Not Impressed

Rating: 3/10 (11 January 2008)

I must admit, I had some high hopes after thoroughly enjoying the first & second Resident Evil movies. The second more so than the first, left me interested to see what road they would take in the future if/when they did a 3rd film. Last night I got my chance to see this progression, and I turned the TV off wondering how I could regain the time I lost watching it back.
In classic form, Milla Jovovich does well in the role she has taken on in these films. However, aside from reappearances Oded Fehr (Carlos), Mike Epps (L.J.), and Iain Glen (Dr. Isaacs), I thought the casting was simply a dice toss for the team behind this film. Ali Larter's part could have been much better, and the lack of characterization among the "Envoy" left absolutely no connection with them, resulting in not even a single care for who lived or died in the film. Roles I thought would be built upon would have been Ali's and Spencer's (K-Mart), but the script barely writes them in other than a few lines and some action sequences.
Throughout the film there's little explanation for what happens between the 2nd and the 3rd film, other than the gradual "sucking dry" of the planet and some brief information from Milla regarding the situation with hacking satellites to stay hidden. It's unfortunate, as the 2nd film did well in creating the "Sci-Fi" element, blending a bit of "T-Virus" mutation with the "Super Human" element in which her character is built upon. Although the "Super Human" element was done well in the 2nd film, the 3rd goes a bit overboard with the "Ultimate Zombie Killer" persona as well as the "Now I have super telekinetic abilities as well" which was only -hinted- at the very end of the 2nd film. As such, the lack of explanation regarding the telekinetic abilities leaves a "Wow cool effects" but "boring" feeling.
The end, however, is so forced and absurd that I almost shut the movie off minutes before it actually ended in absolute shock as to what was being implied. Not only did they leave an opening to film #4, they did so in such a pathetic and "how-the-heck-are-they-going-to-do-that" way that it's almost like they flopped film #4 before they even officially announced it. Likewise, absolutely NO follow up as to the status of the Envoy survivors almost completely removes the purpose of watching the hour of the film before the ending. What happens? Who knows...and who knows if we'll ever find out.
3 out of 10, for cool effects, Milla in a Sci-Fi uber outfit that shows some leg skin, and the fact that it is, after all, a Resident Evil movie.