RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION

Director: Russell Mulcahy

Stars: Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Ali Larter, Iain Glen, Ashanti, Christopher Egan, Spencer Locke, Matthew Marsden, Mike Epps

Year: 2005

Rated: R

The third installment in the videogame-inspired Resident Evil franchise finally brings back the quality of the first film (Resident Evil) over the semi-dud of the second (Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which has a CGI-infested ending that drove me batty). Part three takes place about five years after part two ended, and by now the outlook for the human race is grim; the virus created for biological warfare by the Umbrella Corporation has now spread worldwide, effectively turning nearly every living creature into a flesh-eating zombie.

The one hope for humanity is the ass-kicking soldier who's been around from the beginning - Alice (Milla Jovovich), who's now estranged from all her companions in order to keep them safe (the Umbrella Corporation can track her, and she knows it). She travels the country on a motorcycle, trying to find what's left of everything from gas to food to humanity - and the film even opens with a bang-up scene in which Alice is captured by a tribe of inbred hillbillies in the Nevada desert, who lure her in with a radio broadcast may-day ... and her escape from them definitely sets the tone for just how action-packed (and violent) this film is going to be.

Meanwhile, the bad guys at the Umbrella Corporation (whose headquarters, around the world, are so far underground that even the zombies can't get to them) are hard at work. If they can't get Alice, they'll do the next best thing clone her, over and over and over again, and try to find the perfect replica in order to not only combat the undead ... but possibly find a cure for them, as well. Led by the mentally unsound, quite evil Dr. Isaacs, the experimentations just aren't producing the needed results - leading Isaacs to realize he's got to find the real thing ...

As Alice displays some really amazing telekinetic powers, while dreaming in the desert one night - and uses them just in time to save a traveling caravan of survivors led by the equally-tough Claire Redfield (Ali Larter). Alice's old friends, Carlos (Oded Fehr) and L. J. (Mike Epps), are also a part of this caravan - quite possibly the remains of humanity in an undead world - and as a group they all decide to head for what Alice believes (via a homemade journal she's found) is the last spot on earth unaffected by the virus ... Alaska.

But as the group - which has avoided big cities, due to the hordes of zombies that tend to still be in residence there - heads to Las Vegas (their last hope in the area) for food and gasoline ... Dr. Isaacs has already finagled a helicopter and some men, determined at last to find Alice and bring her back "home" at any cost.

This is a kick-butt zombie flick, with awesome CGI effects and action-packed fight scenes that show just how strong and aggressive the undead, infected with the T-virus, have become - as the survivors battle them to try and save what's left of humanity. Jovovich, Larter and Fehr head a strong cast of characters that you'll find yourself rooting for, and to say Iain Glen is rotten to the core in his performance as Dr. Isaacs is an understatement.

In all, nothing to dislike here, and a bang-up job after the disappointing second installment. If you like these kinds of films, and in particular like the Resident Evil story/series, this one won't disappoint. *** - Reel Cool