Too much gore, not enough plot

New ‘Resident Evil’ movie doesn’t do previous flicks justice with pointless plot and unanswered questions

By Jessica Lewis, contributing writer
Posted on September 27, 2007

With the tagline “Experimentation...Evolution...Extinction,” “Resident Evil: Extinction” promises apocalyptic disaster in the newest installment of the franchise. The last remaining humans travel the Earth, trying to avoid the zombies infected by an evil corporation’s mistake. The only hope for humanity, Alice (played by Milla Jovovich), uses her superhuman powers to gorge, slash and decimate the endless zombie population.  Meanwhile, a small group of survivors travels through the desert to Las Vegas, searching for gasoline, supplies and other survivors in need of assistance.  The sun shines intensely on blood-thirsty zombies and their victims.  An eighteen-wheeler truck travels through deserted towns using a cattle guard to annihilate the undead in its path while Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” rocks in the background.  The plot for “Extinction” is seemingly simple, but becomes senseless as the movie progresses through a series of desert landscapes, blood trails and underground labs.  The trailer explains the plotline better than the movie itself.  This flick is intended to simply make you jump.

The plot struggles to stay afloat, due in part to the quick deaths of characters with potential depth. Of course, anyone going into a movie based on a Capcom video game is not expecting an Oscar-worthy script, but “Extinction” leaves holes.  How does the Umbrella corporation receive funding and resources in a world that is now economically dead?  What is evil scientist Dr. Isaac’s motivation for being so very wicked?  The scenes move too fast to explain questions and the action-laden events leave little space for strong dialogue.

There are, however, some eerie scenes and effective surprises.  The audience jumps at the simplest movements—a tip jar falling over in an abandoned gas station, a zombie exploding around a corner, even the sudden electric sparks in a destroyed laboratory shock the audience.  The most haunting scene includes crows attacking a school bus full of children.  The attack itself is akin to scenes from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.

In this addition to the “Resident” movies the zombies are traditional horror film characters, particularly as they walk blindly, arms raised, towards the Umbrella Corporation’s perimeter. The scenes include a combination of both the Umbrella Corporation labs, which was present in the first “Resident Evil”, and the outskirts of society, which dominated the second installment.  “Extinction” wraps both into a package and still leaves the possibility for a fourth addition.

For the average viewer, “Extinction” has it obvious downsides and upsides of lowbrow violence.  The flick can still provide the “Resident Evil” fan with some gory scenes and the continuation of Alice’s evolving powers.  Unfortunately for the “Resident Evil” franchise, “Extinction” cannot compare in its script and  plot to last spring’s zombie movie, “28 Weeks Later.”  “In Extinction,” the zombies are not as terrifying, the scenes of escape are not as intense and the characters are not nearly as well developed.  “Extinction” can provide the audience with jumps and thrills, a bit of nudity and a lot of gore, but in no way can the main character, Alice, evolve enough to carry the plotline.