Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City – Lacklustre Reboot
Director: Johannes Roberts
Writer: Johannes Roberts (Screenplay)
Starring: Kaya Scodelario, Robbie Amell, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hopper, Avan Jogia, Donal Logue, Neal McDonough, Lily Gao
Plot: Set in 1998, this origin story explores the secrets of the mysterious Spencer Mansion and the ill-fated Raccoon City.
Tagline – Witness the Beginning of Evil.
Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City starts when Claire Redfield (Scodelario) returns to Racoon City, where she was raised with her brother Chris (Amell) in the local orphanage. Claire’s return sees the up rising of the first outbreak from Umbrella, leading her to work with Jill Valentine (John-Kamen), Albert Wesker (Hopper), Leon Kennedy (Jogia) as they search for answers in the Spencer Mansion.
As the reluctant soldiers start working together more, they will find themselves diving into the darker secrets of the mansion, learning of a new threat Umbrella had been working on for years, now unleashed in the world.
Thoughts on Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City
Thoughts – Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City takes us back to 1998, entering into the early stages of what Umbrella were doing in Racoon City, deciding to throw as many different popular characters from the video games into one film, with Claire & Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Albert Wesker and Leon Kennedy. This has one positive, with the younger versions, we never met in the non-infected world, but it offers up next to nothing in the bigger picture of everything, trying a painful reboot, instead of trying to just do the simple horrors that made the game franchise so popular for so long. The story doesn’t offer much, which has never been what made the original franchise entertaining, but it could have something exciting to watch. The special effects look weak too, with the CGI coming off too clunky for a franchise that did give us moments of practical effects before. The one interesting idea in the film, is the returning to the 1998s, using the music to make us feel like we are there, but sadly missing a chance for more.
Final Thoughts – Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City is a weak reboot that doesn’t gain the horror it should.