On September 21st, 2007 all pants were off as the trilogy ending Resident Evil: Extinction blew into theatres and I watched it FIVE times – I bought six tickets, but I missed one showing. To anyone at my office that might be reading this; yes, I was sick, and my calling in had to do with serious illness despite me previously requesting the day off and then getting that request rejected. I was ill! Serious as cancer! Luckily, there was a cure, and it was to not miss out on a whole Friday worth of maximum Millaocity. I wholeheartedly expected to go back another day to see it again on another day, but I was spent and figured that it was time I left my moist seat in the theatre to another patron. 

I mention this, because my initial reactions to my first five viewings were something like OMG! LOL! THIS IS TEH AWESOMEZ! JIZZZZZZZ! repeated ad infinitum throughout the running time. But now, I get to experience this film once again on glorious DVD in my own house, with a more reserved outlook. 

I suppose I owe the readers who can wade through my bias a bit of a plot synopsis in order to catch you up to speed. Picking up several years following the events of Resident Evil: Apocalypse, most of the world has turned into a desert wasteland. There are very few survivors left and now that most of the world is barren, there is very little food for any of them. Some of the stronger (or at least lucky) human survivors are gathered together by a convoy run by Claire Redfield (Ali Larter of Heroes and Final Destination fame) and the returning Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr, The Mummy, RE: Apocalypse). As successful as living can be in a world overrun by the undead, by sticking to rural towns and away from big cities, they’ve been able to live off of scavenged food and gas from convenience stores and other long abandoned structures. Alice (Milla Jovovich), the changed heroine of the series is not with them. After getting caught and further experimented on in the finale of the last film, she considers herself too much a threat to the few humans that remain with her telekinetic powers not entirely controllable. Instead she seems to scour the desert that was formerly America a few days ahead of the convoy, basically protecting them without their knowledge.  

This separation doesn’t happen too long into the film, though. While sleeping one night after fighting off a brutal gang of hermitic survivors, Alice has a telekinetic episode which destroys her motorcycle, so she is forced to rejoin with the convoy in order to find transportation. She arrives just in time to protect the convoy from an attack of birds that have been feeding off of infected decaying human flesh. Unfortunately, people are lost in the process either to infection, or the attack itself. Still, hope is brought with Alice’s arrival. She has found information that there may be unaffected areas where the virus hasn’t made it up in Alaska. The problem? The convoy is currently in Southern Nevada, there is not enough food or fuel to make it that far and their last few stops brought nothing. Their only option is to hit a major city in hopes of finding this, something stayed away from since the undead is much denser around them. The closest city is Las Vegas (I’m guessing Henderson was already sacked). 

Of course, the undead isn’t the only problem. Umbrella, the corporation that created and released the T-Virus over the population, naturally had plans to secure its important people in case this happened. Led by Albert Wesker (Jason O’Mara), the remaining Umbrella employees scattered in underground “hives” throughout the world are faced with finding a solution to the zombie problem. Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen), the person who experimented on Alice, is in charge of domesticating them and killing their sense of aggression. He believes that the only way to do this is through the blood of the original Alice who has without transportation been unsuccessful in being spotted by their satellites. The survivors of the Redfield Convoy will have one hell of a surprise for them when they get to Vegas, where things will be a lot different than they planned upon. 

Watching this series progress, and having long since lost all concern about its relation to the game series, I’ve been able to see the interesting differences, the fun, and even flaws that each of the films has. With Extinction specifically, I really dug the setting. As a desert dweller who has watched a sprawling metropolis grow around him, I like seeing the opposite happen and see the desert take over the large cities. For some reason in my messed up little mind, I find post-apocalyptic environments to be pretty exciting. Add zombies into the mix and it gets even more interesting. I could without too much imagination, picture myself surviving with this type of convoy because it’s something that I’ve thought of long before the franchise existed. I’m sure the creators had similar feelings as Paul Anderson talks up his love for films like The Road Warrior in the extras, as well as his remembrances of the late '70s-early '80s zombie flicks. The look of this film and even some of the ideas are very much stolen from Day of the Dead (the attempt at domestication and familiarization of the zombies) and The Road Warrior (armored convoy seeking a safe zone). But, if you’re going to steal from greatness, these are some of the best examples of the genre. Originality is not Extinction’s strong point, but it certainly is a blast nevertheless. 

Where I do feel that the film succeeds more than the others is in the characters. The ones here are a lot more fleshed out than before. You can understand without scripted words the connection between Carlos and Alice. Claire’s concern for her convoy is understood. Apocalypse’s L.J. (Mike Epps) returns in this film and has fallen for a survivor named Betty (Ashanti) that is the nurse of the convoy. A character named Mikey (Christopher Egan, Eragon) is their technology expert that seems to have more than a minor affection towards Claire. A lot of established characters do not make it through this film. People die. But unlike the faceless victims of Raccoon City or the undeveloped soldiers in the original film, you do get to know these characters. So the 14-year old named-for-where-she-was-found K-Mart (Spencer Locke) is someone you want to root for. The same goes for the rest of the convoy. Hell, even the villainous Dr. Isaacs is someone that is now developed enough to truly despise.  

