World Famous Comics: Resident Evil - Extinction (Widescreen Special Edition)
Resident Evil - Extinction (Widescreen Special Edition)
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Oded Fehr, Iain Glen, Ashanti (II) Directed By: Russell Mulcahy Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Sony Pictures Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 99 Release Date: January 01, 2008 Running Time: 94 minutes Theatrical Release Date: September 21, 2007
Amazon.com: The third installment in the massively popular film series based on Capcom's zombie horror/science fiction games, Resident Evil: Extinction brings the world to an end, not with a whimper but a bang, as Milla Jovovich's Alice pits her bio-organic superskills against armies of the undead in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas. Also on hand is a more grown-up version of the games' Claire Redfield (played by Heroes' Ali Larter), who leads a convoy of humans (among them Resident Evil vets Oded Fehr and Mike Epps, who reprise their roles as Carlos and LJ, as well as newcomers Ashanti and Spencer Locke) in search of sanctuary; meanwhile, sinister Umbrella Corporation scientist Dr. Sam Isaacs (Iain Glen) seeks a cure for the zombie virus outbreak via Alice's blood, which he taps via a lab full of clones. Subtlety has never been the Resident Evil series' strong suit, but it's hard to argue against Extinction's breakneck pace and impressive CG special effects; director Russell Mulcahy (the Highlander series) lends a lot of verve to the proceedings, and the script by producer Paul W.S. Anderson pulls in agreeable touches from The Road Warrior and Day of the Dead. A hit during the summer of 2007, Extinction should please series devotees and action-horror fans alike; the DVD includes commentary by Mulcahy, Anderson, and co-producer Jeremy Bolt, as well as several making-of featurettes, and a glimpse at the next entry in the Resident Evil franchise, the CG-only Degeneration. -- Paul Gaita
Product Description: Milla Jovovich is back to kill more zombies in the third chapter of the hit Resident Evil franchise! An action/horror film filled with huge special effects and edge-of-your-teat terror! Survivors of the Raccoon City catastrophe travel across the Nevada desert hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice (Jovovich) joins the caravan and their fight against the evil Umbrella Corp.System Requirements:Run Time: 94 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/MONSTERS & MUTANTS Rating: R UPC: 043396190832 Manufacturer No: 19083
More Zombies than you can shake an Umbrella At. The Umbrella Corporation, a veritable Wal-Mart mixed-bagging it with Boeing, has unleashed something that will eventually murder the world. Unfortunately for the human race, it was not the cross-species horror that demolished hope or the bony fingers of the undead that picked away the last shreds of civilization. It was the fact that the Earth was a victim, too, and this process of victimization left the world a desert with humanity flickering in the breeze.
As far as a continuation, I found the movie likeable and hope people understand that this is a sequel work off information passed down from a prior sequel. Accordingly, it is not Resident Evil and it does not have Raccoon City to work with anymore. Raccoon City is actually a tomb now, nuked for those who omitted it from their mental radar, and the spread of the T-virus follows what any layman would register as a "catastrophe and then some." This means that the world went from the happy tinge of forests and foothills and turned a shade of red, infected and to the point that humanity had lost. This means that people survive by not following conventions: Instead of stopping they avoid planting roots and have developed a convey system. Instead of raiding big depots of their former lives they always avoid large cities, hoping to stay away from concentrations of the dead because even a forest of bullets could not keep that many teeth at bay. Fortunately for them, this has worked in some ways and the little towns they scavenge have kept the tired convey rolling. Unfortunately for them, they also face another threat --- Umbrella is far from dead and needs Alice.
On the plus side of the movie, everyone is here. Our comedian, our shout-out to the videogame, our Alice; every loose end is here and in play. Everyone save Alice has built a convoy and is practicing the "stay on the move" philosophy. I missed some of them, too, and was glad to see that they were all seen as important. The main players are here as well --- the dead are out and in force because food is probably harder to get a hold of and they really mean something. They look purty as well and that was equally important --- without some sexy undead, where would the world be?. On the downside, the story is somewhat weak, the dress of the people does not make me think "one bite means I'm dead!," and the bird portion of the movie is - well, if you watch it you'll know what I mean. I also saw a piece of the movie that was taken from Day of the Dead and wondered if this was incidental, but also had to ask myself if Umbrella might think this way. Following all the games and the movies, I would have to answers with a resounding "yes."
