As with any series that’s lasted nearly three decades, there have been ups and downs, but the best of the Resident Evil games represent some of the highest highs of the medium. The same level of praise can’t be spread to the movies, which are content to settle for guilty pleasure status. Of course, it’s important to mention the movies remain popular for two full decades since the original, and they’ve grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide. To celebrate the release of Netflix’s new live-action Resident Evil series (streaming July 14), we’ve ranked the most popular video game movie series of all time from worst to best. For this list, we’re including all theatrical feature films in the series, from Paul W.S. Anderson’s six-film action saga starring real-life wife Milla Jovovich to 2021’s reboot Welcome to Raccoon City. Here is the definitive ranking of all Resident Evil movies worst to best.
Resident Evil Movies Ranked From Worst to Best
7. Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
There are Resident Evil movies with dumber plots and even sillier set pieces, but Apocalypse is a low point mainly because of the execution of the non-stop action, which is poor, even headache-inducing. Producer Anderson didn’t direct this one; his steadier hand (and steadier camera work) is sorely missed. The plot is basically the same as the first film: photogenic operatives and civilians, led by Project Alice (Jovovich) and sharpshooter Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory), must reach a destination while battling mutated zombies and creatures. The action isn’t remarkable enough to hold that thin plot together; it’s all frantically edited to abrasive effect. Ironic considering the games’ fixed-camera origins. Getty Images Even the shimmer of Jovovich, a fine actress who’s always elevated these movies as genetically enhanced Umbrella test subject Alice, is muted amidst the noise. Roger Ebert considered Resident Evil: Apocalypse among his most hated movies, calling it “an utterly meaningless waste of time.”
6. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
The shark is jumped and then some in The Final Chapter, which, to its credit, did in fact turn out to be the proper end of the Alice saga, the last big-screen Resident Evil until Welcome to Raccoon City five years later. Sony Pictures Like with Apocalypse, shaky-cam action is cut so frenetically it’s disorienting rather than exciting. The plot overloads new elements that affect the series’ timeline, as if to reiterate this is the final chapter mentioned in the title. Jovovich is game as ever, but she’s underutilized, especially considering this is the finale. The Resident Evil movies never aimed to be high art, but the finale of a long-running, well-liked franchise should have been more rousing than this. The Red Queen’s “You’re all going to die down here” as a post-credits stinger is a nice touch, though.
5. Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
In Afterlife, Alice faces a Los Angeles overrun with zombies and the villainous Wesker (Shawn Roberts), with the help of fan-favorite playable characters Claire (Ali Larter) and Chris (Wentworth Miller) Redfield. Sony Pictures This is really silly, but it’s pleasurable if you just submit to it. Alice loses her T-virus-enhanced powers in Afterlife, yet still defies physics, maybe even more than before. Afterlife also doubles down on cloning plot elements, which makes it even harder to care about the stakes, though it’s a smart move for stacking more set pieces. A rather infamous fight scene near the end is funnier than most comedies, but the cheesy excess and weightlessness on display here is better staged and far less grating than The Final Chapter or Apocalypse. The first Resident Evil shot in 3D, this picture was a tremendous success, grossing five times its $60 million budget.
4. Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
In Retribution, familiar faces from the games appear. Overall, it’s a mixed but harmless, endearing bag. Of course, fans were excited to see Leon S. Kennedy (Johann Urb), but he gets limited time to shine. The hand-to-hand fights of Retribution are better choreographed than the airy nonsense in Afterlife (especially bits with Michelle Rodriguez, who’s always great at this kind of thing). The last act of Retribution takes a quick break from being a Resident Evil movie to be Aliens for a while. This definitely isn’t James Cameron, but Aliens is one of relatively few perfect films out there, and even a lightweight homage conjures up some euphoric recall. If there is one thing Retribution nails, it’s enigmatic badass Ada Wong (Li Bingbing).
3. Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
After two movies that, despite no shortage of flair, seemed unsure about establishing a signature style, desert-set Extinction has a visual identity. Even if that’s borrowed from Mad Max and elsewhere, that’s something. The zombie effects here are also a significant upgrade, and the action has more heft. Extinction stands out as among the sturdiest of the series, written by Anderson and directed by Highlander’s Russ Mulcahy. Previously more of a presence than a character, Alice is better fleshed out here. Some fans have criticized the films for letting Alice (who appears in the movies exclusively) dominate screen time over legacy characters from the games. Jovovich’s considerable charisma and physical chops simply outshine the other elements. She’s really good in these movies.
2. Resident Evil (2002)
The Matrix was released three years before Anderson’s original Resident Evil, and its influence is more apparent than that of Capcom’s games. This is a hard pivot into action—with some horror—in an era when virtually everything was referencing The Matrix’s futuristic stamp. The influence would carry through later Resident Evil films, too. The idea of a high-tech sci-fi zombie thriller was fresh at the time (this is a year before 28 Days Later’s shot in the arm to the sub-genre), and though it never aims to be more than a B-movie, it succeeds at that. Anderson’s original is a relatively humble, cheesy pleasure that glides on the charm of Jovovich and Rodriguez, who performed a lot of their own stunts. The laser hallway is an iconic, gory set-piece, the zombie dogs are satisfyingly icky and for all the substance the movie lacks, it’s got plenty of mindless rewatch value.
1. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
From stained glass windows to cramped shadowy hallways to “Moonlight Sonata,” Johannes Roberts’ reboot feels so much more like Resident Evil than any previous films in the series it’s not even worth comparing in that regard. Adapting mostly from the first two games in the series (and set in 1998, when Resident Evil 2 was released), this nails the source material’s aesthetic. Sony Pictures The story and characters are mostly on-point, too. Welcome to Raccoon City boasts an appealing and talented young cast as the games’ foremost legacy characters. Front and center are Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield and Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy. Both actors, who’ve been flat-out great elsewhere, are magnetic and appealing, even if scripting federal agent Leon as a bit of an airhead here was met with raised eyebrows from fans. Developed by Andrew Dabb and starring Lance Reddick as Albert Wesker, Netflix’s new live-action series, despite releasing mere months after Welcome to Raccoon City, will establish a new continuity that’s not directly linked. This movie got enough right that fans would likely welcome a proper sequel. Next, check out the 101 best science fiction movies of all time.
