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MarcoMargot
Reviews
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
Not for the gamers.
Okay so first and foremost I am very biased because i'm a huge fan of the games.
That being said, it influences my opinion on the movie heavily.
It starts out great. With some signature shots that almost feel exactly like cutscenes from Resident Evil 2 the Remake. But that might just have been the hight of the movie. It all goes down hill from there for me.
The one thing i do like is that the set pieces are near identical to the locations visited in the game. The Orphanage, The Mansion, even the Police station are a near exact copy of what you'd be playing through in the game. Well done. BUT...
If you go with an adaptation that is that close to the source material, maybe you should also have dubbel checked your characters.
To be fair, Birkin, Claire and Chris, i had no issues with. They were cast well. Wesker was however too young and too naïve and inexperienced for what he should be. I think the actor did the best he could with the script he was given, but toning the character down in ruthlessness, intelligence and experience was a big mistake.
When I first saw Leon's character, I thought i was looking at Carlos. No offense, but the behavior and the attitude just screamed Carlos at me. Not Leon. Yes he is supposed to be a Rookie. And Yes he is supposed to be inexperienced and Naïve. But there is a big difference between inexperienced and being a complete idiot. They reduced his competence to something nearly none existent and it is irritating to watch him stumble through life or death situations as if he's a helpless 5 year old. Even as a rookie, you can be more competent then that.
When i saw Jill Valentine, i thought i was looking at Shiva from RE 5. Now... i have to admit this is probably because i'm used to certain faces. And i get in this day and age that perhaps they wanted a more diverse cast before anyone starts whining about white washing again. Good lord... But like i said, if you try to stay so close to the source material that even the sets are the same, then you should also mind your characters. Besides, i found her character a lot more cocky and annoying then her game version. You don't need a big mouth to be badass. Again this is not the fault of the actress. She did great with what was handed to her. But what was handed to her was a character that didn't match Jill Valentine's personality as it was delivered in the source material.
I may sound a bit harsh, considering you can't put everything from a game or a book into a movie or series. It's impossible. So i really tried to give this an honest chance, but there is more that bothers me.
The relationship between Claire and Chris is shown as troubled an distant. Quite the opposite of what they are in the games. It is jarring to see two characters who are supposed to be tight, go at each other's throats like that. They almost feel like strangers instead of family and their dynamic is all hostile. Which is confusing, to say the least.
At least the creatures were agreeable. Cerberus (the dog), the licker and infected Birkin were all pretty close to the source material and pretty nicely done with CGI. Could have been better, could have been worse, but the design was perfectly acceptable.
If you don't know the games or don't care much about them, the movie is passable. A bit boring at times and predictable too, but entertaining enough.
However if you're a gamer or a huge fan of the games, this movie is probably going to irritate you or worse and i wouldn't recommend going into this with high expectations. All you'll find is disappointment.
A 4 for sets, set pieces, game cutscene recreation and creature design. And an absolute 0 for everything else.
Feng shen chuan qi (2016)
Look passed CGI
Personally i don't understand all the heavy complaining there is about CG these days, it doesn't just appear in Asian rooted movies, but in Western cultured movies as well. People are so easily irritated and left unsatisfied these days and complain about things that, until half a century ago, were not even possible. Go back to the age of stop motion CGI and then come back to complain again.
anyway, to keep it to this movie, i personally am a very large fan of fantasy movies of any kind. There is just something special about Asian rooted fantasy movies in particular that i love. I've always been a sucker for the grand sets, colorful costumes and designs, and even the kind of images they can bring to life with CG.
If you can look past the fact that Naza, in his child form is clearly CG and unreal. If you can look past the fact that more of these creatures made with CG just don't have that realistic look, then it's much easier to enjoy the movie.
Yes the plot is a bit messy, and because there are so many elements it's hard to follow. But despite that, i do love the debt that it gives and it goes further then heroes just bashing on each other, good fighting evil, etc.
I for one, found the movie really enjoyable and i would watch it again. If you have a love for fantasy, super powers and war between good and evil, and can put yourself past a distinct use of CG and a messy plot, then it's not a waste of time to watch this.