I say this with all the love in our heart: this movie is dumb. That isn't to say it was bad. We enjoyed it quite a bit! Certainly, though, the movie is not smart. At times, is it clever? Maybe.
We begin with Bryan, a medical courier in the middle of an argument with his girlfriend. Through dialogue, we learn that his girlfriend (who we, god forgive, cannot remember the name of*) is pregnant with his child, and he's not sure if he's ready to take that step with her. We have to give the movie some credit here for not being too heavy-handed with this exposition. It might seem like a minor detail, but look, most final draft screenplays now have the annoying habit of overexplaining. Frankly, this pregnancy arc could have been removed entirely from the text without drastically changing the structure of it, but again, props where they're due.
Bryan is about to head home for the night when a hospital employee offers him one last late-night delivery. He rejects the offer, because of the aforementioned argument with his girlfriend, but balks when he hears the assignment provides double pay. I guess Bryan is strapped for cash, or maybe he's thinking about the financial cost of fatherhood? His motives might seem more concrete if you replaced this pregnancy conversation with one about bills.
Anyway, Bryan takes the job, and the delivery, it turns out, is headed to Raccoon City General. Even if you only have a passing familiarity with Resident Evil lore you can see where this is going. What follows is an ordinary person being thrown into a series of video game setpieces: icy roads, killer dogs, and walking corpses block Bryan's path to the city. It's an almost non-stop action about the worst night of Bryan's life. It's a bit like Die Hard, complete with the barefoot ascent of a skyscraper.
Of course, Bryan is no John McClane: he's a dweeby schlub who is not particularly athletic or combat-ready. As he petulantly whines at a couple points of the movie, he's "not a gun guy." Even when Bryan overcomes a challenge, you won't find him spitting a quippy, tough-as-nails one-liner, unless he stutters and stumbles over it. ("You fucking... monsters.") It's no wonder at all. This is a survival horror, after all, and Bryan is scared shitless. Your mileage might vary here, but a lot of our laughs came from watching Bryan be just some fucking guy.
For the most part, Bryan is a static character. Not to say he doesn't learn a thing or two—his problem-solving skills certainly are much-improved by the final act. On the other hand, he enters act three more or less how he starts: an unremarkable dude trying to scrape by. The exception to that lies in the relationship with his girlfriend. At the low point, he records a message for her apologizing for their earlier conversation. It seems he does want to be a father after all. Not ten minutes later, Bryan has to fight his way through RC General's maternity ward. Having faced his demons and resolved to be there for his girlfriend and child, Bryan now has the resolve to shoot a mutant spider baby in the face. Look, I don't know what the hell this is trying to say about parenthood. Maybe I'm the idiot.
Thematic stumble aside, the movie is a ton of fun, and the final act has the balls to put Bryan through some truly horrific shit just when it seems his hero's journey is over. Some have described the ending as "disappointing" or "abrupt," but I struggle to agree. It's cruel, sticky, and concise, which is so compelling in contrast to an otherwise silly romp. Why not check it out? Don't turn your brain off, please, just... don't expect to use it too much.
* Editor's Note: It's Michelle.