RESIDENT EVIL: INFINITE DARKNESS

I've always been a fan of the Resident Evil franchise since I played the Resident Evil 4 video game while growing up. Over the years there has been lots of Resident Evil media releases ranging from video games, animated movies, live action movies and manga. I've always been following them closely and when I heard a new release is coming in form of an animated tv series. I was totally all in. For those not familiar with the Resident Evil franchise, it might be a little difficult to catch up to some of the references that might be made in this show but that shouldn't get in the way of your experience.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is set between the events of Resident Evil 4 and 5 Video games. The plot follows Leon being invited to the white house to investigate a hacking incident and Claire investigating a conspiracy involving bioterrorism and Mad Dog unit (a U.S. military squad) in Panamstan after encountering a strange drawing made by a refugee kid. Both protagonist's findings eventually lead them to a common enemy.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is four episodes long and I found it weird because it could have been made into just one movie that is two hours or one hour thirty minutes long. Each episode is on the average of twenty-five minutes long. On the bright side, it's a show that you can easily binge in one-sitting. It doesn't waste time in getting to the main action and introducing what the franchise is known for, conspiracies, bioterrorist attack with zombies and monsters. We get to see all that straight from the first episode and everything.

As a long-time fan of the franchise, there isn't really much to talk about that isn't to be expected. By the time I was done with the four episodes and not being a stranger to the Resident Evil tropes I found the storyline to be underwhelming. It is set in a timeline that fans are already familiar with and the storytelling is familiar and not new even though it's a new story but the pattern and presentation wasn't just mind blowing for me. If you're a fan of the games, you will know that the style of storytelling had changed since Resident Evil 7. Resident Evil: Infinite Darkeness felt like the creators were just going through a bunch of checklists of what is to be expected of a resident evil title without doing anything out of the box. I don't see them take any form of risk to impress the audience by any means with their storytelling. Although it's a story that has not being told considering the timeline but after watching it felt like a story I've experienced like fifteen times.

It might seem I'm being too critical about this show but almost any fan would agree with me on this. On the bright side, a stranger to the franchise might actually find this show quite interesting. It's got a standard conspiracy element to it and that alone might interest some newcomers but for old fans it's just a cinematic meh. Just to mention this, there are barely these types of animated movies or tv series around anymore. So that might also be an area of interest for some; the animation is of great quality by the way.

The solution to the issue I found with the storytelling of this show is actually very simple. The creators of the show could have followed the steps of the recent installments in the video game franchise by making the series more horror focused with less action and spectacles. Don't get me wrong, conspiracy is still a core of the Resident Evil storytelling that can't be separated; that will also be needed. They could have created a new protagonist, but taking such is high unlikely. Although if it is well executed, why not? They could have also created a story that takes place in an isolated location with the protagonist having fewer resources to work with; that makes for an intense situation with high odds stacking against them. All these are just my personal opinion.

Finally, should you watch this tv show? That's a question that depends on who is asking and what their expectations are? As aforementioned, old fans of the franchise won't really find this series thrilling but newcomers might be thrilled about a thing or two. 

My verdict on this one. I will say it's an average experience. After watching this show you might want to consider checking out other Resident Evil animated movies that are out there like Resident Evil: Damnation, Resident Evil: Degeneration and Resident Evil: Vendetta.