Why the Resident Evil Netflix live action is so bad

If you’ve been on social media lately, chances are you’ll have noticed posts describing how bad the Resident Evil Netflix adaptation is. While the franchise has been on a winning streak in terms of their video games like Resident Evil 7, Village and the Remakes, fans are no stranger to the series’ shoddy films and shows.

However, it really does seem that the recently released live action series is taking the series to an all-time low. The Netflix series is sitting at an audience score of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest audience-scored Resident Evil film/TV series to date, but why exactly is it so bad?

“Wait…what?”

While the series does have its good moments and some questionable creative choices, the biggest backlash is largely fueled by its writing. Yes, the Resident Evil games are no stranger to campy, out of place one liners like the famous “Jill Sandwich” or moments like Chris Redfield punching a boulder out of the way, but things like anime references feel completely out of place.

Clannad aside, the series also brings up Deca-Dence and a horribly botched pronunciation of the torrent site Nyaa.

As far as I can remember, there were zero or at most, barely any mentions of anime in the Resident Evil games. Thus, you can’t blame fans of the games for feeling that the Netflix series is so out of place. Then of course, we have this notorious scene—something straight out of a musical:

The series would probably fare a lot better without the Resident Evil branding, simply because it adds too many elements which make people question if they’re even watching something related to Resident Evil in the first place. Sure, the Milla Jovovich Resident Evil films are over the top and also bad, but unlike the Netflix series, it actually feels like a proper zombie film. No matter how good or bad a piece of media is, if it doesn’t represent its brand, it’s bound to be disliked.

If you’re looking for a better (but still mediocre) Resident Evil series on Netflix, check out Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness.

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