Mad Max meets The Birds

Rating: 6/10 (25 June 2020)

Resident Evil: Extinction is the third of six entries in the live action series around former security officer Alice who fights her former employer known as Umbrella Corporation. She joins a group of survivors in Utah who plan on traveling to a safe haven in Alaska that hasn't been affected by the deadly T-Virus. However, the group gets caught in a deadly trap in Nevada and must fight against Umbrella Corporation's powerful administrators, security officers and soldiers.
The film's biggest flaw is its beginning. While the transition between the first and the second movie was smooth, this movie takes place several months later and only explains rather vaguely what has happened in between. Some important characters of the predecessor have disappeared without any explanations while completely new characters show up without any introductions.
Among the new characters, a tough but charming female teenager named K-mart played by a charismatic and quirky Spencer Locke steals the show. Another strong element are the dusty, isolated and hot locations that recall the Mad Max franchise. The film's highlight is when mutated crows attack the survivors which recalls animal horror masterpiece The Birds. The final showdown in Las Vegas is also highly entertaining and has a lot of symbolism as it shows how ephemeral this desert city of steel and class actually is.
The plot is even thinner than in the previous movies and this film obviously ends yet again on a cliffhanger. Thanks to interesting characters, fascinating locations and creative special effects, this third entry in the franchise is however a step in the right direction after the painfully average immediate predecessor. Fans of dystopian science-fiction tales should give this franchise in general and this movie in particular a chance.