Resident Evil : Extinction

Review by Clint Morris

Thanks to recent entries like Shaun of the Dead, Land of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead (2004), the zombie film seems to be alive (so to speak) and kicking again. Not since the Living Dead, has it ever been so good to be a coffin dodger!

Pity the paddles hadn’t been powered up when Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the 2004 sequel to a film based on a video game (aren’t they all?), reared its maggoty head  – because unlike those other efforts, this one had seemingly been staked before it can even arise from the soil.

Thankfully, director Russell Mulcahy banned all anti-virus serum from the set the day he took on the reigns on the second sequel, Resident Evil : Extinction. As a result, we’ve a film that while still as wonky as the door on an backyard dunny, is a lot more [re]animated than its elders.

The World is basically now overrun by Zombies. A few lone survivors, travelling in buses and trucks, roam the desserts – looking for someone that has been populated by those with the virus.

The ‘original’ - and I stress ‘original’ because the shady government corp in the films are now making copies of her – heroine Alice (Milla Jovovich) teams up with the gang (including her old friend, Carlos Olivera, played by the wonderful Oded Fehr - - will someone please give this guy his own movie?! ) to gas up in Las Vegas before moving on to the only place that’s supposedly Zombie-free, Alaska.

Meantime, the evil doctor (Iain Glen) that’s been making clones of Alice just got a tad eviler (a plot spoiler I’ll refrain from spilling) and poses just as much a threat to the team as the zombies he studies do.

This latest instalment features some great scares, some awesome location design (the remnants of Las Vegas backdrop looks terrific), excellent creature and make-up effects (these are the best looking screen zombies in a while - even the zombie dogs and zombie crows evoke bubbles in the gut) and one hell of a kick-ass heroine (you’d think I’d be referring to Milla Jovovich - who looks like she’s dunked her face in a pot of foundation before filming her scenes – but I’m actually referring to Heroes hottie Ali Larter, who proves to be quite the little Rambette here). In addition, Russell Mulcahy (Highlander, Razorback), directs the film with as much flair as required – getting the most out of a pretty thin story.

At the same time, the Resident Evil series has never been able to compete with those other abovementioned zombie movies – its like a “Diet” version of all of them. This latest one feels a bit like Alien 3 and a bit like John Carpenter’s Vampires with those films flaws in tow.

The script, by Paul W.S Anderson, is the big letdown. Though the dialogue is absolutely terrible (someone needed to come in and punch this up) and the characters’ motivations make little sense, there’s an interesting storyline here wanting to get out. Anderson nearly takes us there too, before deciding he’s had enough and commissions the film to come to an abrupt halt. Its like foreplay without the deed… Anderson teases us for a while with what could be a fun third-act and never bothers to execute it. In some respects, its as if someone left the last reel of the film off…. The ending feels that rushed.

Granted, the first two films in Resident Evil series – films based on the computer game of the same name – were about as exciting as brushing dust from a mantelpiece, too; so expectations were never too high. The only thing these films have seemingly been able to do is cut a good trailer – but as the old adage goes, a good trailer hardly ever makes for a good movie, it’s usually the lacklustre promo that equals a fine film.

This one, at least, delivers in moderation – and considering this one’s trailer was actually pretty lacklustre, might even surprise some.

4.5 out of 5

Resident Evil : Extinction
Australian release: 4th October, 2007
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Ali Larter, Iain Glen, Ashanti, Mike Epps
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Website: Click here.