Okay as a Road Warrior style post-apocalyptic film... But a great zombie franchise sequel? Not so much.

Rating: 7/10 (22 September 2007)

In the not too distant future, viral weaponry research and development goes all wrong. What follows is an entertaining vision for any fan of zombie pandemic stories or just plain world/human survival style films. The first film in this franchise is decidedly the best with as-believable-as-can-be ideas, nifty effects, a decent (not over-the-top) story. The second and third films, however, move pretty far away from the basic zombie survival story and much further into character-based stories with a focus on splinter/spin-off concepts like wildly comic book/cartoonish science fiction elements. So if you enjoy movies that are based on comic books or video games that will require you to accept a lot of really over-the-top ideas (like superpowers, supernatural powers, CHUD-style mutation, magic, etc.), then you will still enjoy the latter two films since they are not bad on that merit. They're also okay as general apocalyptic survival stories. However, as a fan of the zombie genre, if you were expecting a solid continuation of the basic story of zombie infection from the first film, these sequels will let you down. The Romero-style zombies in these films are really just extras that apparently just needed to be in the background making room for more intense and faster (though much less believable) antagonists. Maybe this is because films like 28 Days/Weeks and Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead have done much to turn the volume down on lumbering old-style zombies and Paul W.S. Anderson felt that he needed to crank up the action factor.
In RE3, our heroes finally figure out that moving to near the arctic circle would be a good move (you know, COLD + ZOMBIE = IMMOBILE ZOMBIE), and decide to hoof it to Alaska after learning of a possible isolated colony of survivors there. There are a number of new twists on the infection (you will be thinking of Bud The Zombie and/or Bud The CHUD at a few points), and there will be more Boyle/Snyder style zombie goodness to contend with mixed in with the normal zombie hoards.
There were, however, some hold-out thematic elements from the first two films. There are zombie Doberman pinchers, creepy hologram girls with British accents, plenty of zombie-around-the-corner jump-in-your-seat moments, and of course Alice either naked or in hot Road Warrior-style tactical gear. There is the terrible T-Virus infection, and the perfect anti-virus strait out of the X-Files. There are new hints at the answers to old questions, and some new things to think about that still relate to the basic T-Virus. And without a doubt, there's the recurring theme of the evil big corporation (The Umbrella Corp. A.K.A. Halliburton + Merck + United Healthcare) which caused the mess but has managed to out-survive governments and massive population decimation. The moral here? What happens when a capitalistic society allows a private entity to become too powerful? The evil private scientists always plot to rule the world at the expense of the common population.
Anyway, I don't go to the theater to see films often, but I try to make it to the big-budget zombie flicks... However, on the merit of being a zombie film, I could have waited for this one to roll to DVD...