Chief GoreMongral's Movie Review: Resident Evil Extinction

Rating: 6/10 (25 September 2007)

Following up on the heels of the craptacular Resident Evil: Apocalypse, RE:E takes us several years after the events of the second movie. Apparently Umbrella's little screw up isn't such a little screw up anymore as the entire world has become decimated by the T-Virus. Now only a small group of people remain to set things right...or at least have some kind of resemblance of a normal life.
Right off the bat I will say that this is the best movie of the series so far. Im not a fan of the first two movies as I really feel the RE license was wasted on these films and with Paul Anderson in tow that definitely sealed the deal. However since the movies have taken the direction they have viewing these movies as action horror and not as more traditional horror films (as this series should have been) this one is actually decent.
The character of Anne has been on the run since the last movie and has decided to be a loner as she realizes that the people that stay close to her always have a way of dying. She does however end up running into Carlos from the last movie and a band of people who are trying to do their best to survive. Unfortunately Umbrella has been trying to track her since her last escape as they realize only her blood can end the T-Virus once and for all.
One of the big problems with the other films was some of the action was way over the top, with this film though there is a few scenes of this there was not nearly as many which is a good thing. Also the humor is kept to a minimum compared to the other films in the series which also helps. Not to say that there isn't but it is not overbearing. Also again CGI is used which has been a bane as well for this series. Although it seems this time they didn't use it as much its the final fight with the Tyrant that it is very apparent. At times parts of this is OK and then others not so OK.
Really this movie seems a lot more fine tuned and most of the elements do work, something that cannot be said about the previous installment. The gore level is OK but not great, though it does have its moments. The zombies looked decent and the story though minimal kept the movie moving along at a brisk pace. In the end of you want a cross-breed Day of the Dead meets The Road Warriors style movie then you should have a good enough time with this one...just don't expect it to be as good as either said film.
Score 6/10: Above Average...for the Resident Evil series this is a step in a "better" direction. Though not perfect it does entertain for the most part. However if you are a jaded RE video game fan who hates the way the series has been handled on the big screen look elsewhere.