It Was Man That Done That

Rating: 9/10 (25 September 2007)

It's been awhile since I've seen a horror movie in the theater. I saw the first 2 RE titles on DVD, and liked both of them to differing extents and for different reasons. I decided to check this one out in the theater, and I'm thrilled that I did. This movie was an amazing roller coaster ride, a perfect mix of Mad Max and the original Day of the Dead.
The character back stories, while not extensive by any means, in a lot of cases gave you a reason to care for those people. You knew L.J. wasn't a bad guy, just caught in a crappy situation and not wanting to give up on his humanity for as long as possible. I doubt most people would act any differently in his situation. Clair was a great, solid character, as much as I don't like the Ali Larter role on Heroes, I couldn't help but sympathize and appreciate her here, trying to keep people alive and safe, moving from town to town, looking for a place to call home. Few of these people were hardcore soldiers trained to survive in extreme conditions, they were all doing what they had to do to make it, and she was no exception.
There were inconsistencies to be sure, and things that I just laughed about after wards when I was picking through the movies big scenes, like who dressed the zombies in those light blue jumpers (intern job from Hell to be sure).
A lot of people I talked to who have seen it seem to think that the end leaves the door open for a forth movie. While I guess it's possible, I also think it's also a worthy conclusion, Alice gets what she needs to bring down Umbrella, and there's every indication that she's going to go forward and do that. She also has the capability to create a cure for the t-virus mutations, which you feel like at the end she will probably do.
The world at the end of Extinction isn't back to normal, and there's no indication that it will be any times soon, but there's every indication that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and I am good leaving it at that.
I've only played the first Resident Evil game, and while it's a great game, I'm glad they didn't decide to adapt it for the movie. The RE movies give us a broader perspective of the world of the Umbrella Corporation and Raccoon City, a different perspective. They do make me want to go back and play the games I missed, but I don't see any reason why they should have just been a remaking of them.
Not a flawless movie by any means, but good enough to ignore the flaws and enjoy the ride to be sure.