You have to love the entire concept of Zombies. It requires the utmost in audience 'Suspension of Disbelief'. For example:

Career Guidance Councilor: "OK, Mr. Zombie, welcome to career counseling. Lets start by filling out this application form. I see the first pen I gave you...you seem to have...eaten. Hmm. Well, that is certainly a unique approach, it shows you aren't limited to imperialistic dogma, and you are willing to think outside the, um, the box. Ok, I'll just ask you the questions, and fill this all in for you alright? So, first question, what is your primary long term goal?"

Mr Zombie: "Brains!"

CGC: "Excellent. Brains are very important. Now, can you think of a short term goal that will help you to reach that primary goal?"

Mr Zombie: "Brains!"

CGC: "OK...I suppose it does take brains to get brains doesn't it? Heh. Now, what time frame were you thinking of for the completion of your primary goal?"

Mr Zombie: "BRAINS!"

And so on. My point here is that you know what you're getting into when you go to Resident Evil: Extinction, and seeing the other Resident Evil movies beforehand is nice, but not necessary.

Extinction ditches the video game feel that the other two R.E. movies had, and I'd say that is a good thing. All three R.E. movies are gritty and bloody, this one takes the prize for being the grittiest, bloodiest, and most ridiculously violent of the three. As a matter of fact, although they relied on some of the old sets (and footage) from the first film. Extinction branches away from the constricted underground research-lab feel of the first movie, and into the barren wastelands of post-apocalyptica. At this rate, the next R.E. movie will be in outer space.

After a disjointed and slow start (including a dyslexic encounter between Alice and some zombie-dogs), the movie works out to be a remake of Road Warrior done by George Romero. I mean that in a good way, although I didn't care for any of Romero's "[Fill in the Blank] of the Dead" movies. The concept of 'domesticating' the zombies comes up, and people will make all the comparisons to Zombie Consumerist Culture (and all the reactions against it), but I don't think there is much reflective/educational/societal commentary value to Resident Evil: Extinction.

Soundtrack was good (Including the fantastic remake of White Rabbit from Collide's "Chasing the Ghost" LP which was my first online music purchase, and is only seven years overdue for recognition)

They need to hire back Marilyn Manson to do score and sound design. The ambient sound in the first R.E. movie was some of the best ever done, and really lacking in the second and third R.E. films.

And I have mixed feelings about Alice finally finding some clothing, after running around the first two films half-nekked. But don't worry, you will get to see plenty of Milla. Let's just say an exponentially exposed amount of Milla, and leave it at that.

Since your mind was already on the topic of having sex with Milla Jovovich, I have heard rumors that she is pregnant, and I just wanted to officially state for the record that no matter what you might have heard, I had nothing to do with it.

So the Executive Summary Review would be that R.E.3 is better than the second, but not quite as good as the first. Definitely worth seeing in the theatre.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

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