When looking at the Resident Evil movies and trying to rank them do yourself a favor and don’t speak to a die hard fan, because otherwise you’re going to get a dozen different lists and dozens of explanations why this is the case and why in the end that none of the movies seemed to fully embrace the whole idea of the game. Video game movies have a terrible reputation for getting things wrong, expanding on certain points that gamers don’t care about, and creating narratives that the fans would rather not see on screen since they don’t seem to make a lot of sense. For those of us that haven’t played the games or even watched someone play them the movies might have been okay in terms of a zombie franchise, but even then it’s easy to see how they got a little crazy after a while and kind of deviated from what we thought was the main point. It’s easy to see how this entire thing would get spun of control when the culprit for the zombie apocalypse is an unstable virus that continue to mutate whenever it seems to want, but at the same time this franchise feels like a vehicle that was trying to operate on two bald tires and two poorly made spares after the original was over and done with.
Here are the Resident Evil movies ranked in order of how we see it.
6. Resident Evil: Retribution
Somehow, and this might provoke arguments, this was one of the most forgettable movies of the bunch since not only was it already taking a crazy direction with Alice and her many capabilities but it was also continuing to introduce one character after another that hardcore fans might have known but the casual audience member did not. In many ways Resident Evil seemed like it might be going off the rails a bit by the time it reached this movie and a lot of people were starting to hope that it might just end one day. Even now though it seems as though it might be possible that someone is still thinking of a reboot.
5. Resident Evil: Apocalypse
This gets bumped ahead for one reason, it brought in Nemesis if for a short time only and made the guy seem absolutely unstoppable. Of course when you factor in how awesome Alice is it’s still hard to believe that she might find a way to stand toe to toe with him when an entire team of STARS couldn’t take him down with a bout of concentrated fire. But then again there is a reason why gamers hated this guy when he first arrived on the scene, and it had a lot to do with the fact that he was, for a while, one of the most unbeatable characters around. But as far as the story goes it almost feels as though this was another coy move on the part of the producers as they kept it open and moving along for people to follow at the end.
4. Resident Evil: Afterlife
Multiple Alice’s might have made a lot of people sigh and raise an eyebrow since on one hand it seems like one of the most awesome armies that’s ever been though up, but on the other you’ve got to remember that a lot of the Alice’s don’t have the same combat training or experience of the original no matter their programming. This is kind of evident by how many get sacrificed throughout the movie and just how easily they’re spent. Plus, the whole angle of the mutations getting even crazier was starting to wear a bit thin at this point, if only because it was hard to keep up with them if you’re not into the game.
3. Resident Evil: Extinction
Yeah, Alice’s power was rising and in a big way and it was kind of awesome to see. It was also interesting to see that the T-virus was able to affect animals as well since a dead-eyed crow is kind of a creepy image. The fight scenes in this movie were kind of cool since Alice got the chance to go savage on a few people and was even able to finally go after Dr. Isaacs for some much-need retribution, despite the fact that she might have been beaten and diced if not for the quick thinking of the clone she liberated only a short time before the battle.
2. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
It’s great that they ended this movie on an open note like always but it’s kind of a hope that they don’t keep going with it since the idea does seem to have run its course for now. The rumor of a reboot coming is kind of regrettable since unless someone has a killer idea on how to make this movie franchise any better it’s bound to just drag it through the mud and create something that gamers might really rail against.
1. Resident Evil
It’s funny how this is the best since it was the simplest among them, being at the beginning and all. But it kept things simple for the most part and didn’t confuse a lot of people with the added details that came later. Plus, Michelle Rodriguez kind of helped to make this one since her character was just flat out tough and didn’t give up. That, and the iconic line “You’re all going to die down here” was enough to put a chill up anyone’s spine.
Let’s hope the reboot can be held off for another five to ten years.
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