Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Screen Gems | Release Date: November 24, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
44
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
12
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
CNETSean KeaneNov 23, 2021
Despite the lack of scares, minor tweaks to the games' lore and overall silliness, director Johannes Roberts' love for Resident Evil is clear in every moment of Welcome to Raccoon City. With a barrage of Easter eggs and fascinating takes on classic characters, the film's a gleeful trip back to the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon Police Department aimed squarely at fans. Read full review
80
Screen RantFerdosa AbdiNov 23, 2021
Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City is a fun and faithful adaptation of the games it is based on, but is lacking in character substance. Read full review
75
Paste MagazineMatt DonatoNov 24, 2021
Everything I’ve been asking for from a Resident Evil movie? Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City accomplishes. Read full review
75
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiNov 22, 2021
The film is empty-headed good fun that’s blessedly under two hours and has just enough character development to make you kind of care when someone gets bitten. Read full review
63
PolygonJesse HassengerNov 24, 2021
For all of its limitations and points of departure from the previous series, though, Raccoon City maintains that lineage of B-movies made with skill. Read full review
60
IGNTaylor LylesNov 23, 2021
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City sticks admirably closely to its source material, but an overly stuffed story and rushed third act hold it back. Read full review
58
The Film StageEthan VestbyDec 2, 2021
By the time the climax with a big CGI beastie arrives and basically ends before it begins, the slightly unsatisfying feelings of Raccoon City become cemented. Read full review
58
Original-CinThom ErnstNov 29, 2021
Raccoon City is most fun when showcasing Avan Jogia as a rookie cop who’d been transferred to Raccoon City after accidentally shooting his partner in the butt—a bad joke that Jogia turns into a workable gag. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleTrace SauveurNov 29, 2021
It’s not terrible as far as video game adaptations go, but as with many of them you’ll be wondering what the point is when a superior experience already exists. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoNov 24, 2021
It's depressingly easy to chart where this film is going to go and who's going to make it to the inevitable sequel. There’s one thing a great horror game can never be (and something one couldn’t really accuse the Anderson movies of being either): predictable. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineMark HansonNov 22, 2021
Johannes Roberts’s prequel ultimately remains buried by its indifference to unchecked corporate power. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubCharles BramescoNov 23, 2021
Alas, there’s no covert greatness to the just-plain-underwhelming Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City, a reboot totally bereft of the visual distinction or creative personality that often made its predecessors intriguing diamonds in the rough. Read full review
40
EmpireJames WhiteDec 3, 2021
This latest visit to Raccoon City captures the games’ spirit but fails to translate that to cinematic thrills. Read full review
40
The GuardianLeslie FelperinDec 2, 2021
The competence of the action sequences compensates somewhat for the underlying lack of wit or humour throughout, unless you count the smile-inducing call backs to ancient 90s technology. Read full review
40
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaNov 24, 2021
Whatever the flaws of the previous "Resident Evil" series, those films were never as dull as "Raccoon City." Roberts doesn't seem to know how to milk anything resembling genuine horror out of the material here. Read full review
40
The New York TimesAmy NicholsonNov 24, 2021
The only surprise is that Roberts shuns cheap jump scare surprises in favor of well-crafted suspense scenes that play out like a game of three card monte. There’s delight in cinematographer Maxime Alexandre and editor Dev Singh’s slow-building visual gags. Read full review
40
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellNov 23, 2021
Add on another star, or perhaps even two, if you're a fan of the games, but Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City will struggle to win over those who aren't familiar with the franchise. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 29, 2021
If indeed this is a full on franchise reboot, this “origin story” is no "Welcome to Raccoon City" at all. It’s a warning to avoid ever coming back. Read full review
30
VarietyNick SchagerNov 23, 2021
In any decade, the film’s bevy of unexplained details, dropped subplots, paper-thin characterizations and fright-free mayhem would disappoint. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesKimber MyersNov 22, 2021
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City” may reward longtime fans of the video games by returning to the series’ origins, but others will find themselves wanting to leave town, much like the movie’s characters. Read full review
20
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiNov 24, 2021
“Welcome to Raccoon City” overstuffs itself with so many characters and plot points that nothing has room to develop. The pretty-good cast gets buried alive in a rushed and ill-conceived screenplay, and it doesn’t help that the film is murkily photographed and tonally dreary. Read full review
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