Zach Cregger’s love letter to the games is a stellar blend of homage and creative license

Some might consider me a “Resident Evil” fan. I’ve been playing the games since “Resident Evil 4” released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2005, and have played just about every game in the series since. I’ve watched every movie and show, live-action and animated, since the Milla Jovovich-starring original movie premiered in 2002. I own collector’s editions, statues, box sets — you name it. So trust me when I say this: The new live-action “Resident Evil” movie is the best nongame entry in the franchise, bar none. It’s also one of the best films of the year.

Directed by Zach Cregger of “Weapons” and “Barbarian” fame (he co-wrote the script with Shay Hatten), “Resident Evil” strikes the perfect balance between homage and creative license. The film tells an original story that happens parallel with the events of the “Resident Evil 2” game (though set in modern day, rather than 1998). Medical courier Bryan (a gut-bustingly hilarious Austin Abrams, who also starred in “Weapons”) is already having a tough night: His girlfriend tells him she’s pregnant, he can’t get a proper signature on whatever he just delivered last — maybe a kidney, maybe a liver — and he’s very clearly over it all. But then he’s offered some serious cash to take a Very Important Package to Raccoon City General.

Read the full review at The Seattle Times.

Five “Hello?” stars out of five, and a critic’s pick.

Photo caption: Austin Abrams in “Resident Evil.” (Dušan Martincek / Sony Pictures)