Matthew D
Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter lead an action packed Resident Evil outing!
Director Russell Mulcahy’s action horror film Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) is a brutal and exciting installment as the T-Virus has taken over the world. Mulcahy gives us a Western style within a Mad Max type post-apocalyptic world, complete with survivalist’s trucks. Alice still has to take on Umbrella’s corruption, greed, and insanity. I liked The Birds reference with the infected crows attacking the group. You even get Alice being like a machine gun toting Jedi, complete with The Force from her telekinesis powers. The zombie gore is more vicious and there’s tons of creepy horror gags for a fearsome atmosphere among all the sci-fi clone concepts. Resident Evil: Extinction was my favorite film in the Resident Evil series and it remains so for Milla Jovovich’s sick heroine gunning down scores of zombies.
Writer Paul W. S. Anderson enters a larger stage of worldwide infection and survivors struggling to find supplies and keep up hope for a safe haven. Casting directors Scot Boland and Victoria Burrows cast a fantastic ensemble with better acting skills than the previous installments. Umbrella’s doctor villain is excellent and far more compelling than the last two villains. It’s a more ambitious and heartfelt movie. I think it holds up nicely for its developed character of Alice as well as showing us more of Umbrella’s company procedures. I was thinking about The Matrix in regards to the numerous clones of Alice.
Milla Jovovich is gorgeous, cool, and compelling once again as Alice. She finds an earnest emotional style that grounds the movie as Alice wants to save the survivors. She’s emotionally conflicted because Umbrella wants her blood. You want to see Alice kill the Umbrella guys, who are callously using her clones for their experiments. I was actually moved by her acting seeing her clones die. Her double wielding pistols, dual machetes, and machine gunning zombies is simply awesome. Jovovich gets a ton of neat stunts and action sequences besides the dramatic scenes.
Ali Larter is likewise insanely hot and commanding as the survivor leader Claire Redfield. Her rifle and shotgun shooting scenes are awesome. She is excellent opposite Milla. They really carry the entire film. Oded Fehr is nice and likable as the brave Carlos Oliveira. Iain Glen goes nuts as he is mean mugging the camera with his icy delivery as Umbrella head scientist Dr. Alexander Isaacs. His creature villain Tyrant is sick and a neat finale for Extinction. His defiance of Wesker are some of the most fun scenes.
Ashanti is sweet as the concerned Nurse Betty in Claire’s convoy. Mike Epps is funny again as L.J., even though his selfish character gets half their convoy killed. Spencer Locke is cute as the kind-hearted and worried companion K-Mart. Jason O'Mara is chilling as the eerie Umbrella Chairman Albert Wesker. Madeline Carroll is adorable as the A.I. White Queen, sister computer to The Red Queen from the previous movies.
Editor Niven Howie keeps a steady pace and has less choppy cutting than the last two movies. He goes for a serious tone for the drama and horror. You can easily follow the action this time too. There’s longer takes, probably with that Western inspiration in Extinction. Cinematographer David Johnson delivers those sweeping far wide aerial and panning shots of the desert for a Western aesthetic. The bright daylight lighting choices from José Castellanos, Benito Aguilar, Juan Carlos Lazo, Mandy Au, Dominic Remane, Mark Stepanek, and Cyril Frederick Chu look vivid. The icy Umbrella aesthetic compared to the shadowy survivor lairs look nice.
Production designer Eugenio Caballero goes full Mad Max with survivor trucks and isolated desert hideouts. Art direction from Marco Niro and Carlos Benassini looks neat with a fiery warm palette and grim green zombies. Set decorators Barbara Enriquez provide scarce supplies for props in scenes. I like the Umbrella areas. Visual effects artists Andrew Nguyen, Fiona Campbell Westgate, Dennis Berardi, and Evan Jacobs do cool creature CGI and bloodthirsty bird attacks.
Composer Charlie Clouser’s riveting film score is perhaps the most distinct and enthralling among all the Resident Evil movies thus far. There’s explosive symphonic parts alongside electronic elements. Sound designers Joan Rowe, Sean Rowe, Ryan Maguire, Luciano Larobina, Alberto Ramirez, Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Miguel Rivera, Derek Pippert, Eric A. Norris, and Scott A. Hecker provides awesome noises for crowing birds, moaning zombies, screaming human yells, and loud heavy gunshots.
Costume designer Joseph A. Porro crafts an iconic ensemble for Milla Jovovich that’s unbelievably hot and more functional than before. Porro makes a dusty Western trench coat, worn brown vest, white tank top, fingerless gun gloves, high heel boots, dark brown shorts, and sexy thigh high stockings. Milla has tons of gun holsters and knife sheaths. Ali Larter gets cool jackets and joggers too that flatter her. I love the outfits in Extinction.
Makeup artist David Forrest, Lourdes Flores, Humberto Escamilla, Marco A. Garcia, Richard Redlefsen, and Jorge Siller do fearsome zombie makeup. Their work for Milla and Ali looks fabulous. Hairstylists Bunny Parker, Isabel Amezcua, and Estrella Lorrabaquio must have spent a ton of time on Milla Jovovich’s flowing blonde tresses and Ali Larter’s long straight dirty blonde hair.
In the end, Resident Evil: Extinction remains my favorite of the Resident Evil movies with its earnest drama, creative sci-fi, creepy horror, and exhilarating action. Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter captivate me for 94 minutes every time I revisit Extinction.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
11/05/24
Full Review
Hargie M
The plot occasionally veered into predictability, and some of the supporting characters didn't get the development they deserved. The film's pacing could also feel inconsistent, with moments of intense action followed by slower, more contemplative scenes that didn't always mesh seamlessly.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
06/21/24
Full Review
Jay H
Enjoyable B-movie schlock. Turn off your brain and enjoy.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
06/05/24
Full Review
Eeva V
As good as the first one with Milla. Good action scenes.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/17/24
Full Review
Spike G
Fun enough medorceness
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/06/24
Full Review
Yudha S
....
Rating : 6/10 Average
Follow my Instagram : @yudhasatria955
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/09/24
Full Review
Read all reviews
>
