“Resident Evil” Reboot “Welcome to Raccoon City” Heads Home

The original live-action Resident Evil franchise - with six films and more than a billion dollars in worldwide gross - wasn't exactly a critical darling. But for Paul W.S. Anderson auteurs, they had their own weird energy and a compelling lead in Milla Jovovich. While the 2017 entry The Final Chapter seemed to put a definitive end to the series, Sony Pictures holds onto their IP. Thus a reboot that no one wanted (Welcome to Raccoon City) arrived with a whimper last fall, barely earning back its small budget. The only positive note it received: being "faithful to the video game series," which is the most back-handed compliment I can think of for a film.

But fans (if there are any) can pick up a lavish 4K steelbook, featuring collectible fan art posters. This version, along with the standard Blu-ray and DVD releases, will arrive on February 8. For those who can't wait, or are just morbidly curious, the digital-only version hits online retailers on January 18.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.