If you liked the other movies, then you might like this one. Just remember that the focus is Alice, that the quality is lower in some ways, that you will lose some people you like, and that this is a videogame franchise. If you can deal with all of that and still say, "it sounds good," then you have plaything. I liked the movie BUT I like a lot of stuff so this isn't the focus. The focus is zombies, sexy little zombies and the T-virus that made them, and that makes me feel HaPPY inside. If it makes you feel, too, then perhaps we could get together and sing Imagine with an undead John Lennon. Or not.
Mad Mila; Beyond Zombie-Dome. A Sci-fi Channel Original. Ok, I know the Sci-fi channel had nothing to do with this. I'm obviously using their reputation for fine film making (tongue firmly in cheek) as a measure of this films quality. Is "Resident Evil; Extinction" really that bad? No, it's not THAT bad, but it's not so good either. To understand where I'm coming from, let's quickly rehash my thoughts on the first 2 films;
Resident Evil: Original, edgy story, (despite cheesing off the video game crowd), creative visuals and fair characters combine to create a surprisingly good zombie, action, horror film. The Director did a nice job with a relatively tight budget.
Resident Evil; Apocalypse: A simple story that appeased the video game fans, goofy monster effects and big budget explosions combine for an in-your-face silly action movie. Gone is the great tension and visuals of the first film; still fun in a stupid way.
This brings us up to date on where I stand in the Resident Evil series... ...until now. "Extinction" suffered with, what I call, CREATIVE CONSTIPATION!! Dun, Dun, DAHH! (Very dramatic, I know). Let's get down to it...
-BEST OF BOTH MAKES WORST OF ALL This film had elements from the first film that I enjoyed a lot (i.e.; the laser room; very cool) and elements from the second film (goofy monsters) that combined to make a more confused film than either of the first two. As much as the second film disappointed me it was, at least, consistent in its mood and values. As pleasantly surprised as I was with the first film, its best elements don't work when out of the context of the edgy story and creative environment. The only thing that translated well was the theme music, which is still effective at setting a mood.
-CAN YOU SAY; DERIVATIVE I can forgive copying in the context of homage or as a respectful nod, but the "Road Warrior" theme came off as derivative here. Certainly, in the context of a dying planet, copying "Road Warrior" would seem a logical choice. However, did they really need a skinny bearded guy with big teeth and a strange hat (i.e.; the helicopter guy in RW)? Of course, like most zombie films, the entire series pays respect to George Romero's zombie rule (infection by blood, head shots required, etc.), and clearly is borrowing concepts from Romero as they make sense (i.e. ; experimenting on zombies, domesticating zombies) without ever raising the social questions. Regardless of the intent; this film depended so heavily on past work that I could not help critique its lack of originality.
-HOW DEAD CAN YOU GET? The thing most frightening and disturbing about zombies is that they once were normal people. In the first film, with a lesser budget, zombie makeup was limited mostly to grey face paint, prosthetic wounds and an emphases on good zombie acting. This is the kind of zombie I appreciate the most; still human but lacking their humanity. These are the zombies that give me the creeps because they seem somewhat plausible. "Extinction" definitely had too much money to spend on makeup, because these zombies were so latex heavy that they lost all humanity and became monsters. Also missing was the attention to detail where zombie acting was concerned; just a bunch of people in masks running around and attacking people. More makeup does not mean more dead; just less human.
