Disappointing, But Necessary Viewing For Fans Of The Franchise

Rating: 6/10 (24 May 2009)

I just finished watching this movie on DVD. I am a fan of the Resident Evil franchise and had been delighted with it's quirky take on the horror niche zombie genre. I won't bore the reader with a recap of the plot line. If your reading the comments here, you have an idea of what the franchise is about and where this film is probably going. So, I'll just cut to the chase. Resident Evil: Extinction is a disappointing third film in the Resident Evil franchise. I won't say trilogy, because there is an opening for another installment. So I would say watch this film so that you are up to speed in the inevitable fourth film. Just don't expect the fun of the first Resident Evil.
I have to say watching the increasing regression in quality of this franchise has been a disappointment.
I remember seeing Mila Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson at a Fangoria convention plugging the first Resident Evil to a very bored and jaded audience who had long ago gotten tired of every filmmaker insisting their project was a totally new type of horror film. When I finally got to see the movie in the theater I was pleasantly surprised to see that Resident Evil was indeed a breath of fresh air in the horror genre.
What I think went wrong with the franchise is that once the studio executives discovered they had lightening in a bottle with the first Resident Evil, everyone now put their grubby fingers in the creative process and mucked the whole works up. Resident Evil: Extinction probably is the victim of too many film executives trying to put their stamp on this film and here is the result.