Horror Resident Evil Reboot

[Detective Conan]

So they apparently made Leon into this buffoonish incompetent guy who’s the source of much of the comedic relief, huh? lol.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

So they apparently made Leon into this buffoonish incompetent guy who’s the source of much of the comedic relief, huh? lol.

Apparently he has 7th billing so it's not his movie. Probably just should have left him out of the story until next time...if there was a next time.

 

[Marvel united]

Ngl I enjoyed the movie. It wasn't perfect, but it was fun asl

 

[TheVileOne]

Netflix should just cancel the proposed series focusing on Wesker’s daughters and do a series that adapts the games properly

But a CGI series wouldn’t be bad either

It’s just amazing how totally clueless studios are when it comes to adapting video game properties

They did a CGI animated series for Resident Evil on Netflix, and it also sucked.

So they apparently made Leon into this buffoonish incompetent guy who’s the source of much of the comedic relief, huh? lol.

Not surprising since they got the hippie musician from Zombieland 2 to play him.

Faithful to the games my ass.

In Resident Evil 2, Leon Kennedy became a police officer because he wanted to do good and help people.

Spoiled myself on the post credits scene.

Spoiler

Literally giving Wesker his glasses is the credit scene? This is some ASM post credits scene bull**** and I hate it.

This is why I hate sequel baiting. It's all about teasing the good **** and never giving you what you want. "You got to wait until next time to see something cool!" Sequel baiting has to die.

 

[metaphysician]

Bad directors? Bad scripts. Bad homages? No passion or understanding games in general? Trying to discover hot water? You know the usual.

You recently had director, not video game related who directed reboot of one of most succesful Christmas movies, Home Alone. Basically admitting he didnt give a crap about original and who didnt even understand what made original so good, but still took a shoot to make reboot of it.

Ofcourse movie ended being one of worst if not the worst movie of the year and given we are at beggining of new decade, one of worst movies of this decade.

When talented people who understand video games genre and grow up playing video games start working in Hollywood. Start to direct it, write it etc who are passioned to make something truly special. We are gonna see good video game movies. Like with everything in life finding or hiring or marring key people goes to make your life better, same goes with movies.

I've been saying this for a while. Why are video game adaptations nigh-universally awful? Because the people making them by and large don't respect the source material as valid and worth effort, but as some pop culture trash of no artistic value that can, at best, be turned into some low effort veneer to put on an otherwise unrelated movie. Video game movies now are in the same creative space as comic book movies were in the 80s and 90s.

 

[DarkKnight88]

I don’t know if that’s necessarily true. I mean, these directors seem like fanboys for the source material. Huge fans. But a fan doesn’t mean they have a sense of a compelling story outside a video game though. These films aren’t bad because they don’t respect the source material. They’re bad cause they’re not executed by a strong storyteller.

 

[Detective Conan]

I've been saying this for a while. Why are video game adaptations nigh-universally awful? Because the people making them by and large don't respect the source material as valid and worth effort, but as some pop culture trash of no artistic value that can, at best, be turned into some low effort veneer to put on an otherwise unrelated movie. Video game movies now are in the same creative space as comic book movies were in the 80s and 90s.

My issue with adapting video games to film is that there just seems to be less of a case to be made to make movies out of them than say a novel or a comic. Many Games nowadays are already very cinematic, and essentially are movies you can play so making a movie seems reductive. For example, If you made a movie out of Tomb Raider or Uncharted, you’re kind of missing the point because those are essentially Indiana Jones or James Bond movies that you can play. So making a straight movie adaption out of them means you lose the one thing games give you that movies don’t - which is the interactive experience. Videogames are intrinsically participatory, and require your control to move the narrative forward. Games like Resident Evil depend on that as they are essentially like if you’re playing through a horror B-movie like Evil Dead or Dawn Of The Dead. Once you lose that and make it into a movie, unless you make major changes, you are essentially left with a movie derivative of those aforementioned horror films those games were channeling. What’s the point of making a movie out of a game who’s whole point is that you get to play a movie?

This tweet says it best.

I don’t know if that’s necessarily true. I mean, these directors seem like fanboys for the source material. Huge fans. But a fan doesn’t mean they have a sense of a compelling story outside a video game though. These films aren’t bad because they don’t respect the source material. They’re bad cause they’re not executed by a strong storyteller.

Case in point: Paul W.S Anderson was a huge Resident Evil fan and included game characters and tons of little homages in those movies, and those movies still turned out the way they were.

