failing to nail down its target audience.
In a nutshell, the series takes place during two separate time periods: 2022 and 2036. In 2022, Albert Wesker and his two daughters, Jade and Billie, arrive at New Raccoon City to start a new life. Of course, the evil Umbrella Corporation — run by the delightfully creepy Evelyn Marcus — reigns supreme over the town and sure enough, chaos soon ensues and plunges Jade, Billie, and yes, even Albert, into stark danger. In 2036, meanwhile, the world has fallen to the deadly T-Virus and monsters are roaming the land. Jade, separated from her sister Billie, tries desperately to find a cure for the virus and protect her daughter, Bea.
The core premise here is admittedly quite cool, particularly if you mentally detach yourself from the narrative of the game franchise. There’s enough here, in theory, to draw in newcomers while keeping long-time fans entertained, but unfortunately this Resident Evil squanders much of its potential and proves itself to be a convoluted mess that focuses too much on the family drama surrounding the Weskers and not enough on the franchise staple: the monsters. Yes, we know Wesker's done some stuff. We're talking about the flesh-eating ones.
Indeed, for much of its runtime, Resident Evil feels very much like a young-adult drama wrapped up in the visual style of Capcom’s classic franchise. It’s a shame, because there are some really cool moments and callbacks sprinkled throughout: Billie playing ‘Moonlight Sonata’ on the piano, a mercenary proclaiming himself to be the “Master of Unlocking”, video footage from 1998 showcasing the tragic figure of Lisa Trevor. It’s all done rather well on a scene-by-scene basis, but since the show spends so much time on the teenage angst of its primary protagonists, these moments lose any potential impact and make for a weird juxtaposition against the overall tone of the series.
Perhaps the worst sin committed by Resident Evil, however, is the simple fact that some of the franchise’s most iconic monsters just don’t get their chance to shine. Zombies (known as ‘Zeroes’ here) understandably play a prominent role throughout, and we also get to see Zombie Dogs, Lickers, Giant Tarantulas, Dr. Salvador, and even a Tyrant. The problem, though, is that none of them are afforded any significant screen time. The Lickers come and go in the blink of an eye, and it’s obvious Netflix is saving the Tyrant itself for Season Two (if indeed it goes ahead with it). It’s frustrating, because they’ve done a tremendous job of making the monsters look faithful to their video game counterparts, but we just don’t see enough of them.
On the flip side, we have to give credit to Lance Reddick, who plays Albert Wesker wonderfully from start to finish. Just when you start to get on his side and root for him, he flips and showcases an intensity that could only be reserved for Resident Evil’s most iconic villain. His presence, given the apparent link to the games’ canon, is confusing at first, but the explanation provided around the halfway point did just about enough to convince us of its validity, even if it is a bit corny.
Ultimately, Netflix’s Resident Evil is yet another misfire in the world of live-action adaptations. In trying to please both newcomers and longtime fans, it just doesn’t stick the landing at all. The callbacks to iconic moments from the games are certainly cool for veterans, but accomplish little more than muddy the waters for newcomers to the franchise. On the flip-side, the show’s insistence on breaking away from the overarching narrative of the games means that veterans are going to come away from this feeling crestfallen and, frankly, confused.
It might be time to throw in the towel and just accept that we're never going to get a truly great live-action Resident Evil.
Have you watched Resident Evil on Netflix yet? What do you make of it? Let us know with a comment!
- Further reading: Best Resident Evil Games Of All Time
Comments 72
There's probably soon gonna be more Resident Evil movies and shows than games. And that's really saying something.
I’ve just finished the first episode; the direction is amateurish, it’s shot horribly, the acting is beyond ridiculous, and the writing is absolutely horrible, all things considered. And it’s not even a good parody to laugh about, so I have no reason to watch further, it’s just… boring, dull, unwatchable.
Clearly a lame attempt to take some shelved zombie script, slap some Resident Evil proper nouns in there, and hope the fan base eats it up because of the IP.
Pass.
This is just so poorly written and the casting is terrible its just insulting to those that love resident evil games I dont get why is so hard to research the game and do it properly like Castlevania, The witcher is actually really decent same with Arcane. I wouldn't be surprised this gets cancel like with Cowboy bebop live action.
Can we just somehow make it a law where netflix is not allowed to adapt anything?
@retroman64 Nah, not up for that, Castlevania is fantastic.
With Netflix it's either awesome or total trash, there is just no middle ground, you get shows like Stranger Things, then complete abominations like this.... pretty similar to their movie output as well.
@Olliemar28 Agreed. Some adaptations have worked very well on both prime and netflix
I couldn't disagree more. This show was great and the teen aspect of it is arguably the best part.
