Scan and Pan
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Resident Evil: Extinction
Five years after the events of the first two films, the world is a wasteland overrun by zombies. Alice (Mila Jovovich) is now a nomad roaming the desert that used to be the western United States, until she comes across a convoy of survivors lead by her old friend Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and Claire Redfield (Ali Larter). Alice convinces them that the only safe place is Alaska and decides to help them get there, but she doesn't know that Umbrella Corporation scientist Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) is still alive and using all of his resources to find and capture her.
Director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander) is at his best when he can apply his kinetic shooting style to action scenes, but screenwriter Paul W.S. Anderson (who wrote both previous films and directed the first one) eschews the non-stop action of the first two films for a slower paced story that places zombie fighter Alice in a post-apocalyptic, Road Warrior-esque setting. It's competent enough, but it lacks the pure adrenaline rush of the first two films.
Instead of building up to what should be a big climax, the final showdown between Alice and Dr. Isaacs seems perfunctory, and the convoy subplot is wrapped up in an unsatisfying fashion. There aren't nearly enough action scenes, but the ones it does have work well, with Alice having to fight hordes of zombies, zombie dogs, and even zombie crows this time. More action would have served the film better, though.
Cinematographer David Johnson (Resident Evil) and production designer Eugenio Caballero (Pan's Labyrinth) use the Mexican desert landscape to create a look very different from the usual urban or rural farmland settings of zombie films. Charlie Clouser (Death Sentence) provides an appropriate score for zombie killing mayhem, complemented by Collide's cover of "White Rabbit" over the end titles.
Jovovich continues to confidently portray the beautiful zombie killer Alice, nicely complemented here by Larter (Heroes) as the tough leader of the convoy. The rest of the cast is competent, including Fehr as ex-soldier Carlos, Glen as the corrupt scientist, Mike Epps as L.J. (another survivor from the previous film), Spencer Locke as a young woman who forms a friendship with Alice, and singer Ashanti as the convoy's nurse.
Resident Evil: Extinction feels like the filmmakers weren't really trying very hard to make an entertaining film and will leave fans of the franchise wanting much more than they actually get.
[2.5 out of 5 stars]
The latest entry in the film series based on the popular video games is a disappointment compared to its predecessors, with not nearly enough action to sustain itself.
Five years after the events of the first two films, the world is a wasteland overrun by zombies. Alice (Mila Jovovich) is now a nomad roaming the desert that used to be the western United States, until she comes across a convoy of survivors lead by her old friend Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and Claire Redfield (Ali Larter). Alice convinces them that the only safe place is Alaska and decides to help them get there, but she doesn't know that Umbrella Corporation scientist Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) is still alive and using all of his resources to find and capture her.
Director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander) is at his best when he can apply his kinetic shooting style to action scenes, but screenwriter Paul W.S. Anderson (who wrote both previous films and directed the first one) eschews the non-stop action of the first two films for a slower paced story that places zombie fighter Alice in a post-apocalyptic, Road Warrior-esque setting. It's competent enough, but it lacks the pure adrenaline rush of the first two films.
Instead of building up to what should be a big climax, the final showdown between Alice and Dr. Isaacs seems perfunctory, and the convoy subplot is wrapped up in an unsatisfying fashion. There aren't nearly enough action scenes, but the ones it does have work well, with Alice having to fight hordes of zombies, zombie dogs, and even zombie crows this time. More action would have served the film better, though.
Cinematographer David Johnson (Resident Evil) and production designer Eugenio Caballero (Pan's Labyrinth) use the Mexican desert landscape to create a look very different from the usual urban or rural farmland settings of zombie films. Charlie Clouser (Death Sentence) provides an appropriate score for zombie killing mayhem, complemented by Collide's cover of "White Rabbit" over the end titles.
Jovovich continues to confidently portray the beautiful zombie killer Alice, nicely complemented here by Larter (Heroes) as the tough leader of the convoy. The rest of the cast is competent, including Fehr as ex-soldier Carlos, Glen as the corrupt scientist, Mike Epps as L.J. (another survivor from the previous film), Spencer Locke as a young woman who forms a friendship with Alice, and singer Ashanti as the convoy's nurse.
Resident Evil: Extinction feels like the filmmakers weren't really trying very hard to make an entertaining film and will leave fans of the franchise wanting much more than they actually get.
[2.5 out of 5 stars]
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