Resident Evil: Extinction
November 22nd 2007 00:52
Category: Movies
Director: Russell Mulcahy.
Producers: Paul W.S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Robert Kulzer, Samuel Hadida & Bernd Eichinger.
Screenplay by: Paul W.S. Anderson.
Starring: Milla Jovovich (Alice), Oded Fehr (Carlos), Ali Larter (Clair Redfield), Iain Glen (Dr Isaacs), Ashanti (Nurse Betty), Christopher Egan (Mikey), Spencer Locke (K Mart), Jason O’Mara (Albert Wesker) & Mike Epps (LJ).
Produced by: Sony Pictures.
Running Time: 100 minutes. Rating: MA 15 .
RE: Extinction opens with a rundown of the aftermath of the events that occurred in the previous movie RE: Apocalypse. In that movie, the T virus which had been unleashed in the underground Umbrella corporation facility near Racoon City managed to find its way into the city itself. The end result was that Umbrella deployed a nuclear device in order to contain the spread, unfortunately whilst having the effect of destroying a large chunk of Racoon City it did not contain the virus. Thus the backdrop that is presented in RE: Extinction is one of world that has emerged from a literal apocalypse; the T virus has spread first throughout North America, then to Europe then Asia and eventually the rest of the world. And it has not only infected humans it has also effected various animals and lead to a severe ecological crisis that pales in comparison with the ignoring of the issue of climate change by certain governments. Thus the world that emerges in RE: Extinction is a cross between the visions of Mad Max: Road Warrior and George Romero’s Land of the Living Dead.
Eventually we learn that the living still exist, despite the hordes of undead flesh eating zombies, the crazed animals and the ecological carnage. They make their way like nomads, scavenging of the ruins of the old civilization for the various necessities; food, water, fuel and ammo and keeping out of the major cities which is where the undead congregate in horde like proportions. And of course somehow despite all the carnage around the globe the Umbrella Corporation has managed to survive in secure underground bunkers located at key locations around the world from Europe to North America to Japan.
Strangely though the sequence that begins after the rundown gives the viewer something that seems to be culled from scenes in the original film, we see Alice awakening in a shower in the mansion that sits atop the original installation from which the T virus sprang, we see her putting on the red dress and black boots that were her signature in the first movie it the changes tack. After this we then see Alice move through several laser traps and antiseptic white corridors until we eventually see her arrive at a particular junction marked by the Umbrella logo…only to see her die horribly as she cops a chest wound from a remote drone that pops up from the floor. Game over? Certainly a very startling way to begin a film, you would be forgiven for thinking that the production team had decided to get rid of the main protagonist early on in the piece. Fortunately this is not the case and their definitely is a whole lot more of Alice to be see down the track, more than you’d expect.
This movie is very much like a game, not surprising considering that its source is a major big name computer game which is found on the various Sony Playstation platforms, and in fact the opening moments gave me the impression of what happens to all the dead characters that a gamer looses in trying to avoid a certain deadly area, something that you never see in the course of playing the game. Later Alice herself is confronted with this image and you can feel the anger she feels at the carnage and exploitation, its palpable and you could probably cut the air with it. The other aspect of the movie is the fact that it is a dual faceted quest, a journey to some where safe on the one hand and the drive to finding a solution to the T virus on the other. Salvation and hubris mixed together to give the story that is played out amongst the barren wastelands that are the former Western region of North America.
Despite the fact that the world is virtually non-existent the Umbrella Corporation still manages to soldier on, there are several deep underground secure facilities from which the corporation is able to operate. The various heads of these divisions comprise the board of Umbrella and we finally see the enigmatic chief executive, Albert Wesker, who is in charge of it all, a mysterious figure who has a penchant for wearing dark sunglasses even though he dwells underground – most peculiar to say the least. The aim of Umbrella still seems to be developing a cure to the virus, yet without the original Project Alice this program is proving problematic at best. But Wesker isn’t having any of this, he wants results and wants them soon; and this naturally puts pressure on Dr Isaacs, the head of the Science Division, leading him down a questionable path in pursuit of his and Umbrella’s agenda. Eventually the good doctor undergoes some serious changes in his quest that in the end see him confronting the original Alice ala a final level encounter in a game with the ‘good’ doctor serving as the boss bad guy.
Whilst Dr Isaacs has been working away in his subterranean lair Alice has been undergoing her own journey that involves much carnage, psionic incidents and the discovery of a dog eared journal in a roadside gas station. It seems that the original owner of the journal left notes about a safe haven in Alaska where the T virus and the zombies are unknown due to the haven’s relative isolation from the rest of the world. When Alice links up with a convoy of survivors she passes on this journal and its information, the convoy has been travelling for some time its numbers slowly being diminished in skirmishes with the undead; this could be the best hope for the survivors. After open consultation the convoy elects to make the run north to Alaska. Once that decision is taken it seems that this is where the paths of Alice and Dr Isaacs converge in a suitably action packed climax.
Resident Evil: Extinction is filled with wall to wall action that sees Milla Jovovich dish out as much carnage as possible to zombies, mutated Dobermans, a bunch of redneck freaks, a massive murder of crows and then finally the evil Dr Isaacs. The persona of Alice fits her like a glove and she has some slick moves that are simply eye popping, especially when she whips out her twin kukris, or when she delivers a well placed kick. The interesting thing is that she also brings a certain innocence and naiveté to a character that is essentially a genetically engineered weapon, one that is self aware and very independent despite attempts to shut her down. Milla is definitely a fantastic action movie actor; she just carries it off without any hassle.
