Resident Evil: Extinction

• Directed by Russell Mulcahy
• September 20, 2007 (Russia) / September 21, 2007 (US) / October 12, 2007 (UK)

A group of survivors from Raccoon City travel across the devastated Earth only to find themselves in the crosshairs of the remnants of the Umbrella Corporation and their plans.

Resident Evil: Extinction at its core is a zombie road movie. One of the very few perhaps. It is a conclusion I came to that conclusion when I started to write this. Much of the story involves a convoy with a few remaining humans. L.J. Wade (Mike Epps) and Carlos Oliveira (Oded Fehr) from the last film are in the convoy lead by newcomer Claire Redfield (Ali Larter). Strangely though Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) who was seen with them at the end of the last film is missing. After all they went through she does not get a passing mention in a line.

There is not much character development here, but you do not really come to these movies for a great deal of character development. You are coming here for zombies getting killed in as many ways as creatively possible. You are also here for the occasional human to die at the hands of a zombie.

The remnants of the Umbrella Corporation have been looking for Alice for years and because of a momentary lapse in her sleep they are able to find her. How? She has powerful psychic abilities and during a tormented dream she uses them. She does not use them all that much during the film but they do put a fine point on why the Umbrella Corporation is after her. Not only has the T-virus bonded to her blood (whatever that means) making her essentially a cure for the disease/next step in evolution but she has also become super powerful and is in control of those powers.

While the Umbrella Corporation is the overall villain, there is also the film’s primary villain of Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) who is really the one after Alice (Milla Jovovich). Isaacs is obsessively treating the T-virus to make the undead controllable slaves and studying Alice would help.

There is also an added plot element here of a possible safe haven in Alaska called Arcadia. Towards the start of the film Alice stumbles across a journal at an isolated gas station that was apparently left by an individual that has since committed suicide. According to the transmission this person heard the location for Arcadia was isolated and there were no infected up there. Sounds like heaven in a zombie apocalypse-if you can get there.

Resident Evil: Extinction tries to be Mad Max with zombies and in execution it more or less is. Specifically it is somewhat comparable to Mad Max 2 in that the civilians that need saving by the lone traveler of the wasteland are seeking a better world/safe haven elsewhere. I cannot believe I just compared a Resident Evil movie to the second Mad Max.

There are also certainly many elements of the story that only affect the world of the characters much like in the Mad Max films but there is also the stuff that Alice is directly involved in that affects the entire world. By the end of the film she has clear designs and the forces with her to bring down the current order and set things right.

Director Mulcahy, the man behind the legendary Highlander, crafted a thrilling actioner set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The world itself is dying and you are left with the feeling that existence itself is on the brink. This is not just presented as fact, but you are given that feeling in the story.

Again this is another great actioner filled with cool scenes much like its predecessors. This is just a fun film headed by a kick ass female action hero. Jovovich makes Alice cool and Glen’s Isaacs is diabolical and a genuine threat to all involved. The villain needs to look like they have a chance of beating the hero and Isaacs does and that is what makes this movie work.

One thing I need to discuss is how are zombie apocalypses always successful. Ever think about that? A coffin seems seriously difficult to exit for a living person let alone a corpse that might be reanimated. Considering the number of the undead shown here I would think this disease would need to affect not only the dead but the near dead. I’m talking about someone who hasn’t quite died yet whose condition is terminal. Or just those that are seriously unhealthy. I just don’t see how a zombie apocalypse could occur unless that was the case. Anyway…

Resident Evil: Extinction is just one more fun zombie movie in the Resident Evil series. It has good action and is an interesting enough story. It’s not a great movie but it is just fun so I’ll say you should watch this.