Entertainment
The Sci-Fi Movie So Bad It Should Have Killed The Franchise, But Didn't
Zombies are the least of Alice’s problems.
By Joshua Tyler
| Published
Zombies are the least of Alice’s problems in Resident Evil: Retribution. Most franchises that make it to five movies start to run out of ideas, but if Retribution had one glaring problem when it was released in 2012, it’s that it has far too many of them.
Resident Evil: Retribution starts out as sort of a Resident Evil’s greatest hits with Alice (Milla Jovovich) reawakening yet again in the clutches of the Umbrella organization. The movie quickly invents a series of convoluted and confusing reasons for her to re-enact some of her greatest zombie battles from previous franchise entries and then proceeds to pit her against not only a rogue’s gallery of her greatest historical foes but also her most stalwart friends.
None of this makes any sense, and if you haven’t seen the five previous films, it’ll make even less. Don’t bother trying unless you’re already a serious Resident Evil fan.
Of course, the Resident Evil franchise has never been all that focused on developing intricate plot details, and that’s always been part of the fun. Yet they may have gone too far in this one; it was here that the franchise reached a place where it’s not only impossible to figure out what’s going on, but at some point, you don’t care.
You know where this is going, why it’s going there, and what it’s going to take to get there is irrelevant. Action scenes play out in extreme slow motion and seem to drag on forever. Even the most boring scene plays out at half-speed as if they needed to pad the movie’s running time.
Though the reasons for it don’t make much sense, the best part of Retribution is the return of some of the franchise’s greatest supporting actors. In particular, at the time, it was nice to see Michelle Rodriguez back on screen. We hadn’t seen her swaggering badass character since she was killed off in the first movie back in 2002. She owns every second she’s given in Resident Evil: Retribution, but there’s still all too little of her. Everything’s better with more Rodriguez.
The Resident Evil movies have always been a great little guilty pleasure, a special-effects-laden ride through a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world controlled by an evil corporate empire. But there’s less pleasure than usual in this one; it never comes together as anything other than a bunch of random ideas someone threw out in the hopes that at least one of them might work well enough to make fans happy with it. None of them do, and fan or not, it’s unlikely you’ll be happy you watched Resident Evil 5.
After the giddy, extravagant success of the fourth movie, Resident Evil: Retribution was a big letdown. It’s a flat and lifeless action movie that feels like it’s mostly going through the motions.
If you’re a Resident Evil completist, you’ll probably still want to see Retribution. After all, it has Ada Wong in it. If you’re ready to watch, Resident Evil: Retribution is available to stream.
Despite its poor reception, Resident Evil: Retribution didn’t kill the franchise. They managed one more entry, released in 2017, before Resident Evil went full reboot.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for July 5, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re a dog lover.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Barking up the right tree
The words are related to animals.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe types of dogs.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
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NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Hunting Breeds.
NYT Strands word list for July 5
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Pointer
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Spaniel
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Retriever
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Hound
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Hunting Breeds
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Terrier
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 5, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you’re Hindu.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
A religious teacher.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
There are no recurring letters.
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Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter S.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
SWAMI
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for July 5, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
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If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
To spill.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
SLOSH
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Hurdle Word 2 hint
Side face.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
CHEEK
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Hurdle Word 3 hint
Slope.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
SLANT
Hurdle Word 4 hint
Not a friend.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
HATER
Final Hurdle hint
Maneuver a car.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
DRIVE
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
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