@Olliemar28 and Cuphead!
I have Netflix so I should get around to watching this but from a pure first impression, it looks like every mid-2000's video game movie (you know..... the bad era?).
I love the world of Resident Evil though (despite having never played a single game in the series) so I'll probably still bite on this (unfunny joke is unfunny, I'm aware).
I'm so tired of directors working on movies based on video games taking things in an "artsy" direction and trying to explore new plot points/stories in the universe rather than simply following the games themselves. Just make movies that follow the actual games people love for crying out loud.
Same reason the DC Cinematic Universe has failed to pick up as much traction/popularity as the MCU. Directors trying too hard to be original rather than focusing on the aspects of the characters/stories that people love.
@Olliemar28 Are they alone responsible for that show?
Last I checked, it strays a bit too far from the source material for the plot and characters.
Not too mention, Netflix can't seem to get away from the "Netflix Adaptation" meme that they constantly keep fumbling adaptations of popular franchises not only Resident Evil but Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, etc.
Resident Evil as a gameplay experience tends to prop up the ludicrous storytelling, which makes adaptations to other media a hard sell for me. The recent remakes are a good nudge towards realism, but even then one of the main antagonists is a big plodding brute in a fedora.
@Olliemar28 for you maybe, I couldn't stomach more than five minutes of that terrible forced edgy writing.
How many live action Resident Evil movies and shows do we need to suffer through to finally get the picture that as far as live-action adaptations go, we need to just put the series down and leave it alone for a good long time?
The volume of garbage Vs quality on Netflix is huge. Packed my subscription in a year ago to use Prime for a while as I'd watched everything I really wanted to watch and found myself flicking through either mediocre exclusives or non-exclusive films/shows that were available on other platforms. May switch back later this year to finish Better Call Saul but aside from that I don't feel like I'm missing much by not having it.
I'll watch it and expect nothing like I've done with everyone of their film/TV adaptations after the second one showed me to never expect anything good.
Sorry though Netflix, the internet has many sites that I can watch on for free so you can't add me to your dying subscriber count.
Ah yes, when I think Resident Evil, I think of the Zootopia quote
Don't ask.
As a long time fan of Resident Evil franchise - I enjoyed WtRC better than first episode of this show. I am not even sure I want to watch the rest of it.
You know it's going to be bad. It's just obvious and inevitable.
Rather watch the first 2 Alice RE films then this Netflix garbage
In any case another Netflix adaption in the ever growing pile of trash adaption like Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, etc
Just finished it. Honestly I was obsessed. Great CG, so many bonkers moments, nice gore, Wesker does steal the show, love Jade.
Y'all saying its garbage before even watching... Maybe watch something before you ***** on it.
I think the best thing that came out of this show is the people who made it believing they are moving within game canon...
Maybe you should have told your casting agent as well...
@Baircade Nah. Watched it. Was Garbage. People are capable to give it a fair shot and still come up with the conclusion that this is another trash Netflix adaption as much as it might surprise you lol
Hmm since I don’t like RE this might be a fun romp for me. I an in between shows so I will give it a go.
"The review you had on [Resident Evil] was merely a two-word review, it just said: 'S*** sandwich.'"
Well, that was predictable... Uwe Boll's Postal is still the best live-action adaption of the videogames... But... This film is trash, anyway. Like every other live-action adaption of the videogames... Wait, no. I'm wrong. I forgot about the existence of Takashi Miike's Gyakuten Saiban(Ace Attorney) live-action adaption, which is considered to be the best live-action adaption of the videogames of all time. Sadly, I'm still can't find the right version of the film - with characters' original names and etc...
And about Anderson's Resident Evil series... It's trash. Even the 1st film, imo.
As Lance Reddick, who plays Wesker, notes, the Albert that we see in the show “is a clone of the Wesker that died in the volcano.”
Clearly not a clone when he looks & acts nothing like him 🙈
@Kogorn733 "Those stupid gamers don't know what they really want. If us film/tv pros make all these CHANGES to that crap they think they enjoy then we'll REALLY have a hit on our hands!!"
~almost every video game adaptation process
I am a big Resident Evil fan, the Netflix show is a huge letdown, exactly what i expected how it would turn out to be. I dont understand why it is so hard for the creators to just do a properly correctly done take on the franchise. Welcome to Raccoon city is done badly as well. 2 opportunities to make something great of the Resident evil universe made into bad adaptions that only has the name Resident Evil on it, if you remove the Resident evil name of it, it would be fun to watch as a standalone new created series or movie. The only one, at least for me that its ok to watch is the 2002 version, the first movie off all the following crappy versions of Milla. I sincerely hope that one day we get a good Resident Evil movie. Somehing like the Gamecube remake, with the characters looking like their game counterparts.
