i am genuinely fascinated by how they managed to adapt the cheesy 90's action horror movie vibe of the original to match what would come out in a modern cinema now. it's still cheesy fun, but i couldn't shake the feeling i was part of a cheesy action horror blockbuster released in the dead heat of the summer. it feels good, it progresses well, and the backtracking never hurt or felt like padding. reworks of certain bosses and set pieces work so well in some respects that i'm genuinely glad i took my time with this re4make.
my only objection is the voice acting; leon's voice actor does some great work in bringing the remake timeline's version of the guy to life. there's a lot of nuance and care put into bringing leon to a modern audience. while gao's performance was (arguably suitably) stilted, it's apostolides as leon who sometimes misses the mark, erring too close to genuine hero and not close enough to tongue in cheek. considering what a big fan he is of the original, i imagine this is less of a problem with him as a performer, though, and more in line with issues the voice director has had.
my only objection is the voice acting; leon's voice actor does some great work in bringing the remake timeline's version of the guy to life. there's a lot of nuance and care put into bringing leon to a modern audience. while gao's performance was (arguably suitably) stilted, it's apostolides as leon who sometimes misses the mark, erring too close to genuine hero and not close enough to tongue in cheek. considering what a big fan he is of the original, i imagine this is less of a problem with him as a performer, though, and more in line with issues the voice director has had.