Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched Resident Evil in theaters, so be warned!
Here in the back half of 2026, it feels amazing to want to say a lot of positive things about a Resident Evil movie, and without the need to couch that opinion in “But I’m also a huge Milla Jovovich fan,” or whatever words get jammed together by people who enjoyed any of those previous versions. In my mind, the franchise’s live-action entries now begin and end with Zach Cregger’s critically lauded adaptation that has already broken the franchise’s box-office record with its first weekend.
I’m not 100% convinced just yet that the fun and freaky flick is absolutely the greatest video game movie in existence, as not to give into recency bias. But I also don’t think any upcoming game adaptations on the horizon have a shot at topping it, and contrary to my own expectations, I think Resident Evil’s biggest draw for gamers has nothing to do with on-screen easter eggs and tie-in lore. It’s all about Austin Abrams’ unassuming delivery driver Bryan.
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Resident Evil’s Bryan Brilliantly Represents Gamers, And Not Video Game Heroes
Video game hardware is at the point where, even if cut scenes and gameplay still don’t 100% visually reflect real life, it’s close enough that the differences wouldn’t be that extreme. Which is to say, if someone filmed live-action scenes from Resident Evil Requiem or Village, they’d probably look pretty similar. As such, making live-action movies look exactly like games isn’t the most pressing issue the way it was in years past. For that reason, I love that Zach Cregger opted not to adapt any particular game or storyline in lieu of an original tale.
So instead of putting a weapons-expert authority figure in the driver’s seat (both metaphorically and literally), this Resident Evil movie is led by a mild-mannered twentysomething in a somewhat complicated relationship, with a job that he’s mainly interested in for financial gains, and with more knowledge about video game guns than actual guns. It’s not completely universal, but much of that breakdown likely describes a lot of R.E. heads out there. What’s more, the movie never leaves his side.
As such, Bryan is a largely relatable avatar for audience members to see themselves as. He’s scared and rattled, but still confident enough to go on, and it’s a lot easier to play the “What would I do in this situation?” game with him than if the movie was only following Kali Reiss’ Maxine or even Paul Walker Hauser’s Paul. Bryan reacts to monsters the way we all do: with high-pitched screams and endless F-bombs. (That does apply to everyone else, right?)
Sure, it absolutely helps when Bryan sees that glorious typewriter in the safe room, and when he finds the game-specific box of shotgun shells, but noting those easter eggs on the screen isn’t key to this being a great adaptation. But the character’s struggles to hastily reload the gun while monstrous characters are rapidly approaching? Wasting bullets trying to shoot an indestructable lock? Wondering whether the thing on the ground is really dead or it’s just waiting for the right moment to strike? That’s every single Resident Evil game in a nutshell.
Zach Cregger’s Filmmaking Is Just As Key As The Main Character
While I’m not sure how much Zach Cregger’s experience playing Resident Evil Village in VR guided his filmmaking decisions for the 2026 movie, so much of the camera movements come straight out of the video game franchise. And it’s not always obvious, either. When the camera is following just behind Austin Abrams, it’s a natural choice, but it also allows Cregger to go into over-the-shoulder shots that the games have so often utilized.
The director also wisely picks and chooses when to go first-person within sequences. (Even The Rock knows Doom sucked, and this is a bit more intense than The Blair Witch Project.) There are even overhead shots from the ceiling that bring to mind the first game’s infamously clunky fixed-camera perspectives.
I also love any time the camera goes in close on something newly monstrous happening, and then slowly retreating as whatever ghoulish entity fills the screen. Very reminiscent of tension-building cut-scene reveals I’m not sure if the game-inspired cinematography would have worked exactly as well without Abrams’ Bryan being a surrogate for gamers, but I’ll just blindly say I think it’d still be great.
Looking back, I fully thought the live-action take on the anomaly game Exit 8 might be my favorite video game movie of 2026, and that its biggest competition would be Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Street Fighter. That was pretty much as naive as every Umbrella Corporation scientist introduced in Resident Evil. (I’d still trust Zach Cherry’s character, because Severance.)
Now, the long journey to the next great video game adaptation begins, but at least there are plenty of other upcoming horror movies to get excited about in the meantime.