Review Roundup For Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City

Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City is a live-action reboot of the already established, six-film deep franchise of movies based on the video game franchise. This new recently-released film is an attempt to be more faithful to the source material, and reviews have finally started to roll in.

The film stars Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Robbie Amell, and many others as a host of familiar and foundational characters crucial to the game's lore. A synopsis reads: "In Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland--with great evil brewing below the surface. When that evil is unleashed, a group of survivors must work together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and contain the danger, while trying to make it through the night." The movie is written and directed by Johannes Roberts.

The film was released in Paris on November 19, and will be released in the United Kingdom on December 3. Stateside, the film is out on November 24. Originally, Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City was due out in September.

GameSpot's Phil Hornshaw found that Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City struggled to find its focus, but is something that when watched with the right expectations can be fun to watch. You can see a sampling of review scores and excerpts below, and more critical consensus here at GameSpot sister site Metacritic. As of this writing, the film has an aggregate score of 45 based on nine reviews. For more, check out GameSpot's guide to the biggest upcoming movies of 2021.

Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City

• Written and directed by: Johannes Roberts
• Starring: Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Robbie Amell, Tom Hopper, Avan Jogia, Donal Logue, Neal McDonough
• Release Date: November 24 US/December 3 UK

CNET - 80

"Despite the lack of scares, minor tweaks to the games' lore and overall silliness, director Johannes Roberts' love for Resident Evil is clear in every moment of Welcome to Raccoon City. With a barrage of Easter eggs and fascinating takes on classic characters, the film's a gleeful trip back to the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon Police Department aimed squarely at fans." -- Sean Keane [Full review]

Screenrant - 80

"Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City is a fun and faithful adaptation of the games it is based on, but is lacking in character substance." -- Ferdosa Abdi [Full review]

Los Angeles Times - No Score

"[It] never successfully replicates the fear that was a hallmark of playing the games, and its approach to ample gore is only as imaginative as a kid picking at a scab." -- Kimber Myers [Full review]

Variety - No Score

"Writer-director Johannes Roberts supplies plenty of fan service but scarce coherent plotting and even fewer scares." -- Nick Schager [Full review]

New York Post - 75

"Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City is a fun and faithful adaptation of the games it is based on, but is lacking in character substance." -- Johnny Oleksinski [Full review]

Slant - 50

"Johannes Roberts’s prequel ultimately remains buried by its indifference to unchecked corporate power." -- Mark Hanson [Full review]

We Got This Covered - 40

"Add on another star, or perhaps even two, if you're a fan of the games, but Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City will struggle to win over those who aren't familiar with the franchise." -- Scott Campbell [Full review]

The A.V. Club - 42

"Alas, there’s no covert greatness to the just-plain-underwhelming Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City, a reboot totally bereft of the visual distinction or creative personality that often made its predecessors intriguing diamonds in the rough." -- Charles Bramesco [Full review]