So far I have to say that Resident Evil: Extinction would be up there in my top five movies for this year, it doesn’t attempt to be something it isn’t and was a pure pleasure to watch. For some reason the local cinema where I went to see it was only giving it a week only showing so it was a bit of a hassle to see this flick, still in the end it was well worth the hassle and the guys at my local watering hole where I regularly sell raffle tickets were very accommodating in giving me the time to see it; muchas gracias the committee at the Catholic Men’s Club.
Producers: Paul W.S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Robert Kulzer, Samuel Hadida & Bernd Eichinger.
Screenplay by: Paul W.S. Anderson.
Starring: Milla Jovovich (Alice), Oded Fehr (Carlos), Ali Larter (Clair Redfield), Iain Glen (Dr Isaacs), Ashanti (Nurse Betty), Christopher Egan (Mikey), Spencer Locke (K Mart), Jason O’Mara (Albert Wesker) & Mike Epps (LJ).
Produced by: Sony Pictures.
Running Time: 100 minutes. Rating: MA 15 .
RE: Extinction opens with a rundown of the aftermath of the events that occurred in the previous movie RE: Apocalypse. In that movie, the T virus which had been unleashed in the underground Umbrella corporation facility near Racoon City managed to find its way into the city itself. The end result was that Umbrella deployed a nuclear device in order to contain the spread, unfortunately whilst having the effect of destroying a large chunk of Racoon City it did not contain the virus. Thus the backdrop that is presented in RE: Extinction is one of world that has emerged from a literal apocalypse; the T virus has spread first throughout North America, then to Europe then Asia and eventually the rest of the world. And it has not only infected humans it has also effected various animals and lead to a severe ecological crisis that pales in comparison with the ignoring of the issue of climate change by certain governments. Thus the world that emerges in RE: Extinction is a cross between the visions of Mad Max: Road Warrior and George Romero’s Land of the Living Dead.
This movie is very much like a game, not surprising considering that its source is a major big name computer game which is found on the various Sony Playstation platforms, and in fact the opening moments gave me the impression of what happens to all the dead characters that a gamer looses in trying to avoid a certain deadly area, something that you never see in the course of playing the game. Later Alice herself is confronted with this image and you can feel the anger she feels at the carnage and exploitation, its palpable and you could probably cut the air with it. The other aspect of the movie is the fact that it is a dual faceted quest, a journey to some where safe on the one hand and the drive to finding a solution to the T virus on the other. Salvation and hubris mixed together to give the story that is played out amongst the barren wastelands that are the former Western region of North America.
Despite the fact that the world is virtually non-existent the Umbrella Corporation still manages to soldier on, there are several deep underground secure facilities from which the corporation is able to operate. The various heads of these divisions comprise the board of Umbrella and we finally see the enigmatic chief executive, Albert Wesker, who is in charge of it all, a mysterious figure who has a penchant for wearing dark sunglasses even though he dwells underground – most peculiar to say the least. The aim of Umbrella still seems to be developing a cure to the virus, yet without the original Project Alice this program is proving problematic at best. But Wesker isn’t having any of this, he wants results and wants them soon; and this naturally puts pressure on Dr Isaacs, the head of the Science Division, leading him down a questionable path in pursuit of his and Umbrella’s agenda. Eventually the good doctor undergoes some serious changes in his quest that in the end see him confronting the original Alice ala a final level encounter in a game with the ‘good’ doctor serving as the boss bad guy.
Whilst Dr Isaacs has been working away in his subterranean lair Alice has been undergoing her own journey that involves much carnage, psionic incidents and the discovery of a dog eared journal in a roadside gas station. It seems that the original owner of the journal left notes about a safe haven in Alaska where the T virus and the zombies are unknown due to the haven’s relative isolation from the rest of the world. When Alice links up with a convoy of survivors she passes on this journal and its information, the convoy has been travelling for some time its numbers slowly being diminished in skirmishes with the undead; this could be the best hope for the survivors. After open consultation the convoy elects to make the run north to Alaska. Once that decision is taken it seems that this is where the paths of Alice and Dr Isaacs converge in a suitably action packed climax.
Resident Evil: Extinction is filled with wall to wall action that sees Milla Jovovich dish out as much carnage as possible to zombies, mutated Dobermans, a bunch of redneck freaks, a massive murder of crows and then finally the evil Dr Isaacs. The persona of Alice fits her like a glove and she has some slick moves that are simply eye popping, especially when she whips out her twin kukris, or when she delivers a well placed kick. The interesting thing is that she also brings a certain innocence and naiveté to a character that is essentially a genetically engineered weapon, one that is self aware and very independent despite attempts to shut her down. Milla is definitely a fantastic action movie actor; she just carries it off without any hassle.
So far I have to say that Resident Evil: Extinction would be up there in my top five movies for this year, it doesn’t attempt to be something it isn’t and was a pure pleasure to watch. For some reason the local cinema where I went to see it was only giving it a week only showing so it was a bit of a hassle to see this flick, still in the end it was well worth the hassle and the guys at my local watering hole where I regularly sell raffle tickets were very accommodating in giving me the time to see it; muchas gracias the committee at the Catholic Men’s Club.
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