Resident Evil: Extinction

[Remo D]

"You mean all this could end?"
"Correct. However, there is a small problem."

Remember--I'm not a gamer. How this or any other video-game-derived movie matches up to its inspiration is a debate for others to take up. I'm in it for the movies, and in the case of this series, I'm in it for the zombie movies!

RESIDENT EVIL has always shamelessly co-opted the Romero "Dead" universe for its own use--but let's face it, just as the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD went into the quasi-public domain by accident, so has "common use" made the entire setup anybody's ballpark. You make a zombie movie? You shoot them in the head, you're infected if they bite you, and neither the military nor the scientists can stop the plague from spreading. C'est la vie.

But not all video-game-derived zombie movies are created equal. Case in point--for all the influence they wore on their sleeves, for all the occasional cheesiness, the RESIDENT EVIL films had a knack for keeping me watching--and what's far more important--for actually caring what happened next. And if that sounds a little too easy... if it sounds like I'll give anything a passing grade as long as the flesh continues to fly and the action keeps me awake? Consider that in between the first and second R.E. installments, I was subjected to HOUSE OF THE DEAD. And in between the second and third R.E. movies? SILENT HILL. No, not all video-game movies are created equal. The R.E. movies had something those didn't.

And thankfully, the series still knows what it's doing! This time, after one of the best pre-credit sequences I've seen in a while, we're cheerfully waving the DAY OF THE DEAD flag... yep, Dr. Isaacs and company--in their underground bunker--think they're going to DOMESTICATE the zom... er... the T-virus victims. They even let us think there's going to be a "Bub!"

But don't worry--they still know the difference between a salute and a ripoff. The real action is taking place upstairs, as the wandering Project Alice heads for a fateful meeting with a caravan led by Ali Larter and...

These films don't play like Romero ripoffs because none of the Romero films shared the same characters--or even the same tone. R.E. EXTINCTION works as well as it does because by now the movies are a lot more about Alice than about a zombie plague. And Milla Jovovich has succeeded in claiming the character for her own--you wanna do a DTV sequel without her? Count me out. She's great with the action AND the vulnerability. And backing her up this time is director Russell Mulcahy (HIGHLANDER)--on the big screen again after a long television detour. And if anyone can handle heroic fantasy/horror? For all its familiarity, EXTINCTION never lets up. Even if the final monster is something of a disappointment. Even if the supporting characters get short-changed (they at least try to make everybody interesting). The exploding brains, slashed throats and zombie-squishing scenes are all there, but there's never a sense that the movie exists just to showcase them.

And yes--once again--I would happily sit through another one to see where it takes me. I'm not necessarily convinced that this series "gets better as it goes along" (APOCALYPSE wasn't necessarily superior to the original), but even if it's going out on a limb, I'll happily nominate EXTINCTION as the best one yet. Am I crazy? You tell me. But this one I really liked.

[Kimberly]

I thought it was a hell of alot better then Apocalypse... but still not as good as the first one.

Was a good matinee for me... kill some time.

And while I'm not finding them to be one of the better of the zombie films, I too would be more then happy to sit thru another installment of RE.

[MuC]

lots of zombie killing fun...good times...:dsmoke:

[shawn]

Thought it was the best one.

This was the first one that actually had some fucking gore in it. The other 2 were seriously lacking in the gore department. This one never hold back. I had a great time.

[impetigo-on-the-brain]

Worth watching?

[Clark Chaos]

Matinee is always good.

I liked it but wasn't blown away by it.