-IT'S OVER WHEN I SAY "WTF!!!" Here are a couple things that I had to sneer at (SPOILER ALLERT for those interested). -In one of the least surprising moments in a film ever to be presented as a revelation, Alice (Mila) finds out that she is the savior of all mankind. If you didn't figure this out in the first film; shame on you. The ability to fry circuits in space WAS a surprise; ugh! -Apparently, too much vaccination can cause otherworldly mutations in humans infected with the "T" virus. When I say otherworldly, I mean you will be able to instantly heal, use bad breath as a concussion weapon and grow tentacle fingers capable of shooting across the room. This is amazing since it never did more than stop zombification before (sometimes it didn't help at all). The worst part is, the mutation looked pretty bad. -You shouldn't drive heavy trucks and Hummers in a post-apocalyptic world; fuel mileage will be a bit of a problem.
-IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE... So here's a list of things I thought were cool or interesting but only as stand-alone ideas that could not make this a good film on their own: (some more SPOILERS, beware.) -Zombie Crows; a scary proposition. -I liked the main characters for what they're worth; not great, but not bad either. -A zombie bomb (drop a dumpster full of zombies) was kind of clever. -The laser room (sorry, it's just so cool!!) -I give Mila credit for her ability as an action Heroine. She is very capable. -There was nothing inherently wrong with the production values.
-HOW CAN I WRITE SO MUCH ABOUT SO LITTLE? Yea, really; this film did not warrant such "deep" analysis. I thought the first RE film was very creative and creepy. I thought the second was crude and dumb but entertaining on a basic level. This third film was visually better than the second but lacked the cohesiveness and creativity of the first. As a result, you get a mish-mash of a film. Big Budget production values with a less than enthralling story. I can only recommend this for fans of the game and completists who must have the whole series. -Visuals......4 stars -Characters...3.5 stars -Story.........2.5 stars -Monsters....2 stars -Fun/scares..2.5 stars Average.....2.9 stars.
3.5 stars...I liked it more than I thought I would! There's a certain pointlessness to my reviewing RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION. First, this is not the kind of movie that anyone thought would win Oscar's in the first place. Second, people who REALLY want to see it will do so regardless of what anyone says and third, I had never seen the first two.
However, I do feel it's worth noting that there were fits of surprising competence in the film, which plays like THE ROAD WARRIOR meets...well...a video game. Despite the utter unoriginality of the story, it managed to be a fitfully entertaining, action packed, gore fest.
I'll admit right now that I never totally understood the powers or backstory of Milla Jovovich's lead character. Is she a human or a robot of some sort? A clone? She appears to have psychic (psionic) powers...but they were undefined for the uninitiated. I certainly wouldn't have objected to a more thorough recap of past events then we're given...but I certainly had no trouble understanding that except for a few isolated pockets, zombies have taken over the world. Evil quasi-government/industrial agencies are trying to affect a cure...but it's tough to tell what their motives are. It's hard to believe they expect to make a PROFIT by marketing a cure...since there isn't an economy in place any more...yet they sure don't seem to be doing their research to benefit anyone but themselves.
Jovovich's striking-looking lead character is reintroduced to the viewer as a loner, riding a motorcycle across an endless desert. She stops at a ruined radio station, because she's picked up an SOS broadcast. Apparently, she wants to help, but it turns out to have been a trap. She's captured by a group that we so often see in these kinds of movies...the bikers who've gone bad. They capture her and are prepared to feed her to a pack of zombie dogs...for no reason other than their own amusement. The scene plays out like a sequence in a video game...but Jovovich's escape is well staged and sufficient to get the blood pumping. The movie has gore, but doesn't dwell on it. (I'm not saying it's for little kids...but I've sure seen worse, too.)
Later, Jovovich meets ups with a rag-tag group of survivors, led by Oded Fehr and Ali Larter, looking pretty tough herself in her khakis. This group could be the same folks Mel Gibson let to "the promised land" in ROAD WARRIOR...they've got reinforced buses and heck, even a gasoline tanker! Too bad that gas has become nearly impossible to find. The realize that they will have to brave a "big city" because they've drained all the gas in the small towns. But big cities are where the zombies have congregated the most, naturally, so we anticipate a bloody showdown. And the film delivers one. They arrive in Las Vegas and immediately unleash hundreds of the hungry creatures. Lots of shooting, lots of creative ways of killing zombies, lots of sad moments as one beloved character after another falls under a swarm of the flesh-eaters. There is no originality to the idea...but again, it is staged with a sincerity and a visceral quality that make it work. (An earlier scene, involving an attack by a flock of infected ravens shows more originality, and also works well.)
