"Resident Evil: Extinction" - the third in writer Paul W.S. Anderson's series - brings us to a post-apocalyptic world five years after the T-virus escapes into Raccoon City (in 2004's "Resident Evil: Apocalypse").
After the conclusion of the second film, the virus spread throughout the United States and then the world. The oceans and rivers have dried up and the forests have thus turned to deserts. Everything is covered in sand - and moaning, walking undead. There are no animals to be seen - except for (skinless) zombie dogs and a murder of infected crows.
Director Russell Mulcahy (of "Highlander" 1986 fame) gives "Resident Evil: Extinction" a polished look, fantastic action scenes and some stunning suspense. Unfortunately, that's not enough to save the film from some serious plot problems. Alice (Milla Jovovich) has been in self-imposed exile because she realized - somewhere between "Apocalypse" and "Extinction" - the Umbrella Corporation was still able to track her via high-tech computer systems and satellites. She has also developed psionic (basically, telekinetic) powers, in addition to superhuman strength and dexterity that genetic alterations by the Umbrella Corporation have given her.
Despite all the good reasons she was exiling herself she returns to old friends, including Carlos (Oded Fehr), in their new convoy run by Claire (Ali Larter). The movie would be far less interesting if Alice wasn't trying to protect people she cares about while being pursued by the Umbrella Corporation. And pursuing they are, because scientist Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) is trying to find a way to reverse the virus - with hopes of domesticating the shambling herds (and trying to turn them into a "docile workforce"). He's been experimenting with clones of Alice, and their blood, but he needs the real thing - Alice herself - to make any real progress. Unfortunately, he's insane - and to say he'll stop at nothing to provide research results is a vast understatement.
Meanwhile, the diary of a dead man says Alaska is a refuge from the virus, so Claire's group considers trekking across Canada to get there. The movie ends about ten minutes after it should, and we should probably expect "Resident Evil 4" in theatres somewhere around 2009. "Resident Evil: Extinction" is rent-worthy, if nothing else. Sure, some of the plot doesn't make sense but Jovovich is great and there are some creepily suspenseful moments.
Originally published in The Chronicle in September 2007.
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