Resident Evil: Retribution is a movie that really struggles to make characters compelling and relatable. In turn, most are just bland in personality, while being entertaining and interesting in other aspects; like action scenes or badass moments. While I was genuinelly entertained by the movie, the characters are in fact among the worst in the franchise’s history. In turn, I am in the camp with people who don’t like the characters. However, I felt like I still wanted to create a list, just like I did with previous RE movies. So, let’s count down the top 5 best Resident Evil: Retribution characters!
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5. Becky
Before you get a pitchfork, chase me down and assault me, let me explain myself. Simply put, I refuse to acknowledge anyone else, as the movie featured decent actors who came across as cheap cosplayers. In turn Aryana Engineer‘s Becky was the only one I could think of for the 5th spot, and thus, I’ll gladly give it to her! However, it’s not like she doesn’t deserve recognition, because she does. In turn, I’ll happily shine a spotlight on her performance.
When you consider that Aryana is a child actor, who’s deaf and has a Cochlear implant, what she was able to do as Becky is nothing short of impressive. Aryana gives a very convincing performance, with a sense of vulnerability that makes her a character that you care about. I mean, a lot of it has to do with writing, no doubt, but Aryana’s subtle facial expressions and reactions felt rather genuine. Not an easy feat to accomplish when you can’t hear, right? But what really puts her above the rest is that she actually acted well, something I sadly cannot say for the likes of Boris Kodjoe, Johann Urb, Robin Kasyanov and Kevin Durand.
4. Ada Wong
Yikes! This is a polarizing character, isn’t it? Some love it, some hate it. Maybe it’s just me, but my soft spot for Ada Wong made me enjoy Bingbing Li‘s portrayal of the character. I just really think that there’s a nice balance of secretive behavior, good intentions and light-heartedness. In turn, the subtlety of the character works, which is also an important part of Ada Wong. Now, it’s not all positive, as while I might’ve enjoyed the performance, it came across very “put on” and plastic. I simply didn’t believe that Li was actually Ada Wong, but I was entertained by her performance. With that being said, it was a decent job, with its positive and negatives. So I’m happy to name her the 4th best character on my list!
3. Good Rain & Bad Rain
This is cheating, isn’t it? Including both Good Rain and Bad Rain on the same spot? Honestly, I find Good Rain to be bland, and Bad Rain to be a caricature of the OG Rain. So I thought I just combine the two, as Michelle Rodriguez plays both of them, and does a solid job, as per usual!
Michelle Rodriguez must’ve been working with a time limit, considering how poorly the Good Rain comes across on the screen. While it’s merely my opinion, I feel like they took her worst takes and put them in the movie. It’s overacted in some parts and underacted in others parts. There’s just no consistency, and while I find Michelle’s performance to be endearing, it’s just not that good.
Bad Rain, who’s a copy of the original Rain from Resident Evil (2002), is 10 times better than Good Rain. While she falls short of the OG, Bad Rain is still a good character, especially when compared to others in Retribution. She’s not boring like Luther West, and not stiff like Leon S. Kennedy. If anything, Michelle’s overacting method works wonders with Bad Rain, as she’s a badass villain, with many over-the-top and impactful moments. In turn, she’s actually a very entertaining character to follow, with a backstory that makes her intriguing. But above and beyond that, it’s her on-screen kick-assery that makes her rank high!
2. Jill Valentine
Seeing Sienna Guillory return as Jill Valentine put a huge smile on my face! Well, considering that I ranked her #1 on my list of the best Resident Evil: Apocalypse characters, I was glad to see her back in action!
Jill Valentine is one of the many villains of Resident Evil: Retribution, but she’s easily the most memorable of them all. The reason is simple; her screen time is well used. She’s not overdone or seen to much to lose her mystique, giving her an intimidating aura. Add to that her amazing action scenes, and the intriguing backstory, and you got yourself a pretty darn compelling bad guy! However, she wasn’t given a proper storyline, which is obviously a negative. They simply could’ve done so much more to explain her from Apocalypse to Retribution. In turn, she’s the movie’s cool character that has some pretty creative action scenes.
Let’s me honest, shall we? The characters in this movie are not that good, which means that it comes down to the small things. What was actually entertaining and interesting? What made me enjoy the movie? When I try to break it down in my head, I just feel like Jill Valentine was just more captivating and entertaining than everyone, except for Alice. With that being said, I give the 2nd spot on my list of the best Resident Evil: Retribution characters to Jill Valentine!
1. Alice
For whatever reason, Milla Jovovich is like a rollercoaster when it comes to Alice. She simply can’t find the soft spot of the character, and I don’t know who’s the blame? Is it Milla’s inability to portray the character’s growth properly or is it the writers that don’t know what they’re doing? Now that I’m thinking about it, it’s definitely the writers! But luckily for Milla, Retribution is one of her better films, at least when it comes to her performance as Alice.
Believe it or not, I really liked the look of Retribution. It’s clean, high-contrast and the fight scenes are jaw-droppingly well-coreographed. In turn, I feel like Milla’s performance was enhanced and highlighted, because she’s really good at on-screen fighting. I may even go as far as to say that Retribution has some of my favorite fights in the entire Resident Evil film series. Therefore, Alice shines brightly, with numerous memorable moments.
While it’s still a close call between Jill Valentine and Alice, considering the poor writing, I have to favor Alice, as Milla was feeling very comfortable in Retribution. It’s pretty easy to see, and thus, I’m crowning Alice #1 on my list of the best Resident Evil: Retribution characters!