Mi two
Resident Evil Extinction – 3.75 out of 5
Great film, as good as parts 1 and 2? I am not too sure about that. Still I liked the film and it had plenty of things that got me excited, but hell I will admit that it was not perfect and it has its flaws here and there.
It is the most finished of the Resident Evil films and looks superb, with some effective CGI and make up effects. In all departments it does a great job, from the wonderful dusty wind swept sets, to the effects work and general look of the film in doors and out with some nice sets (old and new). Where it falls down a little is in its story and set up, as some of it you just know is stolen almost shot for shot from other films. I really did not know why they would do that, and how they thought no one would notice. The embarrassing Day of the Dead zombie memory recollection scene is a prime example of this, what on gods earth were they thinking there!?
Still yes it steals and takes many ideas from other films, but I cannot say the films bad for that, as even the best steal. It has got plenty to like and the cast are fine at what they do, it is just none seem as intelligent or even likeable as past films, or as clued up. If you get bit by a rabid zombie, would you hide the fact and just pretend you never got a big chunk bitten out of you? No you would not, stupid idiot, small logic parts like that grate, they may not ruin the film, but they do seem to pop up in all zombie films. Maybe one day they will learn as few get it right all the time.
Action wise I found it well done with some new bits and bobs popping up. The zombies were very well created and brought to life (or death) onto the screen with some very effective work, the CGI zombies even were pretty damn good for a fairly low budget film (if you can call $40+ Million low), At least you can say the zombies look like dead people. There seemed to be a lot of epic shots in the film and most of them looked really excellent quality and suitably large scale. From the thousands of zombies surrounding the wire fence base (wow that’s one strong fence), to the pull back shots which reveal the effects of the sandy weather and apocalyptic cityscapes. For me it’s a looker, even if the sand does kind of make it feel lower budget than if it was set in a full on cityscape. Desert locations always feel that way, even if you film costs hundreds of millions the desert is never going to make a film look as good as something more full and packed as a city. Mind you the sight of a speeding big rig truck smacking into hundreds zombies is always something you need to see on the big screen, to see all them little details as they get splattered and bounced about the place.
Fights, guns and deaths were all well done and they have the gore turned on this time around. Countless bloody strikes with large knifes, head explosions with multiple guns are all on screen, more red stuff is sprayed in this film than the other two films put together that is for sure, and it never really holds back too much. The explosive blood effects are a combination of real squibs and very well done CGI from the look of it and they got it right I think. Do not expect a full on in your face splatter fest with guts flying all over the screen, but it’s more than bloody enough to be entertaining. Milla as Alice(s) gets to do some great stunt work while she whips about the place dispatching many endless zombies and general monsters. She always looks on top form and the wirework does not stand out as if the cast are on wires, which is always a good thing. The editing is far better than the last films nasty over edited fights that is for sure, and it is not too badly placed on screen for us to keep track of what is going on. We get some long shots and well laid out action scenes which come off pretty well and some moves look damn impressive, with some good hits and knife work that make Milla look like she has this zombie killing down to a T.
Even the monster work is of a high standard, the dogs looks real (I don’t know for sure if they were 100% CGI or dogs dressed up), the birds looked good and more importantly the zombies looked stale, old and grubby, like a good zombie should. The new Uber zombies were a little odd looking, like pumpkin headed freaks, they worked I guess, but did not look that good compared to everything else. Special mention goes to the big bad guy of the film as he looked striking, big and hard core with real weight behind him. Very impressively brought to the screen and for a man in a suit (with some CGI enhancements), he pulled it off very well and he felt large and hard, just what he needed to be. Compared to the Nemesis in part 2, it felt a lot more real, less man in suit, more beast in front of you.
Plot wise its odd as it tries to fill in the gaps between the last film and this new part of the series, it works and we can assume plenty has gone on in that time. The actual explanation of what has happened to the earth was a bit short, no great detail is given over to exactly what happened and it would have been good to actually see how this stuff worked. We are told many things and shown others, but it is a shame they did not tell us where certain characters went or exactly what happened, we have to assume and that’s a shame as I miss Jill Valentine so much from the last film and she needed to come back. That is easily the biggest flaw for the film to me as she worked so well in part 2 and she had the perfect look and tone for the Resident Evil films, wise cracks and attitude fitting the film perfectly.
We do get many new characters to fill in the space left by Jill, but none of them do that much or get to hit the screen with effectiveness. The stragglers from part 2 come back, but none shine as much as I expected, except maybe Oded Fehr as Carlos Olivera who gets to do some funky stuff, especially in the big boom finale. Mike Epps as L.J. was so funny in part 2, in this film he is sidelined and gets all the fun taken from his character. Actually on the whole there is little funny stuff in the film, it’s a fairly serious, humourless and straight faced affair. Which is a shame as films like this need a bit of a silly tone from time to time; this film just did not make me smile as often as it could have.
A few flaws littler the film for me, from the dog trap at the front end, to the evil guys around a desk and the blur face Milla moments which pepper the film from time to time. Someone was let loose and blurred out Milla’s face a few times to make her look like some freaky plastic faced toy, no consistency to when and where they used that technique, but once was bad enough for me.
Still It has the music style from the first film back in your eardrums once again, that Manson score which worked so well in part 1 is re-done and revamped very well for the film and that was what part 2 lacked, a funky, creepy score. Part 3 may not beat part 1 for the classy Manson score, but it takes what has come before it and does a good job with it, even if it overuses a few cues here and there. Sound effects wise it also really comes off, the cinema I saw it on blew me away and I got many cheap scares from the clear and very well crafted effects work. The sound field really pulled me into the film, even if you hate the film the sound is booming and well crafted, I knew scares were coming, but even when they did I jumped a few times. I even jumped two times at the beginning as the shock sound effects were so well placed. Cheap as I said, but they work.
Perfect? No. Great? Yes. I think it will be better second time around when I see it at home on HD and I hope to like it more as time goes by. Something is holding me back from marking it higher, I don’t know why. Maybe hold back on the Day of the Dead references next time guys, its quite sad to rip off other films so closely, even if the films nothing like it mind you.
For some good action scenes, fights and a good apocalyptic setting it’s a film that hit plenty of marks for me. The cast do a good enough job with what they are to do, but none shine for me apart from maybe Milla as after all she is the star. The ending while nowhere near as good as the final pull back shot of Resident Evil, does leave a sequel that could be very interesting to see that is for sure. Hopefully part 4 will be along in a few years time and do something good with that last shot.
in reality it doesnt sound anything like Mad Max at all, just sounds like a zombie film in bright, bright dusty sun 
) . Too bad inferior directors can't say the same... *cough**cough*uweboll*cough**cough**