“Resident Evil: Extinction” (Screen Gems)
The Series Continues
Who knew that Milla Jovovich would turn into one of the outstanding action heroes of the year. She has been playing the character of Alice in all of the “Resident Evil” films but in the latest installment, “Resident Evil: Extinction,” she really comes into her own. Combine her physical prowess and beauty with a fast moving action storyline and you have a solid bit of entertainment.
This film starts off by jumping right into the “Resident Evil” plot. Alice (Jovovich) is seen waking up and being hunted in a scientific looking facility. Without any backstory presented it is all sink or swim. You have to gain pieces of the plot from the past movies as quickly as you can. If you haven’t seen all the previous ones you are going to be lost and confused but strangely it just doesn’t matter.
Suffice it to say Alice is a survivor of the virus that covered the globe and turned mankind for the most part into mutant flesh eaters. There are some other survivors here and there, and Alice meets a group of them and discovers her old love Carlo (Oded Fehr) is among them. The group is headed up by a woman named Claire (Ali Larter).
There is one peril after another in this movie and they are all fun to watch. Jovovich really does a great job of making the fight scenes believable, plus she is tough looking in a gorgeous way. She and Larter are similar in looks. There is something similar about the structure of their faces.
Fehr and Jovovich make a magnificent looking couple. Spencer Locke has some good moments as a teenager named K-Mart, and Ashanti is stunning in the looks department as a nurse named Betty. Mike Epps adds some comic relief as another member of the survivors and Iain Glen is menacing as the evil Dr. Isaacs.
The film is rated R for profanity, violence and brief nudity.
You would think this series of movies would have worn out its welcome by now. This is after all the third installment. But somehow the makers of this movie have reinvented it and made it fresher and more fun than either of the other two.
This type of movie may not be something you enjoy, but for those who do like action adventures this one hits the bulls-eye. Jovovich and company handle this one so well that you will be eagerly awaiting the next installment which is set up at the end of this one.
I scored “Resident Evil: Extinction” a reborn 6 out of 10.
