Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

As a double feature, Resident Evil: Extinction does serve to make its predecessor Apocalypse look good. Flawed as it may be, Apocalypse was undeniably a Resident Evil movie. Extinction, on the other hand, swerves furiously away from the previous films in style and setting. Before, we had the enclosed settings of the Hive or Raccoon City, but now we have a road movie of survivors making their way across the wasteland that was once the United States. Thanks to a thirty second narrative exposition, we learn that the T-virus has powers far beyond reanimating the dead, evidently able to dry up lakes and rivers, wipe the planet clean of plant life, and even allow densely-populated areas into deserts in a matter of years (five to be exact). Sensing that this makes no sense, Jill is nowhere to be seen (without even a token mention of her fate), replaced by Claire Redfield, with Carlos and comic relief LJ returning from Apocalypse. But again, this film is about Alice and her amazing fighting abilities, which now include psychic powers so powerful that she is able to destroy a crucial microchip inside the satellite that the Umbrella Corporation is trying to use to control her. But one Alice isn't enough to carry these films any more, and so we are treated to hundreds of clones of Alice appearing in the final shot, setting up the ludicrous opening scene from the sequel, Afterlife. Even as a zombie film this is subpar, far more suited to fans of Milla Jovovich, unconvincing kung-fu, and Milla Jovovich.


Take some of your own advice, Paul.