How One Fatal Error Ruined the Resident Evil Movie Franchise Forever

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Summary

  • Resident Evil movie series struggled due to deviating from game plotlines, leading to fan disappointment.
  • The Final Chapter wrapped up the original movie series but was criticized for killing off beloved gaming characters in an unsatisfying way.
  • Despite missteps, hope remains for the franchise with reboots and potential sequels, aiming to redeem itself with more faithful adaptations.

Capcom is preparing to revisit the Hive yet again, as a fresh take on the Resident Evil movie series is underway. Over the years, there have been seven live-action movies, four animated ones that adhere more closely to the original material, and even a controversial Netflix live-action series. Despite the Resident Evil franchise initially making a strong impact in cinemas, a significant error led to its downfall.

Paul W. S. Anderson initiated the franchise known as Resident Evil with the 2002 movie of the same title. Released six years following Capcom’s first game, the initial Resident Evil film departed from the games and established Milla Jovovich’s character Alice, an original creation for the films. Throughout the six movies, Jovovich played the leading role, while various iconic characters from the Resident Evil video games gradually made their appearances. Regrettably, despite initially being lauded for telling its own narrative, the series’ disregard for the source material ultimately contributed to its decline.

Fans Can’t Forgive Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

In 2016, director Paul W. S. Anderson returned for “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” to bring Alice’s story to a close. Notable returning characters included Ali Larter as Claire Redfield and Shawn Robert as Albert Wesker. However, “The Final Chapter” chose to end the lives of many familiar faces who had been introduced in earlier installments. A five-year break separated Anderson’s “Resident Evil: Retribution” from “The Final Chapter,” but the success of the former, which grossed $250 million on a budget of $65 million, guaranteed another film.

Throughout the “Resident Evil” movie series, many beloved characters from the video game world made their appearance, such as Sienna Guillory’s Jill Valentine, Wentworth Miller’s Chris Redfield, and Leon S. Kennedy (portrayed by Johann Urb). Regrettably, the film “Resident Evil: Retribution” was criticized for inexplicably leaving out Miller’s character, Chris Redfield. However, this pales in comparison to the disappointment caused by “The Final Chapter.” The ending of “Retribution” established a dramatic last stand where Alice was joined by Jill, Wesker, Leon (played by Johann Urb), and Ada Wong (Li Bingbing) atop the White House. Unfortunately, this promising setup didn’t deliver on its potential.

In the climactic scenes of the movie, titled “The Final Chapter“, we find ourselves amidst the ruins of Washington, where Alice, portrayed by Jovovich, appears to be the lone survivor. The film offers no insight into their fates, instead focusing on Alice’s reunion with Claire and their quest to bring down the Umbrella Corporation. This contrasts sharply with the novel, which provided details about each character’s fate. In the novel, Ada, Jill, and Leon were killed during the White House battle, while Becky (Aryana Engineer) miraculously survived and was eventually saved by Alice at the story’s end. However, in the movie, the focus shifts to Alice regaining her memories, Umbrella being defeated, and Alice riding off into the sunset as an antivirus begins to spread worldwide.

The movie titled “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” truly delivered on its promise and wrapped up the series in a fitting manner, even though there was room for Alice’s story to progress further. Despite receiving negative reviews, it is the best-rated film of the six in the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes and garnered an impressive $312.2 million at the box office. Director Paul W.S. Anderson stated that he intended “The Final Chapter” to mark the end of the series when speaking with Screen Rant.

I’ve been working diligently on this project for quite some time now. The aim is to provide a satisfying conclusion to the franchise, to tie up loose ends, to reunite Milla with her origins, back to the Hive, and finally complete the task she initiated 15 years ago.

Initially envisioning a six-film series, he regarded “The Final Chapter” as the climax of this narrative. As Anderson declared his departure from the franchise and anticipated a future reboot, for him, the wait until its conclusion wasn’t extensive.

What Went Wrong With the Resident Evil Franchise?

For numerous fans, the film “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” fell short, and since then, the series has struggled to regain its former glory. Milla Jovovich clarified to Collider why key characters like Jill and Leon weren’t definitively killed off; instead, their destinies were left unresolved.

In the game, the characters cannot be killed as they belong to Capcom and we’re not permitted to eliminate them. This means that Ali Larter’s character and Sienna Guillory’s character, including Valentine, won’t meet their end. As a result, director Paul (W.S. Anderson) needs to create exciting new characters for the audience to connect with and cheer for, and it’s these characters who will face a thrilling demise instead.

Despite the fact that Jill, Leon, Ada, and Chris survived for more battles, this doesn’t improve the situation for fans who were disheartened by the studio’s handling of these beloved gaming characters. The short wait until they reappeared in a Resident Evil movie didn’t equate to a victory, as such an outcome wasn’t particularly satisfying.

As a die-hard fan, I’ve been eagerly awaiting Johannes Roberts’ reboot of Resident Evil, with Welcome to Raccoon City promising to echo the greatness of the games by staying faithful to the original material. However, instead of receiving praise, Welcome to Raccoon City was met with criticism for attempting to squeeze the storylines of the first two games into a single movie. On another front, Andrew Dabb’s Resident Evil TV series, starring the late Lance Reddick, aimed to carve its own path. Alongside questions about its canonical status, the series was panned for its slow pace and cheesy dialogue. Sadly, live-action Resident Evil projects have yet to escape the long shadow cast by their video game counterparts.

It’s important to note that not all outings have been great, but some animated “Resident Evil” movies have expanded the storyline from the games. Although fans were disappointed that Claire was absent since “Resident Evil 6”, “Resident Evil: Death Island” is considered canon and brought together a group of popular characters from the games. The rest of the animated “Resident Evil” movies are also well-liked, with the 2012 film “Resident Evil: Damnation” receiving a rare perfect score of 100% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The series is experiencing a revival, and despite the failed plans for a sequel by Roberts, another reboot is being directed by Zach Cregger from “Barbarian”. With fans having been let down in the past, they’re hoping this will be the lucky third time for the “Resident Evil” movie franchise.

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2025-02-03 20:27