3.5 out of 5 stars
The first Resident Evil film was released in 2002 and introduced Alice (Milla Jovovich) to the world, a woman with enhanced abilities who wasn’t afraid to take on zombies and the equally sinister Umbrella Corporation. Five more films have been released since to varying degrees of success with The Final Chapter (2016) bringing the saga to a close. Although based on the famous video game, which has generated many sequels over the years, the film series itself was criticised for not keeping true to the game's original storyline. In fact, Alice was created as a fictional character for the movies and does not appear in the game at all.
Jump forward 20 years and the Resident Evil franchise is getting a reboot – Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is set in 1998. This chapter reintroduces us to the main characters from the original video games: the Redfield siblings - Chris (Robbie Amell) and Claire (Kaya Scodelario) and police officers - Jill Valentine (Hannah John-Kamen) and Leon S. Kennedy (Avan Jogia). The new alliteration sees the viewer taken back to the half-deserted town of Raccoon City. The Umbrella Corporation has relocated its base of operations to another city and left the townsfolk to fend for themselves. When a viral outbreak occurs, only a handful of people remain along with the small police force, leaving our heroes to fight for their lives and try to escape from town.
To anyone not familiar with these video games, this movie is basically a horror movie containing darkened corners with monsters of all sorts waiting to jump out to scare the audience. For the fans and those who have played the games, this movie will make them very happy. The filmmakers have retained as much from the games themselves and stayed more faithful to the basic story. This film includes the locations, namely the spooky Spencer Mansion, the Police Station with its elaborate architecture, and the Raccoon City Orphanage where the Redfield siblings grew up. Also, it has all of the gloomy, dark, foreboding atmosphere and the various frightening creatures which our heroes encounter along the way familiar to fans.
As a horror film, this movie was quite entertaining. As a new chapter for Resident Evil it is very promising – the signs point to a sequel or two. There is still much to be told about the mysterious Umbrella Corporation in this new franchise and the other forces at play and the secret research conducted in Raccoon City over many years. Recommended mainly to the fans of the games who want to see a new interpretation of the story on the big screen.
REEL DIALOGUE: Who’s gonna save us?
Early in the movie, Leon is introduced as a young rookie cop who gets picked on by his fellow officers. He appears to be useless and incompetent as a police officer. However, his encounters with the various monsters lurking around Raccoon City transform him by the movie’s end. The police officer becomes the ‘hero’ who gets everyone out of trouble when things look bad. This is a common theme found in many movies where someone unassuming becomes someone great when they realise their potential and become empowered.
This theme also appears in the Bible frequently. God likes to use unassuming people to carry out his purposes. The story of David and Goliath is an excellent example of this, where a young shepherd was tasked with rescuing his nation from a fearsome warrior. Hundreds of years later, the scenario was repeated. This time, a lowly carpenter from a small town came preaching a message of repentance and eventually was proclaimed saviour of the world – his name is Jesus. As we approach another Christmas, take the opportunity to learn a little more about the Christmas story and why Jesus’ birth is so significant.
Merry Christmas to all our readers from the Reel Dialogue Team.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
