Resident Evil 3: Yeah, It's Extinct

For a moment, I thought Resident Evil: Extinction (or Resident Evil 3, abbreviated as RE3) was a good movie. Then I got up from my seat and realized I didn't get my money's worth, and it was a discount theater.


This is a mild thumbs down. I know the movie is a popcorn flick to provide zombie and monster eyecandy while Milla Jovovich looks good shooting and swinging knives, and they do a good job providing the eyecandy.


RE3 raises the stakes of RE2, only it has less fun doing so. The infamous T-virus spread across the world, killing all wildlife, humans, and animals. Everything is infected. Since the whole planet is a desert, my question is why did they go to Vegas? We've already seen Vegas as a desert, let's see Miami or San Fransciso as a desert. Alice is riding alone, searching place to place and learning her newest talent, telekinisis, which isn't that surprising if you've kept up with her abilities. She meets up with a convoy of survivors, some of whom she knew in RE2, but didn't bother to ask, "Where's Jill?" The answer is: "The actress didn't feel like making another bad movie."



The pesty Umbrella corporation, with their bunkers spread out around the world, realize Alice's blood may be a potential cure to infection, which makes me wonder how often the villians bang their heads against their desks, asking themselves why they ever let her get away in the first place. Naturally, this leads to a fight between Alice and some new mutation, but at least this mutation doesn't have a nine-foot tongue and can speak. Let's talk about the good parts before the bad overshadow them.


They bring back the laser beam from the first Resident Evil. For those that don't know, let me ruin it for you. There was a long corridor with lights. In Resident Evil, the laser shoots across the room and cuts through anything in its way. Then it shoot again, but this time it moves. Finally, after moving and cutting, it spreads out in a grid, cutting people into small squares. Why didn't it spread out to start with? Either A.) it needed time to charge up, or B.) the computer system has a sad sense of humor. In RE3, we have the same hallway, same laser, less humor. The laser cuts straight to the point, literally. I almost want to root for the laser.



Instead of the usual, "You're bitten, but I don't want to kill you, so let's wait until your a zombie," line is removed. When someone is bitten, he hides it because they've learned, if your friend is bitten, kill him then or send him on a suicide mission.... and yeah, don't bother cooking dinner for him.



One thing they did get right was how to do the neo-zombie. Classic zombies are designed for horror. They will surround you, slowly bang on the walls, and eventually walk towards you, get a decent grip, and try to take a bite out of you. They're designed for horror in mass numbers. Neo-zombies, most commonly seen in the remake of Dawn of the Dead, run at you, tackle you, and take bites, unless they are going to get shot, in which they scream at you before running at you, which gives you just enough time to make their head explode.



Here, neo-zombies are done right. They charge, go for the neck, and don't get distracted. They pull at your legs, can climb to a decent extent (they've learned they have arms), but only use their hands to get closer to your neck. They never get distracted from their food. When trapped in a vechile, they slowly but surely tear the vechile apart. It keeps the horror element while still getting their action.



What goes wrong? The start of the movie gives away its flaws. Alice goes into an abandoned building looking for survivors, but finds non-zombie cannibals who feed her to their infested dogs. I'm tired of the dogs. We've seen them in the past two movies. We don't need them anymore. But just for the sake of punching them, shooting them, and tying them up, she fights them anyway.



The movie doesn't develop characters at all. We're left to imagine what they are like by the way they dress and talk. Sure enough, the guy with the cowboy hat is from Texas and eats pork and beans, the guy with really long hair is a stoner and does drugs, and the strong-willed female lead (not Jovovich, they added another) screams whenever someone dies, like she wishes she was Sigourney Weaver, and had taken action earlier to make sure to say, "Get away from her, you bitch!" Not every heroine can live up to the Aliens standard.



The plot is predictable. Of course if you walk into a dark room, the zombie is waiting for you. Of course if you sit down, there's another one waiting for you. And of course, if it was a close call and no one thinks you were bit, you sure as hell was bit. The play with a herd of crows becomes complete defiance towards logic. And later on, when there is a lack of zombies, it's because the birds have picked the city clean. So no bones? Hmm... I think it's because the director didn't want to bother with a big zombie fight and just get the film over with.



Is it entertaining? Yes, but we've seen everything before. It's as entertaining as the next knife-fight and zombie show-down. They've learned some, but need to learn at others.



Is it for everyone? No. If you liked the first two Resident Evil movies, you'll like this one. If you haven't seen the first two, or didn't like either of them, don't bother with any.



Is it memorable? Under a close eye, I like how they used the neo-zombies, and the laser provides a lesson in movie logic. Other than that, no. Wait, Jovovich did show off her clothing line. Ask the fashion critic if that's memorable.



My suggestions? If you saw the first two and thought that was worth it, then go for it. If not, don't bother.