Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Resident Evil: Death Island’ Brings Lots Of Action

REVIEW: ‘Resident Evil: Death Island’ Brings Lots Of Action

Charles HartfordBy Charles Hartford07/25/20234 Mins ReadUpdated:07/25/2023
Resident Evil Death Island - But Why Tho (1)
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Resident Evil Death Island - But Why Tho (1)

Zombies are cropping up across San Francisco, a weapon researcher has been taken by terrorists, and an orca has washed ashore with bite marks larger than any living creature could’ve made. What links all these events together? And why do they draw Leon Kennedy(Matthew Mercer), Jill Valentine(Nicole Tompkins), Rebecca Chambers(Erin Cahill), Chris(Kevin Dorman) and Clair Redfield(Stephanie Panisello) to Alcatraz Island? Resident Evil: Death Island by director Eiichirô Hasumi and writer Makoto Fukami take viewers to learn the answers to those exact questions. 

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

While I’ve never been able to get into the games that spawned the Resident Evil franchise, and the live-action movies did very little for me, the CGI offerings that the franchise has crafted manage to hit a sweet spot that I have always been able to get behind. While never great, they have always found a fun balance between action, character, and the RE franchise’s convoluted lore that lets them be part of the games’ larger narrative, without getting so deep into the weeds that it makes your eyes cross. Resident Evil: Death Island continues this pattern of fun, if mixed, results.

The first thing that most fans will notice about this offering is that it brings the entire core cast of the franchise together, a first as far as I can tell. Having the entire team drawn together to face a new menace is exciting in and of itself. How the movie draws Leon, Chris, Claire, Jill, and Rebecca manages to avoid any truly absurd narrative leaps to get them in place, allowing fans to enjoy the all-star roster, even as it comes with its drawbacks.

With a brisk hour and thirty minute run time, Resident Evil: Death Island is hard-pressed at times to give all of the star characters their due. Fans of Leon and Rebecca may be disappointed with the screen time their favs get, as the story comes to center much more on Jill and Chris. Adding more strain to this movie’s time crunch is the need to explore the franchise’s latest villain.

Sporting a haunted past that takes viewers on repeated flashback trips to the familiar Racoon City incident, the newest antagonist Dylan(Daman Mills) is given a solid amount of time to flesh out his character. Rather than a greedy corporate tycoon looking to get rich, Dylan’s motivations are based on revenge-driven, along with a hint of social justice. While this hint feels added to try to give the character a more complicated motive, it largely falls flat. The man is out to burn the world because the world burned him all those years ago. And he’s looking to start by taking down the so-called heroes he perceives as serving the status quo.

Resident Evil Death Island - But Why Tho (1)

While its sometimes rushed nature can hurt some of its narrative elements, Resident Evil: Death Island still finds plenty of time for some fantastic action sequences. From motorcycle chases to the endless waves of the undead, the movie manages to find ways to keep the action going in exciting ways, instead of devolving into a zombie version of whack-a-mole. The final climactic battle even features what I’m confident is the franchise’s biggest monster to date. Huge explosions, a multitude of weapons, and some smoothly animated hand-to-hand combat bring all of these sequences to gorgeous visual life.

The voice acting does a solid job of reinforcing the movie’s tension and danger. Headlined by vets like Mercer, the cast manages to help build the urgency and desperation of the movie’s scenario within the limited time they are given. The story takes some time to highlight how long the characters have been fighting these battles and the toll it has taken on them. The cast does a great job of emphasizing this theme through the delivery of their voice work.

Resident Evil: Death Island delivers what long-time fans of the CGI movies in this franchise should expect. Lots of explosions and exciting fight sequences dot a story that is good enough to get you from one dangerous encounter to the next. Coupled with solid voice acting, this film manages to deliver enough to make it worth the time of those invested in the franchise, or just want to see zombies get blown up.

Resident Evil: Death Island is available now on VOD.

Resident Evil: Death Island 

TL;DR

Resident Evil: Death Island delivers what long-time fans of the CGI movies in this franchise should expect. Lots of explosions and exciting fight sequences dot a story that is good enough to get you from one dangerous encounter to the next.

  • Watch Now With Our Affiliate Link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleFANTASIA 2023: ‘The Becomers’ Brings Vibrancy To Alien Romance
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Synduality Noir’ Episode 3 – “Behind the Mask”
Charles Hartford
  • X (Twitter)

Lifelong geek who enjoys comics, video games, movies, reading and board games . Over the past year I’ve taken a more active interest in artistic pursuits including digital painting, and now writing. I look forward to growing as a writer and bettering my craft in my time here!

Related Posts

The Old Guard 2
5.5

REVIEW: ‘The Old Guard 2’ Is Distracted And Half-Baked

07/02/2025
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World: Rebirth
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Is Best When Nobody Is Talking

06/30/2025
MEGAN 2.0 promotional image
7.0

REVIEW: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Puts Action First

06/29/2025
F1 (2025) promotional key art
8.0

REVIEW: ‘F1’ Is A High-Octane Blockbuster

06/24/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Promotional image form Netflix
9.0

REVIEW: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Brings Beautiful Animation And An Even Better Message

06/20/2025
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later
8.5

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ Is How Franchises Should Return

06/18/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

The Terminal List: Dark Wolf trailer First Look Image From Prime Video News

Prime Video Unleashes Teaser for Prequel Series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf

By Kate Sánchez07/04/2025

The first Terminal List: Dark Wolf trailer was released today by Prime Video. The series…

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here