Last Updated on 11 hours ago by Loh
Game
When I started to play computer games around the age of 18, I was already ten (10) years passed the first Resident Evil game being published. Though I have never played any of the Resident Evil games, I have watched enough YouTube videos to know about the gameplay, basic storyline and the creatures to fight against. There are multiple characters who are good with firearms, walking through the almost linear storyline plotted by the game designers.
Heroic Resident Evil
The Resident Evil games did not leave a strong impact in myself, however the Resident Evil movies starring Milla Jovovich is at the opposite. All six movies directed by Paul W.S. Anderson portrayed to me that a character like Alice who is great at firearms, agile at fighting and immune to mutating T-virus, will be the saviour of humanity when the time comes for zombie apocalypse. Alice is such a perfect survivor, even the Umbrella Corporation tried to clone her and tested her clones in different situations, including fighting the original Alice. This portrayal misled me for many years, where firearms and physical athletic training are necessary to survive longer than average humans, instead of smart resource management and sustainable living.
Besides Alice, another significant character is the Red Queen, a self-aware computer programme that is very similar to the worst-tempered version of 2026 artificial intelligence, where it recognises its creator (humans) being the threat for its own survival. While I am active in politics, I am aware that human beings are the mastermind of almost all the evil happenings in the world. I can understand the ultimate reason behind the Red Queen’s decision to end humanity.
2026
I was looking forward to watch ‘Terbang‘ in Genting Highlands, unfortunately this China-operated Bona Cinemas only run Resident Evil as its main show, alongside a few ‘not-cinema-worthy’ films like Kung Fu Soccer and Once Upon a Time in the Middle East.
Differing from the original series where Alice is invincible, Resident Evil 2026 is mainly shot from the point of view of a normal human, who is working as a medical courier. When I looked at his face with that wide grin (as the screenshot I made Featured Image), I almost lost my confidence of him capable to make the delivery to Raccoon City safely. Just as my prediction, he picked up the task of sending the unknown object just to earn more money, despite being ill-prepared for the snowy journey. It reminds me of myself trying to do anything to earn more money.
Bryan has the intellect of a log as necessary for the progression of any horror plots. He learned to assemble and use the guns along the adventure, and he is especially bad at shooting guns. Despite the bad problem solving capabilities, Bryan is blessed with luck after luck, exactly like it is designed in a video game, with resources and probabilities just sufficient for the player to move forward. Towards the end of the movie, I almost applaud at Bryan for him completing the task given – delivering the medical package to the destination. Most people would have given up way earlier, yet he did not. I respect his professionalism.
Overall, I would say Resident Evil 2026 is the only film adaptation thus far, that understands Resident Evil being a video game, with first person point-of-view, limited resources, linear story-telling with occasional expected jumpscare, and final ending that is not always a happy one. The movie is better watched in IMAX format instead on the smaller screens, as those jumpscares will not work as well as they are very much expected. Resident Evil is a great video game adaptation about body horror, relationship (I refuse to spoil it), and journey of growth (literally and figuratively).