I was initially annoyed when I heard the news that the Resident Evil film series was going to get a reboot so soon after having dominated theater screens for about 15 years. You could hardly blame Sony Pictures and Constantin given how much money they made though. The one silver lining was that fans of the source material might finally get a movie with a little fidelity. It's no secret that Paul W.S. Anderson's hexalogy had almost nothing to do with the games it was supposedly based on. He might have borrowed a monster design or a name here and there, but for the most part created his own mutated beast complete with an original protagonist and everything. Well, upon having now watched this revival of the franchise's cinematic half I can state for certain that gamers have at long last received an adaptation that actually has something to do with the stuff they've played. The heroes are all familiar faces like Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine, and Chris Redfield while the story sees them uncovering the secrets of Spencer Mansion and, of course, surviving the outbreak in Raccoon City. Both locations found in the original two PS1 classics. It even fully embraces the property's horror roots by going heavy on the scare attempts rather than just focusing primarily on the action like its predecessors did. Unfortunately, all this faithfulness is kind of wasted given that the feature presentation itself isn't very good. When the characters are shooting their way through the undead to try and escape their doomed town, it's alright. Things go straight down the toilet though the second someone opens their mouth, usually to utter a line of profanity, or the narrative tries to give an explanation behind the whole scenario. The writing is just so bad with the new takes on the cast turning some members of it into bumbling idiots for an intended comedic effect that feels wildly out of place, as well as there being elements that make no sense like how the entire police force is the only portion of the local population to be unaffected by the "Umbrella" pharmaceutical company's deranged experiment for some reason. There are aspects I can praise. The set design is fantastic with a lot of interesting little details to pick out in the backgrounds. Every environment manages to capture a vibe and atmosphere that reminded me of what terrifying Playstation gems I have managed to play, such as the first Silent Hill, and watching the survivors battle groups of great looking zombies in their cramped interiors can be genuinely tense as Johannes Roberts has a knack for crafting unsettling scenarios. The score is also fantastic. It's got some serious issues with the plotting and dialogue however, and they're enough to derail the entire experience. Perhaps this will go over better with someone who has a greater appreciation for the works that inspired it. Personally, I've only ever touched the 5th, 6th, and Revelations spin-off titles so I'm sure the majority of the Easter Eggs and parts recreated onscreen missed their intended mark with me. Still, even if you do manage to pick up on everything that doesn't change the fact that it's largely cheap fan service in lieu of legitimate quality. Not saying that isn't enough to provide a good time, but in my mind it can't save this from somehow being the worst Resident Evil flick. I'd be down to attend a sequel regardless.