Resident Evil (2026) has one of the best implementations of video game pov elements in a film

I hadn't seen any posts specifically about this, and since we've got so many threads going already on whether the film was good or not (I loved it), I wanted to talk about something more specific.

I felt like the use of first and third person camera perspectives was really well done. Now, we've seen movies do it before, even ones not based on games per se. When they're done well they're awesome, but often they can feel quite artificial and forced, and dont gel well with the rest of the movie. Cregger did speak a lot about this element in pre release interviews, and this had me both excited and a bit worried about it being overt or poorly done.

Luckily, they nailed it. One thing I really appreciate is that the camera still feels organic and kinetic in a way that reads film first, game second, if that makes sense.

There are some shots where its very close to fps gun movement, but theres still some very tactile shake and weight to it. It also never overstays its welcome and acts more as punctuation or locking in to the tense and nervous anticipation of a gunshot.

With the third person camera as well, I liked that they had a camera operator organically tracking Austin Abrams' pov and movement. It reads well as movement and significance centered on him moving through space and situation, without becoming an artificial, over stabilized 3d camera.