RE 4: Remake's Lily Gao Response to Critics Is...Interesting.

With the release of the highly anticipated Resident Evil 4: Remake there has been some praise for the graphics, the game play and even criticism on the voice actress hired to play Ada Wong.

Lily Gao isn't a stranger to the character as she portrayed her in the poorly received live action film, Welcome To Racoon City........*SPOILER ALERT*......for the end credit scene, as seen here:

That quick scene was supposed to set up a sequel but due to the movie's failure to capture the hearts and attention of fans (who had hoped it would be better than the Milla Jovovich films) it didn't work out in their favor.

So fast forward to a year later where she was announced as the new voice actress for Ada Wong. Some people held out hope because she didn't say enough in the film and figured maybe she will shine in the voice acting...yet she didn't.

Instead of delivering a performance that many fans of the game franchise would be excited to see in the remake, her voice acting as the femme fatale, fell flatter than the live action Jem & The Holograms.

While again, critics and fans praised the game except for Gao's performance; this caused the actress to delete her Instagram posts and post a response that we're going to dissect now.

Lily Gao's Response to Critics:

Now before we dive into this, let me start out by saying I am very open minded when it comes to casting of characters I have grown up with and have seen different versions of.

I am excited to see Halle Bailey's Ariel in next month's live adaptation of The Little Mermaid (2023) and I loved Jurnee Smollett's Black Canary in the Harley Quinn film Birds of Prey (2019). I believe adaptations and remakes are merely in a different universe and they won't ever make me hate or fall out of the love with the original.

If more people thought like that, we wouldn't have so many bitter people on social media.

Here is the post Gao currently has up on her Instagram page:

Let's dissect this:

* Ada being portrayed by a woman of Asian decent is amazing! We saw Ada in the live action film Resident Evil Retribution (2012) played by Li Bing Bing --although her voice was dubbed by the original Ada Wong voice actress Sally Cahill-- and just seeing her in live action was amazing! Ofcourse, the writing made that Ada a damsel in distress and that is something Ada is not!

Representation, especially for a character like Ada is vital. In that sense I understand Gao's words. However, she lost me with the "I do not belong" line.

No one is saying she doesn't belong in the RE verse, she just doesn't make me believe she is Ada Wong.

Ada in the previous games and CGI films, was a femme fatale, the Catwoman to Leon S. Kennedy's Batman. No one knew what Ada was thinking and no one knew what her next moves would be. That's what made Ada an amazing anti heroine! Gao's portrayal of Ada, made her sound..bored. Let's skip a few sentences down to when Gao mentions

"My Ada is a survivor. She is kind, just, intelligent and funny."

Yet Gao made her sound uninterested in any activities Ada was participating in. Where was the kindness in her voice? Where was the funny in her voice?

YES I understand Gao's sentence about the fact Ada is finally voiced by an Asian woman, as her previous voice actresses were non Asian, but she made it seem like she was the only Asian actress who could've done the job. I would understand Gao's outrage if she did an amazing job but she didn't! She sounded inexperienced in the booth and (as I mentioned many times) bored.

Gao used buzzwords to come across as if she is being criticized for something other than her voice acting and it came off as weird.

"It is time we stop only capitalizing on the sexualized, eroticized, and mysterious Asian woman and make space to honour every kind of Asian woman."

This quote would make sense if she was portraying a new character in the franchise..but she's portraying Ada Wong. A woman who happens to be a double agent. A woman who fans have grown to love and hate and a woman that keeps Leon S. Kennedy on his toes!

Ada isn't a stereotype. She is a femme fatale that doesn't need a man to rescue her. She stands up for herself and makes sure her enemies know her name.

Lily Gao has erased her previous Instagram posts and is claiming she has been 'harassed' but I (along with many others) have not seen any proof of harassment. Again, fans have complained about her voice acting, nothing about her ethnicity, her race, her looks or her gender; everything has been based on the fact she didn't bring the Ada Wong charm to her RE4: Remake portrayal.

Kelly Marie Tran showing up in the Star Wars films sparked racist attacks which caused her to quit social media.

But Gao's criticism has only been about the fact for the RE4: Remake, we got an Ada Wong that sounded as if the events of the game was an inconvenience on her life.