After the last resident evil movie, I was worried about this series reboot but I was pleasantly surprised. I have been a fan of large franchises moving to longer episodic format as it gives an opportunity to flesh out characters and develop the story as opposed to a two-hour action movie and it really worked in Resident Evil's favor. Some hardcore fans might not like many of the changes but I feel the franchise needed it.
The story is split into two main time periods, the present story taking place in 2022 follows Dr. Albert Wesker (played by Lance Reddick) and his two fourteen-year-old daughters, Billie and Jade (played by Siena Agudong and Tamara Smart). Wesker is the lead behind a potential game-changing pill named joy that can cure depression and anxiety but any fan of resident evil knows that the umbrella Corporation is anything but a joyful and happy place to work. Like any great corporation, they only care about potentially making billions even though the pill causes mild side effects like anger, and aggression and may give you the urge to eat your mother, no biggie; put it on the market!
The second timeline follows an adult Jade in 2036 as she tracks the flesh-eating zombies and tries to study and understand their behavior. The two timelines give us plenty of balance of story and character development between the two versions of our characters and a great balance of action-heavy scenes. Even though we know most of the events that will eventually happen in order for the 2036 timeline to come to pass, there are plenty of surprise twists and turns to keep up engaged with the 2022 plot. I do have some concerns regarding decisions that the plot required people to make in order to move forward, especially Jade, both young and adult versions.
One negative I do have towards the plot is the first four episodes felt much more cohesive than the tail end of the series but this is due to the heavier action scenes and many more character introductions.
Lance Reddick has always been a favorite of mine from The mini sci-fi shows he has been in. The plot allows Reddick to stretch his acting ability and show a wide range of emotions that we typically do not see in a lot of his roles.
Resident Evil is all about the zombies so it would be important to talk about them. Splitting the showing into two parts was a great narrative choice also for budgetary reasons as the zombies would only appear in future settings that are allowing the show to really push all of their budgets in the 2036 plotline. The locations, setting, and special effects of the 2036 period are all fantastic, and never do I notice any flaws in any of the zombies. The makeup and special effects are outstanding. There are also many really heavy CG moments that are sometimes too visible but for the most part, they are executed well and look great.
The show could use some tighter writing but overall the show is a success that focuses on a character-driven story in place of the usual action-heavy dumpster fires we are used to, thus, reigniting the spark in the once lost Resident Evil franchise. Looking forward to season two as it should further expand the franchise lore.
Plot: 6/10
Theme: 6/10
Acting: 6/10
Script: 6/10
Directing: 7/10
Score: 6/10
Cinematography: 6/10
Editing/Effects: 7/10
Uniqueness: 6/10
Rewatchability: 7/10
Overall:6/10