Synopsis:

With my edit, Leon and Claire become the heroes of their own stories, and the simpler plot trims the runtime to less than 90 minutes, leaving a quick and more enjoyable experience to wrap up before it overstays its welcome.

Intentions:

After 20 years of bad live-action adaptations of Resident Evil, “Welcome to Raccoon City” is my favorite, so I figured I might as well try to optimize it. I like the casting, cinematography, original score, set design, and how it at least generally emulates the structure of the first two games. I dislike the bloated plot and out-of-character behavior, especially for Leon.

Change List:

MAJOR EDITS: • Removed subplots I thought broke immersion, slowed pacing, or otherwise were executed poorly: - Chris and Claire growing up at the orphanage, including all flashbacks. Although: The Redfields still lost their parents at a young age, Chris still grew up under William and Umbrella's influence, and Claire still ran away from home and distrusts William and Umbrella. - Everything related to Lisa, who doesn’t make sense without the flashbacks • Significantly reframed how Leon's characterized. He's still a rookie, but: - He's no longer at the receiving end of every criticism, outburst, or joke - He didn’t transfer to Raccoon City because of a friendly fire accident - He doesn’t appear to be touching a gun for the first time - He doesn’t let Ben steal the gun - He defends himself more proactively • Removed the mid-credits scene, partly because it's cheesy and partly because it teases a highly unlikely sequel • Changed some of the background music where necessary because of heavily edited scenes • Updated the logo and time stamps to emulate the style of the video game series MINOR EDITS: • Removed a shot of Claire eating unrefrigerated pizza • Removed dialogue suggesting Leon's interested in Jill romantically • Removed dialogue/shots suggesting a Chris/Jill/Wesker love triangle • Removed or shortened some of Chief Irons' outbursts • Removed a generic “creepy children’s toy” shot

Other Sources:

"Don't Drink the Water" by Dave Matthews Band