STORYLINE: A hapless courier is tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital. He soon finds himself caught in the middle of an outbreak and must fight through hordes of mutated creatures to survive.  (IMDb)

    Milla Jovovich first did battle with the Umbrella corporation in Resident Evil (2002).  In 2009, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin roamed Zombieland. Dennis Hopper and John Leguizamo were surviving the zombie post apocalypse in George Romero’s 

Land of the Dead (2005).  Zombies return, as a biproduct of the Umbrella Corporation, in Resident Evil.

   Every few features, it seems necessary to reboot, or retool a franchise.  In 2018 Halloween did it, and even brought back the scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis.  The 007 film series took a dramatic reboot, in 2006, with Daniel Craig, and the release of Casino Royale.  The zombie franchise, Resident Evil, has gotten its new cinenatic reboot. 

   Resident Evil attempts to be a moody and atmospheric horror feature.  Instead it fills its runtime with cheap, yet entertaining, thrills.   There’s nothing wrong with that.  This is a zombie movie, inspired by a video game, not a Shakespeare adaptation.  I want to watch something like that, closest thing I have to that to watch  is the 2016 feature, Pride & Predjuice & Zombies.

    This film did play like a videogame.  Every few scenes seemed like a level had been completed, and the viewer was taken to the next level.   There was a new challenge that had to be completed, each time.  This helped the movie fall into a clear three act structure 

    Full disclosure, I never played the videogame. I don’t have a baseline for comparison.  That did not stop me from enjoying the movie. Nor did it stop me from walking into the theater with an open mind for enjoying the movie.   

    The new Resident Evil feature has entertainting zombie thrills, instead of  being a more atmospheric horror film, that I was anticipating.  

   Until next time, I will see you at the movies!