Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

Summary

“Who you gonna call? You’re the police.”

When I was a pre-teen, the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation were at war to see which console would become the dominant CD-based video game system while Nintendo continued to focus their attention on cartridge based gaming with their Nintendo 64. One of the games that was lovingly displayed when entering the Electronics Boutiques stores in shopping malls across the country was a demonstration of a survival horror game that had been called Biohazard in Japan. For American audiences it had been given some nicely appointed Full Motion Video sequences and had been rebranded Resident Evil. All of the young gamer children looked up at the television screen displaying the demo of the gameplay and were blown away to see Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine blasting off the heads of zombies using shotguns. This was a truly iconic gaming moment for all of us and helped to propel the sales of both consoles. I remember that Resident Evil was one of the very first games I purchased when I received my PlayStation, along with Resident Evil 2 which was even more impressive to me. I remember that I made sure to not show my parents what I was playing because the games were so intense and violent. I thought to myself, “this game is so great. Why don’t they make a movie out of these two stories? It would be perfect!” Well, that childhood dream has finally come true. While Paul W.S. Anderson’s take on the series in his 2002 film was enjoyable in its own right, the films in his series strayed far away from what the games had been about. Johannes Roberts has written and directed a Resident Evil film that successfully brings to life the story from the first two iconic video games in the series. This works both for and against the film, as I will explain below.

In an orphanage owned by Umbrella Corp, a young girl is awoken by a mysterious stranger – possibly another little girl. The girl awakens her brother and tells him about the stranger, but he tells her to go to sleep. She follows the girl whose face is obscured into a room and into a small tent. She realizes the girl is another patient from a name tag hanging on her wrist that says Lisa Trevor. Lisa is in disrepair and has some form of restrain on her arms. The girl asks Lisa where she lives and Lisa writes out “below.” A doctor named Dr. William Birken (Neil McDonough) intervenes and asks what she is doing out of bed. Her brother arrives and says that his sister sometimes sleepwalks. It is revealed that the girl and boy are Chris and Claire Redfield.

Years later, on the 30th of September, 1998, Claire (Kaya Scodelario) is returning to Raccoon City. She has hitchhiked and caught a ride with a dirtbag truck driver through the pouring rain. As the truck driver tries to put some moves on her, the truck hits a woman wearing a hospital gown in the middle of the road. As Claire and the truck driver discuss bringing the body into town, Claire mentions her brother is a cop and can help. The body reanimates and walks into the woods as they are distracted. The truck driver’s Rottweiler jumps out of the truck and licks up the blood on the ground. When they realize the body has walked into the woods, they head into town. A title card then reads: “Raccoon City, once the home of the Umbrella Corporation, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, is now a ghost town. Umbrella is transitioning to a new location. All that remains is a skeleton crew of the last few employees… and those too poor to leave.”

Officer Leon S. Kennedy (Avan Jogia) awakens at a hotel and drinks the last of his beer. He is a rookie that because of an embarrassing incident in another town is working in Raccoon City. Across town at a bar, Jill Valentine (Hannah John-Kamen) is with Albert Wesker (Tom Hopper) and Vickers (Nathan Dales.) They are all part of the special forces of the Police Department within the area. Clare arrives at Chris’s house. She lets herself in by picking the lock. She had run away years before and they have not seen each other in five years. She has come to town because she was tipped off that there was some sort of Chernobyl-style event taking place in Raccoon City. She tries to explain this all to Chris (Robbie Amell,) but he dismisses her talk as conspiracy theories. An emergency announcement from Umbrella advises people to stay in their homes. He heads towards the police station in his Jeep, and tells Claire to stay away from his motorcycle. Things spiral out of control from there as the characters all try to survive.

The movie is based on the first two iconic games in the series, and faithfully replicates the best aspects of those first two games. The recreations of the Wesley House from the first game and the RPD police department from the second game are honestly amazing. As a fan of those two games, this was the film that I had always wanted to see. That said, the storyline of the games had more than a few moments that skewed reality completely in order to introduce another frightening creature to the player. This means…. the storyline is a little nonsensical and maybe a little silly. This can also be said about the film adaptation as well, but I don’t want to come off as a naysayer about this movie. I know that this movie has received a very mixed critical reception, but as a love-letter to two games that were mind-blowing to me as a child, I really enjoyed watching Johannes Roberts’ film. He brings to life many key moments from the game that are memorable while also wisely leaving behind a few elements that would not have worked (the large snake in the sewer from Resident Evil 2 comes to mind as an element that was wisely left out.) The picture is at its best in the first two thirds, with a somewhat rushed third act, but I was smiling throughout the running time of the movie.

