Resident Evil: Extinction

Those who live by the video game, die by the video game: that's the fate suffered by most of the principal players in this three-quel based…on a video game. In Resident Evil: Extinction, cloned cutie Alice (Milla Jovovich), aware that her continued existence is a liability to the sinister Umbrella Corporation led by evil Albert Wesker (Jason O'Mara) and head researcher Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen), flees across a southwest desert ravaged by zombie hordes created by Umbrella's loosed T-virus. Rather improbably, Alice stumbles across old friends and fellow warriors Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and L.J. (Mike Epps), who have joined up with Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and her intrepid band of survivors to battle bloodthirsty zombies, killer crows, and legions of mercenaries working for the corporation. Director Russell Mulcahy, back to feature films after spending the last few years helming music videos, stages the nonstop action with plenty of verve, but is incapable of surmounting a plethora of script inanities. But nobody goes to a Resident Evil movie for vivid characters, scintillating dialogue, or complex story arcs: the young male target audience will be pleased; others will find this to be as brain-dead as one of the zombies. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include an audio commentary (by director Russell Mulcahy, writer-producer Paul W.S. Anderson, and producer Jeremy Bolt), four “Beyond Raccoon City: Unearthing Resident Evil: Extinction” making-of featurettes with segments on preproduction, shooting, creature design, and visual effects (31 min. total), 11 deleted scenes (9 min.), and trailers (including a sneak peek at the upcoming CGI feature film Resident Evil: Degeneration). Bottom line: a decent extras package for a run-of-the-mill three-quel.] (E. Hulse)