Review: Resident Evil Extinction - Directed by Russell Mulcahy
Rated R for strong language, graphic zombie violence, and brief nudity

Here's what I wanted out of this third Resident Evil flick: a balls to the wall, straight up work of epic corniness the likes only writer/producer Paul WS Anderson could deliver. I wanted unnecessarily awkward dialog, terrible CGI, fancy scene transitions, and Milla Jovovich performing outrageous kung-fu moves.

On this level, Resident Evil: Extinction delivered on almost all points.

Although not directed by Anderson himself, his well...unique style is still very much present in this sequel. Funny thing about Paul WS Anderson--his movies are above direct-to-DVD standards, yet have never reached a level of mainstream quality to be considered solid accomplishments. Extinction follows this trend with mindless plotting and an almost lovable fanboyish charm.

Almost...

In Resident Evil: Extinction, superwoman Alice (Milla Jovovich) wanders around post-apocalyptic Nevada deserts in search of supplies. In the wake of a zombie epidemic, the Earth has dried up and withered into a barren landscape for some unexplained reason. Now what remains of the evil Umbrella Corporation labors to find an answer to the infection in a series of laboratories buried deep under ground.

So much of the plot makes so little sense, the only explanation I could think of as to why it was presented as such was because Anderson wanted to break a record for the most rip-offs of other films in the genre. Among those that he borrowed heaviest are Day of the Dead, Mad Max, Dawn of the Dead remake, and Judge Dredd.

One scene in particular, in which a couple of scientists attempt to domesticate a captive zombie, plays out almost word for word from a similar scene in George Romero's Day of the Dead. Instead of an old rotary phone being used to show the zombie retained some of his former memories, a cellular phone was used in its place. A Sony Ericsson phone, I might add...they just had to through that Sony advertisement in there.

Basically, Resident Evil: Extinction is a mish-mash of every post-apocalyptic movie in recent memory that never manages to find its own sense of identity. Its pacing is off at best, the acting only slightly above laughable, and climax head-slappingly lame.

Still, its probably not only the best of the Resident Evil films, but one of Paul WS Anderson's best writing attempts to boot. But then, that's not saying much.

Go for the... possible conclusion to the first trilogy based (loosely) on a video game.

Stay for the... ridiculous Las Vegas shootout in which an army of zombies run out of a shipping container like some kind of demented clown car.

Rating: 6 / 10