That said, Extinction does have its flaws that are odd enough to make suspension of disbelief difficult. America at very least has turned predominantly into a desert, yet most roads and streets seem relatively uncovered while Vegas is buried under at least 5 feet of sand that isn’t “sandy” enough to prevent huge busses to drive over. At one point they are prevented from getting gas because of a trailer in the middle of their passage. There are experimented zombies in the trailer, but it’s a 12-ft trailer with a seemingly endless army inside packed in like a clown car. It makes little physical sense. There’s also the fact that there are truck and car tracks literally everywhere, and if the world is as barren as it is, they would have been covered up awful quick. But these things never get in the way of enjoying the fun the film serves up. Personally though, I’m still curious to know the fate of Jill Valentine who was among the survivors of Apocalypse. 

Mulcahy’s direction was a welcome addition to the series. A very stylistic director of music videos and genre films for over twenty years, including such classics as Highlander, Duran Duran’s Arena (of which the famous “Wild Boys” video is a part), Ricochet and Silent Trigger, he’s got a good eye for flash and making just about anyone look, and you can quote me, wicked fucking cool. He doesn’t disappoint in Extinction as just about everyone seems superhuman in there heroism. Even the tech guy and little girl get their moment of glory. It isn’t just Milla’s show anymore.  

If not for some implausibly silly stunts (and what is a post-apocalyptic film without those) Resident Evil: Extinction is a fun as hell ride. It’s also a great ender if they don’t decide to continue with a fourth film. (Like that won’t happen). So it gets an easy recommendation from me, because I think it’s a better film than the original and it is more serious and relatable than Apocalypse (which is my favorite). If you have any interest at all, you should set aside the time to watch Resident Evil: Extinction. 

Presentation
The SD DVD is pretty damn good. Video quality is about what you can expect for an A-title major studio release. The film’s anamorphic widescreen, there are no compression artifacts, the blacks are deep and the colors are exceptionally sharp. The landscape of Extinction is relatively brown but all the natural tones come across quite well. Audio makes for a blissful union. There are quite a few surround effects in the DD 5.1 mix, most notably in the fight sequences and its all quite heavy and your low-end will rumble. The disc is great and fans are not going to regret buying it one iota. Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish and all three languages have a DD 5.1 mix to match. 

Extras

Audio Commentary with director Russell Mulcahy, writer/producer Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt
First off, no Milla = me not nearly as excited seeing as how she had great things to say on each of the prior film’s commentaries (although her Ultraviolet one wasn’t so hot). Anyway, I was willing to look past this because of Mulcahy’s input who has always been a director that I’ve had interest in. Sadly, most of the commentary is pretty dry and unengaging. Couple this with quite a fair share of dead air, describing exactly what’s going on on-screen and you’ve got a pretty disappointed reviewer. However, there are interesting bits here and there about casting and set design although most covered in other features. It’s a “2 out of 5” commentary. Although, I could just be saying this because the thought of playing Elite Beat Agents on my Nintendo DS kept entering my mind, and I have no idea why. 

Deleted Scenes – (8:29)
There are eleven deleted scenes, but still total less than nine minutes. Some of them even remain unfinished lacking sound or effects, and they are all presented in non-anamorphic widescreen. The scenes reveal an interesting plot point that further fleshes out the backstory of the Super Undead selection process as well as Dr. Issacs’ animosity with Wesker. There’s also a running joke about L.J.’s occupation prior to the outbreak. An added nine minutes to the running time wouldn’t have hurt the film any, so it’s a shame that this stuff wasn’t included, but really they aren’t needed to make Extinction the great film that it is. 

Beyond Raccoon City: Unearthing Resident Evil: Extinction – (31:05)
Here is your production featurettes nicely packaged together into one feature (although watchable separately. The first, Alice Vision: Preproduction follows the concept and inspiration for the direction the third part decided to go to. The Big Bang: Shooting Resident Evil: Extinction follows the cast and crew through the making of the film. It runs the longest of the four parts and does a decent enough job showing the hardships of the desert shoot. Bigger, Faster, Stronger: The Undead Evolve follows your make-up and costume effects stuff for the zombies. Certain days had 300+ zombies in 140+ degree heat; impressive! Finally, Vegas Visual Effects: Miniatures while very short is what I enjoyed the most. It shows all the cool miniature sets that were made to make the desert Vegas and the tanker explosion. Fans of the film should certainly wade though this feature. 

