Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City: 4 Ups & 6 Downs
2. Neal McDonough's Hammy Villain Performance
If Kaya Scodelario gives the one genuinely compelling dramatic performance in the film, on the other end of the spectrum we have legendary ham merchant Neal McDonough, who hasn't ever seen a bad script he couldn't elevate with his signature snarling.
McDonough clearly knows he's not making an Oscar nominee here, and so leans into the broad villainy, taking the William Birkin character - a fairly serious fixture in the games - and transforming him into a pure farcical creation.
Between the ridiculous blonde wig he wears in flashbacks and his hilariously over-the-top performance once Birkin is transformed by the G-Virus, McDonough understood the assignment and delivers an appropriately silly performance.
It's a shame he's basically missing from the middle portion of the film, but he nevertheless adds some much-needed camp to a film that's too often just incredibly dull.