Video game adaptations are always seen to have bad luck on the silver screen. Lack of storytelling, little-to-no character development, poorly choreographed action sequences- all these are enough to fail the adaptations.
Resident Evil had seven live-action films, but none of them got positive acclaim due to these shortcomings.
But this time, Netflix adapted this beloved survival horror franchise as an 8-episode TV series, giving this adaptation much-needed good storytelling alongside the key characters' stories across two different timelines.
Gamers will instantly recognise the Umbrella Corporation and the T-virus, the evil megacorporation studying the deadly virus even at the cost of wiping out humanity.
The show shows two timelines - the first one is the present 2022 and the second is 14 years later, in 2036, when the virus wiped out more than half of humanity, creating a dystopian world.
Albert Wesker and his mysterious story are the ones who changed the course of the world, but his presence strikes the question, as he was seen dead in the game Resident Evil 5 (2009).
In 2022, Umbrella Corporation is seen building a new community called New Raccoon City in South Africa, possibly after covering up the original Raccoon City incident from the previous films. As evil as this corporation is, it also holds shady experiments inside the labs in the city, led by Evelyn Marcus.
Having no backstory, Albert Wesker is seen to join the corporation after a long break by shifting to New Raccoon City with his surrogate twin daughters, Jade and Billie. The city seemed like a utopia for them at first. Still, as time passes by, they sense more mystery and get entangled in the horrifying secrets of Umbrella Corporation, possibly being the tinderbox behind the zombie fallout which was seen destroying the world in 2036.
In 2036, Jade is a survivor studying zombies, dubbed ‘Zeroes.’ She is also seen running away from Umbrella Corporation, which is after her relentlessly.
As the story progresses, she finds her sister Billie leading the corporation. But why is she hunting her own sister? What happened in those 14 years? How did Albert Wesker come back from death? Many questions remain unanswered.
Resident Evil this time has a quite intriguing storyline. It beautifully weaves the connection between two timelines, without interrupting the main story.
Every episode ends with cliffhangers, and more mysteries and questions occur as if they are never-ending. The season finale feels like an abrupt ending, with many bad decisions taken by Jade and leaving several questions for the Resident Evil fans, possibly answering them for the next season.