Resident Evil: Degeneration – (1:02)
This comes as a bit of a shock, but this is actually a trailer for an entirely CG animated movie (first based on a game since Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, I believe). It takes place seven years after the Raccoon City incident, and it appears to fit in with the video game canon as opposed to the film storyline since Leon Kennedy (from Resident Evil 2 & 4) is present. Either way, this teaser is actually pretty hot, and I’m looking forward to this one. 

Previews
As has become customary for Sony product, they’ve released a batch of promos and trailers for updated releases. Included here are a bumper called Coming to Blu-ray which is pretty much self-explanatory and trailers for Vantage Point, Dragon Wars, Untraceable, Zombie Strippers, Southland Tales, Superbad, The Brothers Solomon, Boogeyman 2, Gabriel, The Nines, Jackie Chan’s The Myth, 30 Days of Night, the Resident Evil & Resident Evil: Apocalypse Resurrected Edition, Fearnet.com. Finally, there are video game trailers for Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles for the Nintendo Wii and Devil May Cry 4 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. I will of course be watching the shit out of Zombie Strippers. 

DIMP COMMUNITY SERVICE: ALTERNATE VERSIONS OF THIS DVD! 

The standard DVD comes in a nice O-card that is shiny enough to attract your eye, but there are store exclusives out there. Are they worth it? Read on… 

Wal-Mart – The store that everyone loves to hate is offering a “2-disc limited edition.” I do not have this copy myself, which looks in almost every way identical to the standard release. The only difference that I can tell is that this version includes codes to attain a downloadable version of the movie that can be watched on your PC, transferred to your PSP (PlayStation Portable) and henceforth watched on your PS3 (PlayStation 3). For those not confused by the technology, you’ll likely be confused by the point of it all. If you have the DVD, why would you need to download the file to watch it in your computer? That DVD can be played in your PC and PS3 on its own, so the only benefit would be watching Extinction on the go on your PSP, which would only serve to hurt Sony’s potential sales on the Extinction UMD movie. Regardless, if you really want this version, you better get it because the download ticket expires April 2, 2008 truly putting the “limited” back in Limited Edition. 

GameStop – GameStop’s DVD of Resident Evil: Extinction is exactly the same as the release you’ll find in other stores, except that buying it there gets you a free bonus disc (make sure to ask the employee for it, they’re separate) which comes individually sealed in a CD-style jewel case. It has two features truly exclusive to this release, which for the purpose of completion I’ll go into here… 

The Players: The Cast of Extinction – (19:38)
This is a feature that actually looks at the characters more than the actors. There are character profiles for Alice, Claire Redfield, Carlos Olivera, L.J., Betty, Mikey, K-Mart, Chase, and Dr. Isaacs. The thoughts on every character are shared by the actor that plays them and at times by other actors and the crew themselves. This is a solid feature and it’s a shame that many fans won’t be able to see it.

Resident Road Map: Reflections on the Future of the Series – (6:59)
Is the franchise over? It seems not. While not too revealing, Milla doesn’t seem disinterested in making another and if not, Wesker was specifically developed to segue into another “trilogy worth of material.” Personally, while I would love to see a fourth Milla adventure especially after the incredible set up of Extinction’s finale, Resident Evil as a film franchise could easily live on without Milla if it were to go into another direction and I would still eat them up all the same. Although producer Robert Kulzer states that Alice is the centerpiece of the series and he can’t see more being made without her. Who’s to say? Even though you see the filmmakers talking about potential for the series from here on out, very little of it is more than speculation, although Anderson seems pretty confident that there will be a fourth Resident Evil. You make it guys, and I’ll be there. 

There are no menus on the bonus disc, just these two features which play back-to-back. I bought this because I’m a die-hard fan of the series, so for those people I would recommend it. Otherwise, you’ll be pretty satisfied with the standard release. These features are good enough and should have been included on the regular retail release though. 

The Bottom Line
So the Resident Evil trilogy comes to a close (allegedly) and with it the close of the most consistently entertaining trilogy of the new millennium. So, for me, the series numero uno fan for both its awesome diversion from the games that inspired them as well as its main heroine, this fact comes with both a sadness and great happiness that it ended on such a high note. If you’ve been along for the ride so far, you owe it to yourself to check out the conclusion to Alice’s saga.

It’s not my favorite of the three movies, but it certainly packs in a lot of Day of the Dead meets The Road Warrior badassery that challenges you not to enjoy it. If you hate everything about the franchise, the third part probably wouldn’t sway you and you should probably go back to watching your pussy little Shyamalan films. As for the DVD, well it’s hard to recommend it because while the quality is more than watchable, the features are not as packed as the first two. Plus, to my knowledge both Wal-Mart and GameStop have exclusive two disc versions and the Blu-ray also has better quality and exclusive features. If you’re SD only, and not looking to upgrade, don’t hesitate to pick this up. It’s ultimately a great ride on a great disc and it’s packed with enough Millagrams of excitement to cure any disease.