Resident Evil: Extinction Review
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They escaped from the Hive, survived the Apocalypse, and now they must face extinction. Milla Jovovich returns once again as (Project) Alice in this third adaptation of the legendary Capcom video game series, which may not be the best of the three, but with some top-notch special effects and non-stop action, it is certainly the bloodiest.
Following the destruction of Raccoon City, the Umbrella Corporation’s T-Virus escaped containment and has now spread worldwide leaving humanity to rot under extinction. As Alice (Jovovich) and a small group of survivors hide in the Nevada desert, they must fight off an army of infected zombies and creatures in a last ditch effort to save mankind. As the bloody war rages on in the desert, Umbrella Corporation must work desperately to come up with the ultimate cure for the T-Virus subjects.
Speaking as a former avid player of the video games, I must say, for a simple story about infected zombies which could have easily gone almost anywhere off-track, it has been really impressive to see an entire trilogy’s worth of videogame adaptations keep all of the plotlines and effectual events loyal to the original game series. The films may have spiced up the order a tad, but every time I watch one, it serves as, not just a great piece of solid entertainment, but also a sweet reminder of how fun the games were years ago.
After the surprising success of ‘Silent Hill’ in 2006, Russell Mulcahy and Paul Anderson (director and producer of ‘Extinction’) garnered some assistance from Tatopoulos Studios in order to make the special effects for their third project a little more solid, and just a little more jumpy than the previous two.
Along with more solid effects comes another interesting shift for this intense series as it takes on a new setting from the dark alleys of Raccoon City, to the heated, sunny deserts of Nevada. It may seem a little less creepy to watch the sand turn red during the bloody gun fights that fill this short 95-minute reel, but at least you can see everything that’s happening all at once, so it’s certainly nothing to complain over.
Any former (or even current) gamers should easily recognize a lot of content in this one similar to the game ‘Code: Veronica.’ It’s kind of a slight downfall for Nemesis to have already come and gone, but with a vast collection of hungry zombies, fierce mutant dogs, and even an army of crows, who feed on infected flesh, storming the sky (uh-oh!), this is an ‘Extinction’ which only the non-squeamish can endure, and only the strong can survive.
I have been highly impressed with the ‘Resident Evil’ film series ever since it began, and it’s really hard to pick the one that stands the tallest, so I’m going to leave that one up to you guys. The first film set underground may have been a strong kick off in the right direction, but I still don’t know why they didn’t just make the first one based on the very original game, which took place entirely in a mansion (a simple ‘Haunted House of the Dead’ type of setting?…… sounds good to me!). However you choose to compare any of them, there can still be no doubt that ‘Extinction’ belongs in this series with its unique setting and solid effects. Action movie of the year? Maybe. But a good way to kick off the fall (after a crappy summer)? Absolutely!
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Sep 21 2007. Filed under Features.
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