"I hope this is not Chris's blood..."
Literally just finished episode 1 but fell asleep for the last fifteen minutes, it just didn’t engage me.
Somehow this is even worse than the Paul W. S. Anderson movies. Those at least have "bad movie" charm while this has nothing.
The thing about adapting video games is that narratively movies/television are so different than video games that it is inevitable that changes need to be made. Video games tell a story through player action - they have to be interactive. It is hard to adapt that to a linear medium.
That said, that doesn't make this or any other adaptation any good. More often than not they fail, because of the above among other things. Honestly, I'm not sure why they try. If I want to experience Resident Evil, well, I can play them!
I'm 3 episodes in and I'm enjoying it. As a Resi property, it's awful, but like the movies, if you can separate it from the games, there's a lot to like. Just go in open minded and you might just find something to enjoy.
I say that with another 5 episodes to go 😅
Hello, why Wesker has to be changed into “another form”. Since 1996 Wesker has one look. Tall, sunglasses, blond hair, and …
@Doubledd1403 "another form" is a weird way of saying Black. Why not just say what you really mean?
@lizardbish To avoid triggering social online fighters. And actually I like the actor but not the change of the original Wesker style.
It's seems like a cookie cutter modern netflix show.
Race swap some roles, shoe horn in some diversity.
Now I have no qualms with the skin color of actors but I do have issues with taking established characters and changing them for 'reasons'.
Feels like pandering to me.
(these are usually executive choices based on popularity metrics and focus groups don't go blaming this on the staff and cast)
I am going to pass on this show even though I do like me some Resident Evil.
No hard feelings or love lost on this one.
I like it so far. Was craving more zombie/apocalypse like shows since walking dead is off (and a little bit lackluster in action). This is filling that craving nicely
I've watched the first 6 episodes. I found it to be quite good, for what it is, with quite low expectations. I think it is better than the last movie, it has better visual effects and a seemingly larger budget. The main protagonist is clearly a Mary Sue, killing all tension, and the sister (old and young) actors do not look anything like each other. The plot does not hold up to much scrutiny but is fine if your leave your brain at the door. It did have various CGI giant creatures and the zombies were...adequate.
I'm still surprised that Sonic of all things is constantly getting better adaptations than Resident Evil.
@BrianJL
"Video games tell a story through player action - they have to be interactive. It is hard to adapt that to a linear medium."
Maybe most games, but if you are telling a story of the early resident evil games 1-4 they are all really linear. It's always do x to unlock new area or access boss fight. I've always thought it would be very easy to make a movie with this plot. Sure they'll have to change some stuff, but it'd be nice if they kept the core backstory of umbrella the same and I think it'd be great if they started with the team getting trapped in the mansion like the original. I just think that's so brilliant the way the original game was setup.
I no longer get excited for live adaptations of games I enjoy. Luckily for me, I can always go back and replay the old games corny dialogue and all.
I liked it. A fresh interpretation imo 🥰
Ok, just finished the whole season, and I liked the series as a zombie series, but I don't see it as Resident Evil.
Loved Albert Wesker and Evelyn Marcus, I could watch a whole season of just them creating the whole T-virus.
And I just hate Jade, how many times does she has to mess it up.
I think season two can be better if they focus more on the horror theme.
I missed the Zombies! Why didn’t they have any?
Personally I think callbacks are a bad idea. By referencing lines and occurrences from the games, you’re simply taking people out of what they’re watching and reminding them of something much better that they enjoyed a lot more.
This whole series sounds like it would have been a lot better if it hadn’t tried to saddle itself with being anything to do with Resident Evil. By using that name you’re setting up an expectation of something that even remotely resembles the games. By completely ignoring the games beyond a few token lines and monsters you end up with something compromised that pleases nobody.
Either be properly faithful to the RE games (which has never happened yet outside of Sienna Guillory’s Jill) or just make something else with a different name!
I'm only 3 episodes in, and it's not horrible, but I'm not binge watching it either. Plan on finishing it, but I'm not in a rush. Wesker is by far the best actor, loved the actor in The Wire, and basically anything else I've ever seen him in.
My ideal live-action Resi film would be a sort of Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Alien (1979) meets The Silence of the Lambs and Prime Suspect (both 1991), or for something more fun and action-packed: Indiana Jones meets Night of the Living Dead.
@Baircade Because y'all will watch anything, it doesn't matter if it's quality or not, y'all will watch anything and everything because some of y'all ain't got no expectations nor the attention span to remember what happened the next week after.
