Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness should never have seen the light of day

I wish I could unsee this so I don’t see my favorite characters stripped to nothing but hollow CGI shells.

Let’s get some wine together, Dean.

I’ve been a fan of the Resident Evil series for many years. I’ve seen all the movies and played most of the games. So when I heard that Netflix was releasing Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, I was over the moon.

After coming to terms with how I felt after watching this movie, I’m calm enough to write an arguably good review on it.

I’ll try not to rant.

Brief Resident Evil Breakdown

For those unfamiliar with Resident Evil, the series is a zombie thriller series made by Capcom. Capcom may not tell each movie or game release in chronological order. However, they all contribute to the overall timeline. For example, Resident Evil: Vendetta, released in 2017, is farther down the timeline than Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, released in 2021.

The protagonists for each movie or game release vary. Depending on the plot, it focuses on a single or two or more characters.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness focuses on federal agent Leon S. Kennedy, and Claire Redfield, a TerraSave staff member, investigating an ominous drawing made by a child refugee. There are four episodes in Infinite Darkness where all the Resident Evil screen adaptations were movies.

Thoughts

The writing was abysmal.

The plot had potential, but it was stripped to its bare bones in the short time that it was told. It highlighted the main points, but there wasn’t enough suspenseful build-up. Overall, the plot felt rushed, and nothing was memorable.

Leon and Claire’s characters were extremely bland. I love them so much from previous releases, but they felt so unfamiliar in Infinite Darkness. They lacked personality. And the terrible dialogue they had didn’t help either.

Rest in peace, asswhales.

Leon S. Kennedy

They’re zombies. Not… whatever the hell Leon is saying. Stop making my boy look bad, Capcom.

Jason, the antagonist, keeps going on and on about “fear” and “terror”. From episode two, this guy talks about how spreading fear can lead to terror. Even when Jason falls into corrosive acid at the climax, he is still talking about “fear” and “terror”.

We get it, Jason. Please rot in peace.

Lastly, at the end of the movie, Patrick, a rookie U.S agent, feels the need to call Leon a “hero.”

I don’t know how you survived a sub blowing up or whatever happened downstairs, but holy shit man that’s some hero level stuff.

Patrick

This guy keeps gushing about Leon like a middle-schooler talking about their first crush. That’s my job.

Not only is this so cliché, but it’s so awkward.

To be fair, the RE movies always had cliché dialogue. But it was never this bad.

Lastly, I despised the screen time between Leon and Claire. They’re both supposed to be protagonists in this film, but because their journeys are different, they end up going on different paths that ultimately lead to the same conclusion.

However, this film was like 80% Leon and 20% Claire. She got barely any screen time, appearing only at the plot points when needed. She deserves much better, Capcom. Come on.

The only good thing I’ll say about Infinite Darkness is the amazing character CGI. Leon and Claire look amazing, though not entirely consistent with the rest of their appearances from before, I’ll take it.

Wasn’t expecting a scene like this but… sure.

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Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness gives potential to spinoffs and sequels that could expand this story further. It could also possibly involve other characters like Chris, Claire’s brother, leader of the B.S.A.A, and his agents.

But suppose it’s going to be the same cheesy dialogue with terribly written characters and terrible pacing. In that case, I’d rather they stop making movies before RE devolves into a half-assed zombie parody.