Every Resident Evil Movie, Ranked

One major critique of the Resident Evil film franchise is that it’s pretty hard for a newcomer to watch a film and not be instantly lost by the lore. Vendetta does nothing to buck that trend and presents viewers with a completely consulted plot combined with tonal inconsistencies.

This film would be the third CG-animated film in the franchise, allowing it to get in some cool fight choreography before the film’s mercifully short run time is over. It also features decent performances from Matthew Mercer as franchise favorite Leon Kennedy and Kevin Dornan as Chris Redfield. The film sees the two teaming up to stop a virus that turns people into zombies from getting out, so it’s typical RE stuff, but it just fails to deliver in a lot of respects.

Resident Evil: Degeneration is another of the CG-animated entries to the RE film franchise, and it runs into a lot of the same problems as the previous entry. The truth is, the animated films aren’t all that bad for those who are truly invested in the lore of the games, particularly the fourth through seventh mainline games. However, they can often feel like Hideo Kojima-length cutscenes rather than actual films.

This is precisely what makes them lower on the list. Resident Evil: Degeneration takes place after RE: 4, but the casual viewer would be totally lost, especially if you follow the live-action movie’s throughline. Still, it might be worth a watch if you want to see Leon Kennedy (Mercer) and Claire Redfield (Alyson Court) investigating pharma company conspiracies, and you loved RE: 4.

Before hitting on the live-action Resident Evil films, we might as well finish off the CG-animated movies. As for the animated films, Damnation could definitely be considered the best of the bunch. Foregoing the typically convoluted plots, this film follows Leon (Mercer) and Ada Wong (Courtenay Taylor) as they investigate bioweapons and an outbreak in Europe.

The film is much easier to follow than usual and is widely considered the best of the animated efforts by fans and critics alike. In fact, if you were going by Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave it 100 percent (albeit with only five reviews.) Still, it’s a solid plot, the performances are good, and it’s great for fans of the games. It would be higher on the list, but the game tie-in does provide a bit of a barrier to entry.

Whether you’re familiar with the video games or not, Resident Evil: Retribution is just straight-up terrible. The film is the fifth in the live-action franchise and the third to be written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (never to be confused with Paul Thomas Anderson). The film stars Milla Jovovich, who continues to do her level best to make this franchise watchable, as live-action protagonist Alice.

In this film, Alice must escape from a T-Virus testing facility after her capture by the Umbrella Corporation. It also brings along a ton of fan service by bringing Leon S. Kennedy, Ada Wong, and Barry Burton to the live-action movies for the first time, though it does very little with these characters. The movie is basically cared by the over-the-top action, which is fun but not worth the squeeze in the end.

Resident Evil: Afterlife is the fourth film in the series and was the first time Anderson returned to direct after directing the first film. This film was also released at the height of 3D’s popularity in theaters (thank you, Avatar), and the film went all in by shooting it for the format. The poster even makes sure to say ‘3D’ in giant letters.

While this means the visuals and action sequences are pretty impressive, the dedication to 3D definitely shows its age at times. The film also introduces Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller) to live-action, so there’s that. The plot follows Alice as she attempts to save survivors of the T-virus in Los Angeles as she takes on series protagonist Albert Wesker. As its place in this list might suggest, it’s pretty middle of the pack. But it’s relatively entertaining, at least.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter sees Paul W.S. Anderson wrap up his live-action franchise to middling results. The film brings back scientist Alexander Isaacs (Iain Glen) from the second film in the series and pits him and Wesker against Alice and the rest of her crew.

For the most part, the film provides a relatively satisfying ending and ties the loose ends that need to be tied up. Anderson also made the smart decision to go back to filming in 2D, and the action scenes are all the better for it. While there could be a better send-off for the franchise than The Final Chapter, it’s not the worst way things could have wrapped up.

Resident Evil: Extinction is the rare live-action RE movie where Anderson isn’t in the director’s chair (though he’s still in the writer’s room) as Russell Mulcahy takes the reins. The results are mostly solid as the film decides to open up the setting as Alice and Raccoon City survivors travel in the desert to try and reach a safe zone in Alaska.

Extinction‘s unique setting for the franchise works in its favor, as the action is exciting, and the setpieces are pretty creative. The mutated creatures ensure that there is plenty of horror still to be found in the brighter setting, so you still know you’re firmly in the world of Resident Evil.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse saw the series draw a lot of inspiration from the settings of the second and third video games, and it helps the film stand out amongst its peers. This was the second film in the franchise and had Anderson handing off directing duties to someone else, Alexander Witt. It introduces the video game locale of Raccoon City, which Alice has to escape with a group of other survivors.

Other elements pulled from the game were characters like Jill Valentine and Carlos Olivera and the hulking monstrosity known as Nemesis. While this movie expanded the scope of the first film, it still told a relatively focused story that closely resembled the spirit of the games.

Arguably, the Resident Evil film franchise got it right the first time. Drawing loose inspiration from the first two games, the film followed introduced us to an amnesiac Alice as she joins a group of Umbrella Corporation commandos to look into a secret lab. Of course, this turns into a fight for their lives as they battle monsters and zombies.

The movie was actually pretty successful and didn’t have any of the baggage of following the lore as the sequels did. It was a more straightforward movie, albeit definitely a product of its time. If you love that over-the-top edginess of early 2000 movies, this movie certainly delivered in that respect and became. bit of a cult classic in the end. Which makes it arguably the best Resident Evil movie out there.