Resident Evil movie review: "The best Resi movie by a distance, and t…

Across a quarter century and seven live-action movies, Resident Evil has had a rough ride on the big screen. While the Capcom-developed video game series has gone from strength to strength since its 2017 revival, the live-action movies have always been, at best, guilty pleasures and, at worst, affronts to the cherished survival-horror series. Turns out eighth time's a charm, as despite much pre-release griping over the absence of iconic game characters like Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, director Zach Cregger's Resident Evil isn't just the best Resi movie by a distance; it's the best video game movie full stop. extract-html.com

Cregger is a self-proclaimed Resident Evil superfan, and among the most exciting filmmakers working today following his arresting debut Barbarian and horror sensation Weapons – a film so undeniable even the horror-averse Academy recognized it with an Oscar for Amy Madigan's Gladys. Cregger's first foray into franchise filmmaking is just as singular and fuelled by invention as his original work, telling a new story in a recognizable world that feels wholly authentic to the spirit and ethos of the games. It's among the more invigorating pieces of IP moviemaking in recent memory, and the first to accurately translate the immersive feeling of playing video games to film.

Clocking in at a refreshingly taut and unrelenting 95 minutes, Resident Evil is stripped back to the point its plot beats could be sketched out on a coaster. Austin Abrams' Bryan is a medical courier about to clock off when he's hired to transport a mysterious biological cargo from the sticks to Raccoon City General Hospital. Unfortunately for Bryan, this happens to be the night of the Raccoon City incident, during which the Umbrella Corporation's DNA-altering t-Virus transforms the population of the city into your garden-variety living dead, and even gnarlier BOWs (Bio-Organic Weapons), which Bryan has to haphazardly fight his way through en route to his final destination.

Don't hate the player

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Cregger's movie may take place in parallel with Resident Evil 2, but don't expect any crossover with the games; it's better to think of the movie as a separate and distinct Raccoon City story that is simultaneously taking place on the fringes of what happens to be going on elsewhere in the city. Neither is it totally consistent with established Resi lore: some BOWs exhibit traits of the Las Plagas parasite, for example, which doesn't show up till Resident Evil 4, and the precise way the t-Virus escapes the lab contradicts what we know.

Does any of this matter? Not in the slightest. What matters is that Cregger understands far better than previous stewards of Resident Evil on screen what makes the series tick. Gone is the daft post-Matrix gun-fu; here it's replaced by bullet-counting, resource-scrounging and cautious tiptoeing around dark corners.

Cregger also incorporates the grammar of video games in subtle but effective ways: the camera is frequently hovering over Bryan's shoulder in third-person fashion, he 'upgrades' his firearms across the night, and is constantly coming up against familiar obstacles, like padlocked gates and treacherous ledges that need to be shimmied across.

Bryan, in fact, is a very different protagonist for Resident Evil. While the movies (in Alice) and the games (in Leon, Chris, Claire, and co.) have typically featured very capable leads who take out the undead with ease, Bryan is a doofus with commitment issues whose only experience shooting guns is, amusingly, in video games. This makes every encounter a major life-or-death situation, the movie ramping up the peril with some devilishly effective jump scares and gloriously horrid creature design.

It's scary, no question, but marketing materials to date have majorly undersold how funny Resident Evil is. Despite stripping out many of the jokes after test screening audiences reacted negatively, Resident Evil remains a no-bones horror-comedy where the extremity of the situations Bryan finds himself in elicits nervous laughs and screams in equal measure.

A standout among the Weapons ensemble as addict James, Abrams is at the center of every frame here. The character and performance are reminiscent of Bruce Campbell's slapstick Ash in Evil Dead II, mixing out-of-his-depth everyman with a Wile E. Coyote-style streak of bad luck as the ill-equipped-for-action Bryan screams, panics, and dissociates his way through one hellishly terrible situation after another.

The running joke of the film is that if something can go wrong for poor Bryan, it does, and Cregger seems to take endless pleasure in tormenting his unlikely lead. It can teeter on sadistic, with gruesome moments involving both mutated children and even babies. Somehow, it never feels exploitative. Instead, it adds to the outrageously gonzo, anything-goes nightmare of it all.

Undead nightmare

There are a handful of supporting characters – Paul Walter Hauser, Kali Reis, and Zach Cherry all pop up – but their appearances are so fleeting they barely register as Bryan is pursued across Raccoon City, Nemesis-style, by a relentless multi-limbed monstrosity. It's a movie that doesn't stop for a moment; even the cursory (and mercifully brief) mid-movie exposition dump is delivered on the move. The Fury Road comparisons are apt: Resident Evil is paced to perfection, moving from one environment and grisly encounter to the next at a thrilling clip.

