Review of Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) by Eydie B — 26 Apr 2012

Although it wouldn't be truly hammered home until 2010's Resident Evil: Afterlife, it's clear that they were already starting to lose the plot in Extinction, flying by the seat of their pants and making it up as they went. The result is a story that's simple but monumentally messy, suffocating under an onslaught of characters and plot threads both new and old while others are either ignored (Jill, Angela) or flat out contradicted (if Alice is so vital to Isaac's research, why did he let her go at the end of the last film?). We've got an army of Alice clones (what purpose does the "test" in the mansion replica serve?), the real Alice now has Jedi powers (!), we've got psycho hillbillies, Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) doing her best Sarah Connor impersonation, "Chairman" Wesker (Jason O'Mara) doing his best Eminem impersonation, Johnny Cage in a cowboy hat, "trained" zombies stolen shamelessly from George Romero's Day of the Dead and literally busloads of zombie fodder! Oh and the T-virus outbreak has dried up all the lakes and rivers, killed all the plant life and turned the planet into a desert wasteland. Because THAT makes sense.

The film may be all over the place but it's certainly better than Apocalypse, if for no other reason than you can watch it without getting annoyed. Snarky as hell sure, but not annoyed. The action scenes are very good (the crap stunts and wire-work from Apocalypse are mercifully gone), in particular an intense battle within the ruins of Las Vegas, and by and large the film looks fantastic with excellent zombie make-up, cool costumes and stifling desert environments.

Extinction is a mess. That's the only way to decribe it. However, as with Afterlife, it can be enjoyed as a guilty pleasure.