The interesting and polarizing Paul W. S. Anderson take on the Resident Evil franchise is finally over, and that means the studios can reboot the movie and keep it more aligned with the games. I hope that whoever gets to take over this franchise raids the Capcom archives so that they can give the game the movie that we deserve and that the franchise deserves. These are five things that I would love for the reboot to use that would make all Resident Evil fans happy.
5) Spencer Mansion
We received a small taste of the Spencer Mansion in the first movie, but then the whole script went off the rails and the game was suddenly forgotten. The mansion transformed into The Hive underneath, and nothing more was seen or heard of Spencer Mansion. That needs to change in the reboot–the entire movie should stay in the mansion until we get to the underground lab part of the game and the Tyrant is chasing Barry, Chris, and Jill. The mansion in the games was its own character, not letting you fully get to know it until you solved the deadly puzzles to gain keys to rooms with even more deadly puzzles. Jill, Chris, and Barry running around the mansion looking for keys, crests, and giant gems would be somewhat corny in a movie, but I think with the proper writer they could pull it off and make the Spencer Mansion one of the scariest places ever put into a film. Spencer Mansion fear could rival that of the Stanley Hotel from The Shining .
4) The Original S.T.A.R.S. Team
The first Resident Evil movie did not have a single S.T.A.R.S. member in the movie. There were plenty of Umbrella operatives and zombie Umbrella employees but no Chris, Jill, Barry, or Wesker. We were introduced to Alice, who was a pretty sweet character in her own right, but she wasn’t Jill. They could have used Jill’s character; I mean she is a highly trained operative. And I never understood why Anderson was so far out of left field.
It would have been nice to see the progress of the T-virus and re-occuring characters from movie to movie, just like in the games. I’d even like to see in future movie installments just how Chris Redfield went from skinny little dude to WWE wrestler; that’s interesting to me. I want to see the old gang and their adventures in later movies. I mean, who doesn’t want Jill to have her own movie with the Nemesis? Or Claire and Leon finally meeting at the police station? I certainly do, and the reboot can be the beginning of those things if they just start at the right spot with the right characters.
3) Snakes, Spiders and Dogs, Oh My!
Zombies weren’t the only danger that fell upon the S.T.A.R.S. Team–there were also giant venomous spiders, rabid T-Virus infected dogs, crows, sharks, and even a giant snake. While I love to watch zombies get their collective brains shot out, it would be nice to see the studio utilize these other dangers in the mansion. One area on the mansion grounds was full of huge spiders, and at the end of that horror was a giant plant to kill. These scenes would be epic if made for the silver screen. I guess Anderson was too scared to have Alice face a murderous plant. I want to see Barry dispatch spiders with his magnum, Jill defeat the giant plant, and Chris weave his way to victory while fighting the giant snake, Yawn. All of these awesome scenes and plot points weren’t even touched in the first Resident Evil movie. Shame on you Paul W.S. Anderson, shame.
2) Albert Wesker
I’m still upset that Wesker is no longer in the video games, and the fact that he was played poorly in the movies upset me well. In Resident Evil, Wesker is a cool and collected villain that believes he has things completely under control. It isn’t until those meddling kids interfere and unleash a Tyrant on his frail blonde body. Obviously everyone knows now that Wesker is a sad excuse for a human being, so there would be no surprise in that. I think if he is written properly and cast correctly, he could still be a menacing heavy for our good guys. I would also hope that the director has enough sense to cast the voice actor, DC Douglas, to pull a James Earl Jones and voice the actor they cast. Wesker’s chilling voice is what makes him one of the most sinister villains ever created.
1) One-Shot Boss Fight Ending
The end of the first Resident Evil game was awesome and lackluster at the same time. Basically, all you had to do was run out the clock while the Tyrant tried to spear you with his freaky arm and wait for Brad to show up with the helicopter and rocket launcher. I always find it funny when a movie ends abruptly and leaves the audience with a huge “what if?”. If I were directing the movie, the final shot would include either Chris or Jill shooting the Tyrant with a rocket launcher, an explosion, and then closing credits. Fans of the game would certainly understand what happened and why it would end that way. Resident Evil 2 would begin with the chopper scene of Chris, Jill, and Barry flying to safety over Raccoon City, where the camera would then pan to Leon in his police cruiser, where his tale would begin. I think that would be an awesome way to link the movies and stay as close to canon as possible while leaving some suspense for the movie fans.
What do you think? Do you think the next studio that takes the helm of this franchise will keep it similar to the games, or will they go off the rails again? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter, @superjerry13.