By Bob Garver
Director Zach Cregger’s new take on “Resident Evil” is the first movie based on a video game that I recommend. Not surprisingly, the man who directed Amy Madigan to an Oscar last year for
“Weapons” brings enough good ideas to the table that the decades-long streak of consistently terrible adaptations is finally over. Austin Abrams stars as Bryan, a down-on-his-luck medical courier tasked with making a delivery to Raccoon City General. His day goes from bad to worse when he hits a woman with his car. His day goes from worse to worser when the woman turns out to be a zombie infected by the incompetence of the Umbrella Corporation. Things get progressively worse until Bryan is in the middle of a citywide zombie riot. The scariest one does cartwheels.
Any time poor Bryan thinks he’s caught a break, there’s some new obstacle to threaten both his life and his ability to make the potentially-lifesaving delivery. In fact, the movie is structured very much like a video game, with each new challenge representing a new level and a higher degree of difficulty,with the stressed-out Bryan probably thinking that he can’t even repeat what he did to get to that point. This version of “Resident Evil” is the first video game movie that I recommend, and it’s not a high recommendation. The script contains few words other than F-bombs, and there are some pacing issues, with some unnecessary slow-downs and then a rushed ending. Still, Cregger has given unprecedented high quality to a franchise and a genre that had failed to win me over at every opportunity before now.
Grade: B-
“Resident Evil” is rated R for strong bloody violence, gore and language throughout. Its running time is
95 minutes.
Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.