They did a CGI animated series for Resident Evil on Netflix, and it also sucked.

I think those, along those CGI movies were almost as bad as the Paul W.S Anderson movies. They seem like better than the live action movies because they have the game characters as main characters but I argue they suck about the same.

That being said, I think if they give a RE series to the same guys who did Arcane or Castlevania with better writers and directors you can actually get the best RE adaption ever made.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Best RE CG "movies" I've seen : watch the games long play without commentary on youtube.

 

[TheVileOne]

The artistry in the games to me are just those quiet moments and the isolation with that stark minimalist music. A lot of the artistry I find in video games is not something that can be replicated on film. And that's a big reason I think fundamentally games adapted into film cannot work.

The dialogue and "acting" in the RE games is not especially "good." In fact the writing for the original game is now parodied and goofed on for its relative badness. But at the time of RE's release, getting cinematic movie style games were not the norm. 3D games like this with a cinematic style were brand-new. So people weren't talking about how bad the dialogue was. We were more impressed by the 3D visuals, the level of detail, and the immersion. Even though the writing and dialogue in RE1 is really "bad," the immersion and the way it makes you "feel" is topnotch.

Video games offer players immersion. You're not watching someone in a horror movie. YOU ARE THE LAST ONE LEFT ALIVE in Resident Evil. Basically in a Resident Evil game you're in the final act of a horror movie after everyone you know has already been killed off. And it's all on you. A movie can't really replicate that experience.

 

[Legion]

Ngl I enjoyed the movie. It wasn't perfect, but it was fun asl

I saw the movie last night and also really enjoyed it. I really liked the old school look to the zombies. It was great seeing the Spencer mansion and RPD. Actually liked Leon and Jill.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

The artistry in the games to me are just those quiet moments and the isolation with that stark minimalist music. A lot of the artistry I find in video games is not something that can be replicated on film. And that's a big reason I think fundamentally games adapted into film cannot work.

The dialogue and "acting" in the RE games is not especially "good." In fact the writing for the original game is now parodied and goofed on for its relative badness. But at the time of RE's release, getting cinematic movie style games were not the norm. 3D games like this with a cinematic style were brand-new. So people weren't talking about how bad the dialogue was. We were more impressed by the 3D visuals, the level of detail, and the immersion. Even though the writing and dialogue in RE1 is really "bad," the immersion and the way it makes you "feel" is topnotch.

Video games offer players immersion. You're not watching someone in a horror movie. YOU ARE THE LAST ONE LEFT ALIVE in Resident Evil. Basically in a Resident Evil game you're in the final act of a horror movie after everyone you know has already been killed off. And it's all on you. A movie can't really replicate that experience.

A good adaptation can take what made a game special and make it it's own thing. I think Arcane is the perfect example of adapting a video game property that is exclusively a MOBA and crafting an incredible world from its lore.

I think Resident Evil's story can be adapted in a way that makes sense yet keeps that feeling of isiolation...hell the book adaptations by Steve Perry did a fine job of it.

 

[TheVileOne]

A good adaptation can take what made a game special and make it it's own thing. I think Arcane is the perfect example of adapting a video game property that is exclusively a MOBA and crafting an incredible world from its lore.

I think Resident Evil's story can be adapted in a way that makes sense yet keeps that feeling of isiolation...hell the book adaptations by Steve Perry did a fine job of it.

Yet in 2021, we're still here with Welcome to Raccoon City which boasts about it's "faithfulness."

While I like Arcane, I didn't think it was a masterpiece either.

 

[Detective Conan]

Yet in 2021, we're still here with Welcome to Raccoon City which boasts about it's "faithfulness."

While I like Arcane, I didn't think it was a masterpiece either.

Well…a Resident Evil adaption doesn’t need to be a masterpiece, just… y’know, good. At this point, the RE franchise would be lucky to even have a adaption that is even half as good as Arcane.

 

[TheVileOne]

Well…a Resident Evil adaption doesn’t need to be a masterpiece, just… y’know, good. At this point, the RE franchise would be lucky to even have a adaption that is even half as good as Arcane.

Sounds simple yet harder to do still.

 

[Lily Adler]

Yet in 2021, we're still here with Welcome to Raccoon City which boasts about it's "faithfulness."

While I like Arcane, I didn't think it was a masterpiece either.

