Very visually pleasing, but still missing something

Rating: 8/10 (10 September 2010)

Okay, first off, I am a die hard RE fan for both the video games and for the movies. At first I was dissatisfied with the movies because they didn't go along with the games at all. Then i opened my mind to the concept and I can appreciate the direction they went in. However, I do have some problems with the character portrayals and with some of the tactical effects. But don't get me wrong, I have some props for this film as well.
First the good: The movie was very visually entertaining. I enjoyed the blood and gore, though less than the previous movies. The zombies looked great and the introduction of the zombies resembling the Las Plagas from the RE 4 and 5 games was refreshing. The axe wielding Brute was also a welcome adaptation and had an awesome fight scene. I also loved the fight scene and conflict with Wesker. FINALLY!! WELL DONE!
Now the bad: Though the reuniting of Claire and Chris was a much anticipated moment that just about every true fan was waiting for, something fell through. Chris was not accurately portrayed. If the writers are going to stray away from the video game stories, at least keep the character personas accurate, otherwise it is no longer Resident Evil- but something else entirely. Chris is a highly trained member of the RPD STARS unit, and later in the games (RE5) he is a government operative. They failed to portray this. His actions in the movie were sloppy and almost like a civilian picked up a gun and started shooting. This lack of precision disturbs me because i know that the film crew is capable of this. In RE Apocalypse, Carlos and Nikolai demonstrated this precision. One shot kills, and their movements were tight. They weren't spraying bullets everywhere. This is what Chris's character should have been. The writers need to play RE 1, Code Veronica, and 5 through and understand the character of Chris Redfield. To bring such a huge character from the game into the movie and have him just..... punked is such an injustice.
Now some questions: Is this really the last movie? There is such a cliffhanger- Wesker possibly survives (Parachute in the background after the plane explosion) and Umbrella is closing in on the ship. Who is the chick on the incoming plane in the closing scene? Seems very reminiscent of the Presidents daughter (Ashley i believe) from the RE 4 video game, Which leaves it open to a possible Leon Kennedy adaptation. So why end the movies here? The movie was great overall... just missing some things.