Love it or not, the Resident Evil film franchise just seems to be unkillable. Even when it seemed to die, it came back to life for further franchise additions, and while the next entry will likely be last one, there is still little love for the series. But why? People cite that the movies are "terrible," calling them an insult to film making - that they are puerile, brainless and silly, and that the series had advanced so far not because of fan appeal or critical reception, but because the studios spy a financial return. But are the movies really that terrible? Do they deserve the kind of venomous critical hatred that comes with every new installation to the franchise? No, frankly. There is a reason that Resident Evil is the most successful video game to movie franchise ever, and it's not the association with the game. Although I'm not suggesting for a second that RE is the best film series ever, or even a particularly great series, the criticism the series gets is simply not proportionate or appropriate, and here are my 5 reasons the series is underrated and deserves more credit...
5. You Know What You're In For
This may seem to go against my point, but at least with the series you know what to expect. And usually, particularly with the last two, you are pleasantly surprised. While Apocalypse and Extinction were pretty awful movies, series veteran Paul WS Anderson took the helm once more for the fourth outing, Afterlife and I was literally blown away by how big a step up this was. The writing and cinematography was better, the scope was bigger and the characters more interesting. There was some generally inspired moments here, the like still motion helicopter crash and the excellent use of 3D. Yes, some elements were still flimsy and the last 20 minutes of the film were awful to watch, but the rest of the movie was interesting enough and damn fun to view. A common complaint with something ultra-hyped like Grand Theft Auto or The Dark Knight Rises is that you are left feeling disappointed by some or all of your time with it. While Resident Evil isn't quite on the same level as those two, you never get that feeling: there is always a few things that amaze you, be it fight sequences or set pieces. At least we know what to expect from a movie like this, and at least Retribution was better than the RE6 demo...