It's like they took that one criticism of the previous films and learned all the wrong lessons to get there

 

[Spider-Aziz]

So they apparently made Leon into this buffoonish incompetent guy who’s the source of much of the comedic relief, huh? lol.

One of the selling points of the franchise, so much so he was placed on the front cover of the gameboy color game that gives you control of Barry for the majority of it, and this is how they treat him in live action.

29% on RT. Must be a real slam dunk, lol.

Up to 50% now.

This is a major bounce upwards you don't see very often.

 

[TheVileOne]

One of the selling points of the franchise, so much so he was placed on the front cover of the gameboy color game that gives you control of Barry for the majority of it, and this is how they treat him in live action.



This is a major bounce upwards you don't see very often.

It's 27% for reviews, 60% for audience rating. But that's an audience rating of about 250 scores.

As for Leon, Jeremy Jahns mentioned in his review:

Spoiler

Leon mentions to Claire, "So I guess you're wondering how a guy like me became a cop."

Claire is like, "Yeah." And Leon's like, "Yeah, me too." And that's it. Also, Leon apparently doesn't know how to use a shotgun and is completely incompetent. Leon freaking S. Kennedy.

Like if you think Leon is some OP protagonist Gary Stu, ok fine, give him some more flaws, but JFC.

 

[MOVIELORD101]

It's 27% for reviews, 60% for audience rating. But that's an audience rating of about 250 scores.

As for Leon, Jeremy Jahns mentioned in his review:

Spoiler

Leon mentions to Claire, "So I guess you're wondering how a guy like me became a cop."

Claire is like, "Yeah." And Leon's like, "Yeah, me too." And that's it. Also, Leon apparently doesn't know how to use a shotgun and is completely incompetent. Leon freaking S. Kennedy.

Like if you think Leon is some OP protagonist Gary Stu, ok fine, give him some more flaws, but JFC.

My earlier post was from before the dip back down.

And yeah, it sounds like Roberts really doesn't like Leon. It's one thing to make them flawed, but its's another to make them a screw-up. Yes, Leon was a rookie cop in RE2, but he clearly had training even BEFORE he was officially part of the RCPD. He probably attended a police academy like anyone would in real life. Being a rookie cop isn't the same as being the equivalent of a dumbass "rookie" in a slasher film. There's a difference.

It sounds like this movie is a case of "you're on the right track, but you're not quite there yet". And unlike what someone people say, I think you could make awesome movies based on these games. George Romero, the grandfather of all zombie media HIMSELF, wrote a script back in the 90s that mostly pretty faithful to the first game with some changes here and there (Chris being a local farmer that gets involved in the events and not a STARS member off the bat and a few original characters), a few of which that I bet Roberts took inspiration from like Chris having feelings for Jill, Wesker being more clear in his intentions from the start, and a character from later on in the series having a cameo at the end. The problem seems to be Roberts was not only biting off more than he can chew by mashing RE 1 and 2 together, but also having a distain for certain characters and being hampered by a low budget from the studio (Sony clearly invested more money and interest in Ghostbuters than this, not that that's a bad thing given how good Afterlife was). I think the best route would be this: have a first movie be JUST the events in the Spencer mansion and have fan favorites like Barry Burton and such be involved, then maybe the next movie be a mash-up of the events of 2 and 3 with Chris in place of Carlos and his team and the climax being Claire, Leon and Sherry facing off against Birkin on the train while Jill and Chris take down Nemesis before everyone escapes together just as the city gets nuked. Third movie could be Code Veronica, with RE4 as a 4th movie or spin-off. Simple as that!

Also just to ask:

Spoiler

Apparently Chief Irons isn't a corrupt, murderous scumbag like he is in both versions of RE2 despite being played by an actor like Donal Logue who could've pulled that off PERFECTLY? It sounds like all he does is try to flee the city at one point only to be scared off back into town by Umbrella soliders and changes his tune after Claire rescues him and is later killed by a Licker instead of Birkin. So it seems like the worst he is is a bit of a coward. Very disappointing. Also, supposedly Birkin and Nemesis are merged as one character? WTF?!

 

[Spider-Aziz]

It's 27% for reviews, 60% for audience rating. But that's an audience rating of about 250 scores.

As for Leon, Jeremy Jahns mentioned in his review:

Spoiler

Leon mentions to Claire, "So I guess you're wondering how a guy like me became a cop."

Claire is like, "Yeah." And Leon's like, "Yeah, me too." And that's it. Also, Leon apparently doesn't know how to use a shotgun and is completely incompetent. Leon freaking S. Kennedy.