No wonder Netflix gets away with releasing so much shoddy content and wonder why they get clowned on, because there are so many peeps willing consume trash content on a moments notice that it really doesn't matter to them.
I saw that Zootopia line in the episode and I immediately cringed out of embarrassment. Guess it's true what a lot of people are saying about this Netflix series, somehow the older RE movies are better than this.
The first Resident Evil movie with Mila Jovovic was genuinely a fun movie, and some of the sequels are watchable too. I wouldn't bet on streaming services to make any good adaptation, every single one of them is terrible. Even the Star Wars stuff on Disney+ which could have been easy homeruns were painfully average at best.
This is what happens when you let a game critic review a show (double points when it's based on a game)... they're ultimately terrible at it and complaining about things that actually make the show better than adhering to the nonsensical story of the games that just does NOT translate to film.
Sometimes gamers are just the worst... and this review misfires and fails to connect.
This show is oddly enough, good. It has a lot of homages and references to the games in very clever ways (like the daughters solving puzzles left by their father, which actually make sense vs solving weird puzzles in the middle of a police station).
Overall, it's a more coherent story with some pretty gnarly monsters and a cool take on the setting.
@khululy Just admit.. you're passing on the show because you're a racist trying to explain that you're not a racist.
Shame... Shame... Shame
@Moistnado The sisters shouldn't look like each other... which you might have realized if you watched the show further in (you might even realize this now).
@SpiderPirate4 Yes! Totally. you caught me red handed! Gosh you are so clever!
Or maybe just maybe it does not connect with me because it deviates from the source material too much and I don't like things because it has a certain brand attached to it I like the brand because it is of a certain quality.
And also ofcourse I only watch gone with the wind and the intro of American History X.
You know that's a cop out excuse... and so does anyone else who reads it. "It has a certain brand attached to it"? Which means absolutely nothing. "I like the brand because it is of a certain quality".
So what does ANY of that have to do with the race of the characters for which you complained about? Absolutely nothing... which means you can't even come up with a good backpedal when you're called out. So yes... we see you.
@SpiderPirate4 No! The actors playing the old and young versions of the sisters did not look alike. They were supposed to be the same person but they looked like different people. The Mary Sue sister developed a gap in her teeth, I imagine after seeing a reverse-dentist? The one that turned 'evil' looked completely different. I watched right up until the end with the crocodile.
The movie itself jst same as Jade this character never learn lesson from the mistake ,again n again repeat same mistake.
This isnt a Resident evil just a 2 little brat kid Daily stupid decision
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@khululy
You guys". You mean you? You're the one upset that a fictional video game character, with a generic white guy look in sunglasses (there's nothing iconic about his look AT ALL) is not white in a series adaptation that's changing things up. Did you cry when Heimdall wasn't white in Thor? Despite Idris Elba absolutely killing it in the role?
No, a show shouldn't be completely white, because of the era it was created avoided any kind of diversity and that's something to be rectified in an update. Anyone upset at that is either A) unaware of their implicit bias or B) blatantly racist. Pick one.
Your false equivalency was removing a character's diversity where their race was actually a factor for the character. With Wesker it ISN'T. Does that make sense to you? Or are you the one I should pity because you can't comprehend the difference?
@Moistnado
Ok, this is just a ridiculous complaint. They look close enough, you aren't going to find identical teenagers and adult actors.
@SpiderPirate4 well when a Filipino turns Korean it's a bit strange.
I've been a huge Resi fan since playing Resi 2 back in day, and since then now pretty much every Resident Evil game, even non-mainline ones. I also really like the 6 live action films, which if you take them as they are are imo great fun. And the animated films are awesome!
I think the problem is people expect too much from a Resi film or series, and want it to exactly mirror the games. That will never work, really does with any game/toy franchise etc.
I'm personally really looking forward to watching this series, as from what I've seen so far it looks pretty good.
@SpiderPirate4 I pick option C) whatever that is.
It always has to be about race with you guys, I would've also complained if they casted a red headed man with a thick Irish accent or a black haired scrawny dude as Wesker.
There have been many times where I disagreed with casting choices be that they did not look the part or were just actors unsuitable for the role imo.
Like Ben Affleck as Batman or Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze.
I but now that it involves a black man it is racism all of the sudden... ok sure.
@SpiderPirate4 You think casting a Filipino and a Korean as the same person is "close enough". When you go policing racism on the internet yet you write racist comments yourself!
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@khululy because it DOESN'T matter for this character. You don't get it and complaining that they aren't white is exactly that.
If you don't wish to learn, then just stop.
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