Originally published August 10, 2016. Updated November 30, 2022.
The Flickering Myth team react…
Paul W.S. Anderson is bringing his Resident Evil saga to an end after six movies with Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, set for release in January 2017. Yesterday we were treated to the Japanese trailer, a new poster and the full domestic teaser trailer – but what did our writing staff make of it?
Anghus Houvouras: Has there ever been a franchise as consistently terrible as Resident Evil? Paranormal Activity? Paul Blart: Mall Cop? Underworld? Police Academy (after the first two)? No sir, for my money Resident Evil is the king of the garbage heap, and this one looks just as smelly as the rest. To be fair, I’ve had some amusing moments while watching these thinly plotted, insanely staged movies that seem to be the bastard love child of The Matrix and Dawn of the Dead. Each installment has seemed so disconnected from the last. In fact, when I saw this trailer I kept thinking it was a reboot because it seems like it’s been a million years since the last installment came out- back in a time when you could say the words ‘Fall Out Boy’ and people knew what you were talking about. This trailer looks pretty much like every other Resident Evil film, which is reason enough to run screaming in the other direction.
Oliver Davis: What about the DCEU?
Anghus Houvouras: I would gladly watch Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, or Suicide Squad again before any Resident Evil film. Apples and poison oranges
Luke Owen: It’s funny, you’re not the first person to say there’s a disconnect between the movies (YouTuber Phelous has a great breakdown of each entry and how they contradict each other), but Paul W.S Anderson argues otherwise. He told earlier in the year that this film will make you want to go back and watch the franchise as a whole to see how it all connects.
Anghus Houvouras: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
Thomas O’Connor: Zombie Axl Rose is going to be seeking legal recourse for the unauthorized use of his artistic property. Also braiiiiins.
Luke Owen: Pretty much what you’d expect from a Paul W.S. Anderson Resident Evil movie. Not sure the soundtrack worked, but that might be because I hate Guns ‘N Roses. I like some of the Resident Evil movies (the third and fourth entries in particular), but the last one left me a bit cold. It will be interesting to see what Sony do with Resident Evil after Anderson has left. The producer has said he would like to do a seventh movie or possibly even reboot it. And with the studio in desperate need of tentpole franchises to build upon, they could push the reset switch sooner than we think.
Tom Jolliffe: If you’re going to be ridiculous you might as well go balls out ridiculous. They’re bloody awful films but I must admit, in the right mood I do enjoy this series. She may not be the best actress but I do like Milla Jovovich, she’s good at headlining this sort of guff. I’m astonished they’ve made so many Resident Evil films, but this looks like a potentially fun (in the most moronic way imaginable) end to the franchise. I will undoubtedly be watching this (on Netflix I would imagine).
Luke Owen: They’re cheap to produce and make their money back with profit. It’s the anti-DCEU.
Tai Freligh: I’m a sucker for these movies having played all the games over the years. I know they are total camp and make no sense half the time, but they are fun to watch and total spectacle of the highest order. I enjoy the fight scenes, the gore, the cheesy one-liners and all the rest. Will I watch it in theaters? Heck no, but I’d rent it cheap.
Villordsutch: As a person who has on his shelf 2001: A Space Odyssey, Solaris, numerous versions of Blade Runner and also Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, I can tell you the moment I heard another Resident Evil trailer was due to hit the web imminently…I HAVEN’T LEFT MY CHAIR! These films are insanely piss poor, yet I love them. They aren’t even a guilty pleasure, they are a sheer pleasure! This trailer has ticked all the boxes of nonsense. Heavy metal? Check. Enough scars that you should be bleeding out? Check. An insane amount of Zombies? Check! And of course Weskerrrrrrrrrr! Check, check, check, check etc. Bring on the madness!
Tom Jolliffe: Downey Jnr said in Tropic Thunder: “Never go full retard.” What he failed to add was, “unless you’re doing a Resident Evil film.”
Chris Cooper: I love large parts of the video game series. I don’t love any of the film series. I will admit that I watch them when they come on TV, but I only ever spend it getting dizzy from eye rolling. It takes elements from the games and uses them in the laziest ways. Giving a guy a floppy haircut does not make him Leon S. Kennedy. Anyway, this just looks like more of the same. I’ll end up watching it at some point, but I do await a reboot.
Kris Wall: I have a soft spot for the first two Resident Evil movies, as part of my ‘so bad they’re good’ movies I find them enjoyable. Resident Evil: Extinction and onwards are just awful though, and this looks like more of the same. Milla Jovovich still looks terrible and she’ll probably still say she remembers everything about fifty times. The use of Paradise City was incredibly jarring, and it’s clearly riffing off Mad Max: Fury Road now. But I’ll obviously still see it because of Iain Glen, I like that guy, he seems like a decent guy, stuck in a bad movie.
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So, not an overwhelmingly positive outlook on Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. There are those who have been burned by the series in the past, but we do have some writers who are keen to keep going – even if their praise is slightly damning.
What did you make of the trailer? Let us know in the comments below.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is directed by Paul W.S Anderson (Resident Evil) and set for release in January 2017. Milla Jovovich is once again joined in the cast by franchise regulars Ali Larter (Resident Evil: Extinction) as Claire Redfield, Iain Glen (Resident Evil: Extinction) as Dr. Alexander Isaacs, Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil: Afterlife) as Albert Wesker, Wentworth Miller (Resident Evil: Afterlife) as Chris Redfield and Spencer Locke (Resident Evil: Extinction) as K-Mart along with newcomers Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black) as Abigail, Eoin Macken (Merlin) as Doc, William Levy (Addicted) as Christian, Fraser James (Law & Order: UK) as Michael and Rola, a Japanese model and TV personality, as Cobalt.
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