There are some deleterious consequences to this approach. Character development and plot are so bare-bones they're practically non-existent, and don't even think about trying to identify themes. Before it all kicks off, Bryan reacts indecisively to a call from his girlfriend that she may be pregnant, and this regret weighs on him as the film goes on. But this exact character motivation was utilized far more effectively mere months ago in Exit 8, another video game adaptation.

Clearly, Cregger's priority here is experiential. Resident Evil is a gloriously gnarly film. Heads explode (in more ways than one), distended stomachs erupt with rats, and there's a very memorable evolution of the way the t-Virus operates that will no doubt irk die-hard fans. Some may question the choice not to utilize the many iconic creatures we know are roaming the streets of Raccoon City at this time, but Cregger is far more interested in putting his own twist on the world than creating a live-action facsimile. It's arguably the smartest way to approach an adaptation like this when a Last of Us-style faithful rendering doesn't make sense.

Resident Evil might not match Barbarian or Weapons for sheer formal inventiveness, and perhaps won't live as long in the memory as a result. Nor is it likely to replicate Weapons' Awards-season-crashing success. But unless you're a stickler who can't live with the idea of Cregger failing to adhere to the letter of Resident Evil lore, it's hard to imagine anyone with a tolerance for the grisly not having a blast watching this. After 24 years, the big screen finally has a Resident Evil that lives up to the legacy of the games.

Resident Evil releases in theaters on September 18. For more, check out our rankings of the best video game movies, and the best Resident Evil games.

It's only just settling in that GTA 6 is actually coming out this November. After 13 years, the sequel will actually be here, and we have the extended look on Netflix to prove it. In light of this preview, a former Rockstar animator has shared his perspective on what we've seen and what it could lead to.

Mike York worked at the studio for a number of years, contributing to GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, and his first impression is the duality of the two leads, Jason and Lucia. "Rockstar usually gives us a bunch of neat characters who are funny and have their own flair," he tells TechRadar.

"I don't know if we're going to see that with Jason, but I hope we do," he says, before adding Lucia is a contrast to Jason's stoicism. "There's that moment in the trailer where they get in an elevator, and he says, 'Sometimes I'm just more comfortable when I have to use a gun.' She replies: 'Just be charming!' Lucia's got this attitude where you can tell she's trying to break him out of his shell. She's the one that probably goes into missions gung-ho, all guns blazing."

That seems like what Rockstar wants us to believe. He's more of a strategist; she wants to go for it and figure it out as they do. Missions might involve both skill sets in different ways. In discussing the level of secrecy, York mentions that Rockstar operates under a complete information lockdown, to the point that having social media can feel like stepping out.

"They try to instill in all their employees that you don't say anything anywhere," he explains. "If you look up most of the people at Rockstar, they don't have any social media presence because they're scared to. I was. When I worked there, I didn't say anything ever."

As impressive as the showcase was, some parts didn't land especially well for him. Certain aspects are "a bit outdated and weird" and demonstrate shifting internal priorities. "The whole UI doesn't really match the style of game and what we're used to. Rockstar has a big and very talented team. If they wanted, they could go in and change those elements before a final release," he comments. "Will they do that? That's another question because there’s probably a lot of other stuff they're sweating about."

Ultimately, what comes out will be updated and patched for years afterward, and any niggling problems will likely be ironed out. "It will perform really well and become something we'll be able to play for a decade later like GTA 5," York adds. "Online will come out and probably be an ever-evolving metaverse which will carry the franchise forever."

Rockstar boss says GTA 6's police "can be harder" to shake off than before, "but it's fun" because it forces you "to think more"

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave joins Three Houses as the second-highest rated game in the series, but Awakening still rests at the top of the pile.

Not counting The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is undoubtedly Nintendo's biggest release of 2026 – which says a lot considering we've already had the likes of Pokemon Pokopia and Star Fox. The excellent tactical RPG series is returning with what looks to be an incredibly ambitious follow-up to fan-favorite title Three Houses, with four protagonists leading the story this time (although it was almost as high as eight!).

At the time of writing, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave has landed on a score of 89 over on Metacritic. This places it alongside the massively beloved Switch release Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which Fortune's Weave could be a sequel to if some of the character appearances in trailers are any indication. This places it as the joint second-best game in the franchise as far as Metacritic score goes; however, Fire Emblem Awakening – the game that saved the series – still reigns supreme with a score of 92.

Among 60 critic reviews, 15 of those gave the game full marks on their review scale, including the likes of IGN and Eurogamer. Meanwhile the game's lowest scoring reviews are three 7/10 ratings, which is still a pretty great score.

In the GamesRadar+ Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave review, freelance writer Alan Wen awarded the game a rating of four out of five stars, saying "Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave builds on Three House's multi-path structure as an even grander and more ambitious epic, with a gripping story and engaging battles that would shine brighter were it not for the myriad of busywork dragging down its momentum."

It's taken 9 years, but a great feature from one of the best 3DS Fire Emblem games returns in Fortune's Weave, and it's probably going to make the tactical JRPG even bigger.