So the action is good. The "quiet" scenes of dialogue are pretty hokey...but the actor's play them about as well as anyone could. The movie doesn't "wink" at the audience at any time, nor does it have any "in-jokes." It is a straightforward videogame brought to life. The final scenes, involving a confrontation between Jovovich and a diabolical doctor...are perfunctory and not as fun as the scenes earlier in the film. If we had more invested in this character, I think it might be different, but just because she's now starred in three films doesn't exactly make her the fleshed out person that, say, Hellboy has become. Jovovich is well suited to the role. She looks great in her silly costume. And even though a few of her stunts clearly benefit from the aid of wires...she mostly looks like she could be doing what she does without help. Larter matches her well, and Fehr (THE MUMMY RETURNS) is always a striking figure.
The movie is far from the embarrassment I thought it would be. While I can't simply heartily recommend it...I do think if you're looking for some good, "clean" zombie killing action...you could do worse!
This trilogy has its ups and downs, but it's certainly unlike other zombie movies. I watched all 3 Blu-Rays in order in one night. My review deals primarily with the third movie as it closes the trilogy (for now).
The first film is an exciting, scary movie that's somewhat similar to the games but different from most zombie movies. Zombie humans, zombie dogs, and a computer-generated Licker all threaten the heroes, who are investigating a viral outbreak in an underground research lab. The movie introduces butt-kicking Alice (played by Milla Jovovich), who is not in the games. She ends up being the glue that holds this trilogy together as each film is quite different from the others.
2 remains my favorite because it's just the most fun. The comic relief is appreciated and I like some of the situations that occur, like the tense church scene. It's also the closest to the games out of the 3 movies. However the writing is dumb at times, such as the graveyard sequence and the climactic battle between Alice and Nemesis. The Nemesis monster as portrayed here is not a frightening villain. He just fights with guns and other weapons and his costume fails to impress. Still, look at this movie as a simple sci-fi action flick instead of horror and you'll probably enjoy it.
3 was a huge disappointment... Failing to explain the absence of two key characters from part 2 is really unsatisfying. The only possible conclusion within the logic of the movie's world is that they died, which is no fun at all. Then the post-apocalyptic setting - which would be fine for a zombie movie in general - doesn't work in the Resident Evil universe at all. So already it's just not Resident Evil any more. Throwing in the tyrant and the crows was a cool idea but it's too little too late. RE fans know those have been around since the timeline of RE1, so their introduction just further separates the continuity of the films and games.
The movie also commits the crime of killing off every likable character, leaving the audience with no one to attach themselves to. Videogame protagonist Claire Redfield is wasted in this movie, and Alice has become so alien that it's hard to worry about her.
And finally, Extinction's zombies look terrible. I know they were going for a sundrenched effect, but they still look like vomit. As I recall they also abandoned the CG-enhancement of the zombies (giving them transparent parts and such) that looked so cool in 1 & 2. Then the super zombies.... Oh man. Those fake eyebrows didn't look good in Buffy and Angel and they look even worse on brown zombies.
As a whole, this box-set represents a good value. The movies are so different, it's hard to give a strong thumbs up or down (hence my 3-star rating). The picture quality and sound are awesome. The extras are fairly significant, with deleted scenes, alternate endings, and loads of featurettes. If you're really into the Resident Evil movies this box is a great and affordable way to show off your HDTV and Blu-Ray player.
No Reservations Here you will find apocalyptic visions, living (and hungry) dead, a mad (and bad) scientist, and tons of Hollywood gore. There's also a beautiful superwoman who gives the crazy affair a bright focus. If you want to escape an even grimmer reality for 94 minutes, here you go.
It's skillfully directed with great attention to detail. It's Alice in Rotting Flesh Land.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
