resident evil extinction

THE FLICK: The teaser trailer for Resident Evil: Extinction promised an impossibly geek-tastic scenario: a zombie apocalypse set against the ruins of Las Vegas with supermodel Milla Jovovich kicking ass in a Sergio Leone leather duster. It looked almost too good to be true. And, of course, it was. As the third chapter in an average trilogy, the law of diminishing returns was destined to kick in. Extinction never delivered the genre-bending, Spaghetti Western-inspired horror experience we all hoped for. But as another moderately entertaining entry in the “film-based-on-a-videogame” category, it serves its purpose. Flush with a new set of psychic powers, Umbrella experiment code name “Alice” (Milla Jovovich) is on the run with the wind in her hair, riding her hog across a wasted Earth; yet another environmental side-effect of the T-Virus which has destroyed all life on the planet, not just humans. The survivors from the second film, Apocalypse (a title I bet producers are kicking themselves for using up so quickly), have banded together under the leadership of Claire Redfield (Ali Larter of Heroes) as they trundle across the desert in a Road Warrior-style caravan. Meanwhile, in an isolated bunker, Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) is popping out dozens of Alice clones in an attempt to tame the T-Virus and create an army of domesticated zombies. There’s no real narrative drive behind Extinction. It feels like a brainstorming session that comes up with just as many good ideas as it does bad. The domesticated undead was a Romero innovation that even he couldn’t make work. And the Mad Max scenery, for all the beautiful helicopter shots it inspires in director Russell Mulcahy, only serves to suck the fear factor right out of the zombie nation. They become a secondary threat, only accidently dangerous – except for the introduction of a zombie hit squad near the climax which is almost comical. But the film wisely keeps its focus on Milla, who, difficult as it is to believe, is now in her 10th year as an action movie veteran. And it would take some really crappy screenwriting to weigh down the visual enjoyment of Milla taking on a flock of undead crows, another kennel of undead Dobermans, and the latest T-Virus boss battle. Extinction digs deep when it has to, cheating us out of a real Vegas showdown (funny how the desert swallowed up the strip but left every other highway intact), but keeping the franchise alive just long enough for the next sequel. THE FEATURES: Wham, bam, that’s a good looking movie! Actually, the blown-out desert visuals aren’t ideal for full that “three-dimensional” effect HD is known for, but this Blu-ray looks every bit as good as the theatrical presentation. And sounds great, too, with a 5.1 TrueHD track plus Dolby Digital. As for the extras, Mulcahy, producer Jeremy Bolt and writer/producer Paul W.S. Anderson (the man behind the first RE and AVP films) sit down for a commentary that leans toward the technical side (which is just the way I like it). As one of the first profile 1.1 Blu-ray releases, Extinction offers up a rather innovative way to watch the special features using picture-in-picture technology to introduce interviews, storyboards, what-have-you at various points throughout the movie. Nice idea, but fairly underwhelming as far as extras go. Most folks will probably be just as happy accessing the four featurettes separately, which add up to around 30-minutes total and focus on the pre-production, shooting style, miniatures and evolution in zombie behaviors. Then come a gaggle of deleted scenes and a preview of Resident Evil: Degeneration, the first animated RE film.