The film is helped along by some smart casting. The lead performers are all up to the task at hand – especially Kaya Scodelario who is really fun to watch onscreen – but the characters are slightly underwritten except for Claire and Leon. The screenplay takes for granted that you have played the first two games and know who these characters are. If not, this movie probably would not be of that much interest to you anyway. A standout performance that I really enjoyed came from character actor Donal Logue as Police Chief Irons. He is hilarious in the film and definitely elevates the film in every scene he has. Neal McDonough is another actor that I have enjoyed watching in everything since his roles in Band of Brothers and Minority Report twenty years ago.

The movie definitely has some weaknesses which will be apparent to any viewer. For one thing, the townspeople who are being transformed into zombies begin to congregate at the gates of a police station inexplicably. This happens in the game as well, but somehow it strikes an off note here. The scenes that show them at the gate of the station are not frightening, and take away from the atmosphere of the film. Some of the sequences that work amazingly well in the game – such as the monsters called the “lickers” – just don’t quite translate as well to film. CGI is not very frightening in general, and these moments need CGI to be accomplished. I am still glad that these sequences happen in the film, because they are true to the games, but it makes it harder to take the film completely seriously.

Overall – Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is a lovingly crafted nostalgic romp through some of the greatest moments from two of the most iconic survival horror games ever made. The film is by no means perfect, but I sure enjoyed watching it. I would rank it as one of the better video game adaptations, which is an admittedly tiny field of competition.

Video

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City has been released onto Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Like many of the other recently released Sony Pictures films, Resident Evil was shot on an Arri Alexa LF 4K camera with digital film and the mastering of the film was performed in 4K. This means that the 4K representation on the UHD is as perfect representation of the theatrical experience as possible with given technology, so if you have a 4K player, I would opt for that release. Unfortunately, this release does show a few signs of noise which were probably caused when downscaling from 4K to 1080p. Aside from these minor issues, the Blu-ray release delivers a very good looking presentation. For fans of the film, the Blu-ray is a great way to experience this film, but if you can get the UHD, it is advisable to do so!

Audio

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is fantastic. That said – the UHD gets a Dolby Atmos track which expands the sound field significantly, so if you can splurge for the UHD, I would definitely do so. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is energetic and immersive. Clarity is fantastic. The jump scare in the film are performed easily by the track. The action sequences in the film come across very well. A sequence where the Umbrella alarm system warns citizens to stay inside shows how immersive the track is. I had a lot of fun listening to it. Sony Pictures have provided a fantastic track that is only better when expanded into Dolby Atmos on the 4K UHD.

Supplements:

Replicating the DNA
Cops, Corpses, and Chaos
Zombies, Lickers and the Horrors of Resident Evil

Overall Scores:

Video: 4.25/5

Audio: 5/5

Supplements: 2/5

Overall – 4/5

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is – for better and worse – a faithful recreation of the storyline from the first two games in the iconic survival horror series. This faithfulness works for and against the film. For the first two thirds of the film, I would say it holds up pretty well. The recreations of the Wesley House and R.P.D. Police Department will make fans extremely happy. The final third of the picture feels a little rushed and features some sequences that don’t translate as well to the screen. For my money, this is the Resident Evil movie that I had wanted to see when I was a thirteen year old kid playing Resident Evil 2. Johannes Roberts is obviously a fan of the games and this is a pretty good love-letter to the series. While the film will probably only appeal to gamers and nostalgists, I admire what Johannes Roberts achieved here. The film is receiving lukewarm reviews but I will lay it on the line and say that I definitely enjoyed watching the movie and if Johannes Roberts is given a chance to make a sequel, I will watch it also. The Sony Pictures Blu-ray features good video and great audio. Fans of the film should consider the UHD release for the improved video and the Dolby Atmos track. I am happy to have the film in my collection, but might advise a rental prior to a purchase due to the mixed response online.