"Resident Evil" migrates to Netflix as a very bleak series after seven live-action movies (including a reboot last year).

Taking place in the present and future, it isn't particularly engaging in either timeline, feeling more like a derivative of what's already been done.

There's not much reason to care about running from computer-generated creatures in the series, which stars Ella Balinska (the 2019 version of "Charlie's Angels") as Jade Wesker.

A long time ago, the world ended," she says somberly, before cutting back and forth between her grown-up world and what happened in Raccoon City back then.

Unfortunately, the past mostly plays like another teen show, mixing issues from high school with suspicious happenings at the Umbrella Corp facility that employs Jade's father.

In this laboratory, nothing good happens, and the question is, how has the deadly virus unleashed there brought about the ornate hell that Jade now finds herself in? Otherwise, we shouldn't waste our time worrying about it.

"Assembled, Resident Evil" is generic, from the teen angst in that half of the story to the strange operative (Turlough Convery) on Jade's trail and the hideous threats created by the virus.

After a half-dozen action-packed films, Milla Jovovich can probably attest to Balinska's talent as a lead despite the restrictive nature of the script.

This is one of those concepts where the right to use the "Resident Evil" name is more than half the battle for the producers. As far as connecting with fans is concerned, that may be true only for Netflix.

The latest adaptation, however, suggests that any aspirations beyond branding and commerce have ended long ago, just as in the pre-virus world Jade mentions.

The Netflix series "Resident Evil" premieres on July 14.

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