Finishing the trilogy

January 28, 2008

Tonight had me finish my equivalent of chain-smoking a series as we saw Resident Evil: Extinction. This was the movie that got me to buy the Blu-ray box set. Once I had seen the first trailer for the film some time ago, it spoke to me in a certain way. It appealed to me in that Road Warrior/Beyond Thunderdome mentality as it was giving me that kind of future that's fallen out of favor in the last few years. Of course, I hadn't seen the first two (even though I owned them...) so I had to work my way through the series. Each movie really does stand on its own in terms of how it wants to be viewed and the kind of "survival horror" film it is. I liked the first as a basic intro and an almost classic approach. The second upped the ante a bit and went for a blood and guts approach with lots of victims. It contrasted nicely to the first which was fairly limited once Alice and the gang were stuck in the Hive.

Extinction takes it to the next logical progression as the T-virus has spread out of control and the world is caught up in the plague, enough so that many animals have died and everything is falling to the sands. Small groups survive and seek out others, but it's dangerous and dirty out there. Of course, the Umbrella Corporation is still going at it and trying to find a way to either cure or domesticate the affected and that leads to some weird moments. Notably in that they're using cloned Alice's to test out things, Alice's which like the original have been bonded with the T-virus and exhibit unusual abilities. This takes it further into the realm of science fiction than the first two, but it really does feel like a natural progression within the boundaries that the trilogy has set up.

The film doesn't deviate from its base instincts of providing blood, violence and those god damned infected dogs. I really dislike the dogs. It also plays with the past a bit as it takes a short bit to re-intro the movie due to the epilogue in the previous one, much like the previous one did the same in regards to the first. A few characters return, but it's all up inthe air as to who will survive. In looking at this film, I have to say I really enjoyed because of the kind of setting that it was taking place in. I liked that that took it to that next level and did a worldwide infection that was essentially killing the planet. That the Umbrella guys were still working their weirdness. And that we get someone like Ali Larter in it who proves that she can look hot even in those kinds of pants. I'm not sure I'll say that it's my favorite of the trilogy, as I think Apocalypse will hold that "honor", but I really enjoyed it as a straightforward action piece that built upon what came before. I had low expectations for all the films and I really just wanted to be entertained. I smiled a lot, cringed a few times and came away with positive feelings about it. Like I said with Apocalypse, it's not high art and I'm certainly not holding it up to be. But it entertained

Click here to read the staff review by Mania.