Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
This weekend marks the theatrical release of Paul W. S. Anderson’s sixth and final installment of the Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. It’s the end of action movie era, though it’s an end that will likely be ignored. Early reviews of Final Chapter have indicated the final movie will not be the critically-praised black sheep of the franchise, though it will be fun for fans. However, during the franchise’s more than 15 years in the limelight, Resident Evil has transformed Hollywood, arguably for the better.
Starring Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez, the first Resident Evil was never intended to be an award-winning masterpiece. The horror action movie was, much like the game that it was based on, just supposed to be an epic survival tale and an excuse to kill zombies on screen. That’s about it. Around Oscars season, it’s so easy to get swept up in a movie’s intention and performance I forget how incredibly cathartic a fast-paced action movie can be. That’s the role Resident Evil has always filled and will always fill when it is inevitably rebooted. But what sets this franchise apart from the dozens of other action franchises is that it cemented the profitability of making an action epic with a woman lead. The first Resident Evil movie made over $102 million against a $35 million budget. Those aren’t numbers to laugh at.
Milla Jovovich wasn’t the first big-budget, sci-fi leading lady. The Alien universe would never have been nearly as successful without the revolutionary Sigourney Weaver attached to those projects. Jovovich’s Alice continued the trend Ellen Ripley put into place, proving a woman could lead an action-heavy multi-picture franchise just as well as any man could. The ending of one of the most profitable woman-led action franchises to ever exist feels especially relevant in 2017 when Marvel still refuses to green-light a Black Widow movie and we’re still two years away from a Captain Marvel movie. Way back in 2002, Resident Evil‘s Alice proved women could be just as fierce, quippy, epic, and profitable as any leading man.
The franchise is also remarkable for creating one of the first non-terrible video game adaptations, a trend we will likely see continuing in Hollywood. Forget for a moment that Hollywood’s favorite audience, men in their teenage years and 20s, are more likely to spend their free time playing video games than going to the theaters. From a purely artistic point of view, video games have transformed into a compelling and interesting storytelling format. From mainstream games with progressive backstories like Overwatch to more narratively ambitious games like Bioshock, Life Is Strange, or even Assassin’s Creed, video games as a whole have evolved far beyond the simplistic side-scrolling adventures of Mario. There are stories out there in the land of video games that can be adapted, but Hollywood hasn’t yet cracked the code, though they have been trying since the ’80s. One day I fully believe studios will figure this puzzle out, just like how studios have figured out comic book adaptations. When that happens, we’ll all have Resident Evil to thank for getting it right over a decade ago.
And let’s not forget that the Resident Evil movies are a ton of fun. Do the conspiratorial plots make any sense? Not really. Does it matter? Not in the slightest. These movies let us all watch badass heroines destroy the undead, which is undeniably awesome. For 15 years and six movies Resident Evil has given us something we can rely on in this hectic world — movies about shooting zombies, killing evil creatures, and owning an evil corporation so hard, F-Society would weep. It’s crazy, it’s bloody, it’s unrealistic, and it’s an amazing franchise we will all miss.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is now in theaters.
Where to stream 'Resident Evil'
Where to stream 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse'
Where to stream 'Resident Evil: Extinction'