Like if you think Leon is some OP protagonist Gary Stu, ok fine, give him some more flaws, but JFC.

Is all I can say for that matter.

And yeah, it sounds like Roberts really doesn't like Leon.

How is someone like that going to make an adaption of RE4? Pretty sure that was the content of a tweet posted a few pages back.

 

[MOVIELORD101]

How is someone like that going to make an adaption of RE4?

You're assuming they ARE going to make it? This seems like the kind of movie that'll tank and someone else will make a better reboot a few years from now. You can rest easy.

 

[StarLord]

You're assuming they ARE going to make it? This seems like the kind of movie that'll tank and someone else will make a better reboot a few years from now. You can rest easy.

We've also got teen drama The Weskers on Netflix to look forward to...

 

[MOVIELORD101]

We've also got teen drama The Weskers on Netflix to look forward to...

That's a separate project, anyway. I meant theatrically.

 

[Detective Conan]

Sounds simple yet harder to do still.

Resident Evil 1’s basic premise is pretty easy to adapt into a film or show. It’s almost like a Scooby Doo episode if you mixed in elements from Evil Dead 1 and 2. It’s essentially a bunch of people investigating a place tied to a mystery where they end up encountering zombie mutants they have to survive against using their skill and resources at their disposal.

here’s a good vid on how to pull off a RE movie properly.

 

[Detective Conan]

Decided to bite the bullet and see it, and it’s not that bad. Problem is it’s a ultra generic horror action film with like zero engaging and well rounded characters. For example, Claire and Jill are just generic female badasses with little else going for them. They wrote them too similar and they’re pretty one note, and while I do appreciate them trying to avoid the OP Gary Stu take on Leon the games have pretty much defaulted to since RE4 but I think went a little too overboard in the bumbling cop trope - to the point that he almost came across as cartoonishly incompetent as Chief Wiggum from The Simpsons.

One thing in the movie’s favor is that it captures the general eerie atmosphere of the RE series fairly well but as mentioned before, it’s super generic and it doesn’t necessarily make you want to watch the movie again as much as it makes you want to play the game again. The director isn’t this auteur like Chris Nolan or Denis Villeneuve where they’re able to take the source material and elevate it with unique visions that stand out and are unique on their own. This is one of the most route horror films you’ll ever see so it makes for a pretty dull watch if you’re aren’t overly familiar with RE.

Now if you’re new to RE and this movie is your first introduction to the series then I can’t see many being overly impressed with this film though I can game fans will find some entertainment in the movie’s various nods and Easter eggs to the games( they even managed to incorporate that original RE 1’s corny “Jill Sandwich”) line into movie, and they will appreciate this movie being more authentic to the games than the previous Mila Jovovich films were. It’s very faithful, maybe to a fault. Sometimes that faithfulness becomes too literal to the point that you barely remember you aren’t watching a fan film.

And that means the movie adds no distinct style or flavor of its own filmmaking wise. Often times it just apes much better movies like Assault Precinct 13 and Aliens but with little of Cameron’s and Carpenter’s filmmaking craft, personality, and soul. Cinematography is good at times, though it still can’t escape it’s cheap look and feel & the acting is at least passable even though the dialogue writing is pretty bad, and the creature effects are pretty good, but all and all, it’s overall really average and pretty forgettable. 6/10.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I watched this last night and while it isn't the worst RE movie and I actually like some aspects about I honestly have no interest seeing any kind of follow up movie with these characters and especially this director who seems to have no real respect for any of the OG characters outside of Claire Redfield.

Leon was a complete joke in this and I can't for the life of me understand how the hell this guy became a cop in the first place after seeing all the moronic/dumb things he does.

Wesker was an even bigger miss, but I atleast liked the fact that Tom Hopper gave him some personality and the same goes for Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine, but neither of them were given enough to do IMO.

Robbie Amell was alright as Chris Redfield, but I got tired of seeing him mow down zombies in dark hallways and Neil McDonough and Donal Logue brought some fun B-movie energy to this with there scenery chewing.

Kaya Scodelario was by far the biggest highlight in this and had some pretty badass moments, but I really wanted to see the rest of the characters get there time to shine too.

I'll give Johnannes Roberts credit for being able to create some great atmosphere and a solid 70's/80's John Carpenterish score, but relying so heavily on fanservice will only get you so far and my god at how pointless and random Lisa Trevor's inclusion was in this and most of all wasted.