Resident Evil: Extinction

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) takes the franchise in a full post-apocalyptic direction, but the execution stumbles along the way. The story has a few interesting ideas, like the cloning subplot, but it lacks depth and struggles to keep engagement. The first act drags on endlessly, the second act picks up slightly, and the climax, while unique in some ways, fails to deliver the punch it needed. It feels like the movie is more focused on style than substance, which might have worked better if the pacing was tighter. The directing and editing are a mess, making the action scenes frustrating to watch. The shaky cam is back, and somehow, it is worse than in Apocalypse, making some moments borderline unwatchable. The overuse of quick cuts doesn’t help either, making it feel like the action is happening in pieces rather than flowing naturally. That being said, the cinematography has some cool moments, especially in the desert setting, and the final battle at least tries to be creative. Milla Jovovich remains the glue holding everything together. Even when the plot loses steam, she keeps things somewhat enjoyable with her commanding presence and well-executed fight scenes. The script, unfortunately, does not add much, with weak dialogue and little emotional weight. The soundtrack sticks to the industrial rock vibe, but at this point, it feels like the series is relying on style to cover up a lack of substance. Overall, Extinction has moments that work, but it feels more like an action movie trying to throw in zombies rather than a true continuation of what made the first film engaging.

**Overall : The final horror-focused entry of the franchise with high stakes and some great new characters.** The third movie in the Resident Evil franchise and the beginning slide into outright sci-fi action. Most of this entry focuses on survivors attempting to withstand the dangers of a zombie-filled apocalyptic desert. Unfortunately, umbrella’s experiments on Alice have results that sometimes become the focus and begin dragging the franchise further from survival horror. I enjoyed this entry with the addition of Claire Redfield from the games, the return of Carlos Olivera, and the hopelessness of the deadly sun-scorched wasteland continually claiming the lives of the struggling survivors. But Alice’s superpowers distract from the core of what makes this franchise great: surviving zombie horror.

I suppose a bit better than Apocalypse as it feels a bit more mainstreamed in the plot and action, still not great but some of the fight sequences were okay and has some semblance of interesting ideas and I still like Jovovich in the role even if she's not the strongest actress, but does have some screen presence in this sort of movie. Being so short, you don't get to know Ali Larter's character all that well and felt odd that Jill (Sienna Guillory) and Angie's (Sophie Vavasseur) absences weren't mentioned (that I can remember). **2.5/5**