This fall all bets are off.

• Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Horror
• Role: Alice Abernathy
• Director: Russell Mulcahy
• Selected Cast: Ali Larter, Oded Fehr, Mike Epps, Iain Glen, Ashanti Douglas, Spencer Locke
• Production Company: Sony Screen Gems
• U.S. Release Date: September 21 2007

Set five years after the Raccoon City T-virus contamination, the Umbrella Corporation has been unable to contain the spread of the virus, and within years the world has been transformed into a barren, desolate waste land. Meanwhile, former Umbrella special agent Alice Abernathy (Milla Jovovich), surviving Umbrella’s genetic experimentation with her, has developed superhuman strength and abilities due to her blood forming a unique bond with the virus, and yearns for vengeance. As she discovers the possibility of Alaska being a safe, uncontaminated haven, Alice teams up with a convoy of survivors lead by Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), who are trekking through the States in search for food and supplies. As the group decides to attempt at reaching Alaska, supplies become an issue, and they are forced to risk their way into the dangerous Las Vegas.

Milla Jovovich portrays Alice, a former Umbrella special agent who has undergone extensive, Umbrella-controlled T-virus experimentation. Embittered by the experimentation, her lost friends and companions and her memories of the events of the Hive and Raccoon City, Alice is on a quest of vengeance against the Umbrella Corporation. Meanwhile, the Umbrella Corporation is searching for Alice in order to obtain a sample of her blood, which is essential for the functionality of Umbrella’s newly developed clone army of Alices.

[observing from a distance hoards of zombies surrounding an Umbrella facility] “Good thing we like a challenge.”

“We fought the infection. We survived the apocalypse. And now, we face extinction.”

“I know what you are. I met your sister. She was a homicidal bitch.”

["For so long, I thought you were the future. I was wrong. I am the future."] ”
[laughs] No - you’re just another asshole.”

“She’s right. Vegas is our only bet.”

“I’m gonna put an end to this.”

[before shooting a zombie with a name tag at a gas station] “Sorry about this, Stevie.”

“Oh, you don’t have to wait that long, boys, coz I’m coming for you. And uh, I’m gonna be bringing a few of my friends.”

["Just promise me one thing. When you get down there..."] “Consider it done.”

“Yeah - kill a few, save a lot.”

“I guess I’m just being paranoid.”

“They were tracking me. I couldn’t be around you, any of you. I could’ve gotten you all killed.”

[after accidentally destroying her motorcycle] “Shit.”

• Upon its U.S. opening weekend, Resident Evil: Extinction debuted with $28 million, which is the most successful debut of the film franchise, topping the Resident Evil: Apocalypse debut weekend gross of 2004 by $1 million.

• Although writer Paul W.S. Anderson is responsible for the screenplay of all three Resident Evil films, he only directed the first one. The screenplay for Resident Evil: Extinction was Anderson’s first Hollywood production in three years.

• Alice’s costume in Resident Evil: Extinction is designed by Milla’s own fashion label, Jovovich-Hawk.

• The music featured in the film’s teaser trailer is reportedly The Crystal Method’s “I Know It’s You”, a song for which Milla provided the vocals three years earlier.

• It was originally planned that the film be shot in the Australian Outback, but the location was changed to Mexicali, Mexico, where filming would often take place in nigh unbearable heat, with the outside temperature sometimes bordering 145 degrees Fahrenheit (roughly 62 degrees Celsius).

Upon its September 2007 release, the reception for Resident Evil: Extinction was largely, though not wholly, negative. The script was criticized by many for its plot holes, mindless action sequences and shameless abuse of banal horror tricks, with some arguing the film was not as scary as intended or advertised. Moreover, the film further fueled the criticism offered by video game puritanists over the character of Alice, whom many feel has been made too over-the-top and unrealistic with her superhuman abilities. On the other hand, the film was commended for its impressive visuals and scenery, which are a key element in the film.

Extracts from professional reviews:

“This time, the stakes are higher, the fights are faster and the vision is altogether more expansive. In its concern for environmental degradation, dwindling fuel stocks, intrusive surveillance systems, sinister multinational conspiracy and genetic experiments, Resident Evil: Extinction is a more political film than its predecessors. [...] All these different elements are recombined and mutated to produce a monstrous hybrid that ultimately, for good or ill, bears only a distant resemblance to its multiple sources. All the ingredients of Resident Evil: Extinction have been seen before, but nothing is quite like the film itself, occupying a no-man’s-land between loving homage and gleeful pastiche. ” - Anton Bitel, Channel 4

“At a certain point – maybe somewhere in the first act where there aren’t characters as much as feet-entering, low-angle frames – the desert-scape starts to reveal a 16th-wave Sergio Leone influence (but mostly from testosterone guitars). The males do their acting with beard stubble while the women grit their teeth to look all hardened. All the while, model and actress Milla Jovovich is the most confounding presence of all.” - Shane Hazen, Hollywood Chicago

“Wisely, everyone involved with the movie realizes that Milla’s Alice is indeed the reason why the franchise continues to thrive, and she’s given a chance to complete her transformation from kick-ass action star to full-on superhero, as she manifests telekinetic powers that makes it easier to defeat all odds. Alice really has been turned into a great movie heroine that’s easy to root for, but when someone is so adept at slicing and dicing through the infected, it never feels like there’s any danger. Having seen a lot of this stuff in the previous two movies–not to mention every other zombie movie that’s come out since–we’ve become so desensitized to the violence and gore that it’s not particularly exciting. Ali Larter’s Claire is a nice addition to the mix, but she’s not a particularly charismatic character compared to Alice and the rest of the cast are fairly expendable as they take a back seat to the ladies.” - Edward Douglas, Coming Soon

Personal Thoughts

I’m having some difficulty establishing a consensus on the film. Certainly, it was a satisfying conclusion (well, to the extent that it can be called a conclusion, at any rate) to the Alice trilogy, and the film was visually impressive in many ways; the morbidly beautiful desert scenery, the nigh artistic choreographies of Alice’s fight scenes and the slow-motion takes thrown into the action scenes were important, albeit not unheard of, additions to the cinematography. On the other hand, on occasion the actors’ chemistry suffers from awkward, cliché dialogue, and thus e.g. Ashanti Douglas’ and Spencer Locke’s portrayals of their respective characters remain rather superficial.

Even Milla’s performance suffers on occasion from the awkwardness of the dialogue. Thus, the strength of her performance lies in Alice’s severity and hatred for the Umbrella Corporation and the products of its genetic research, and indeed, the close-ups on her reactions in the action sequences and the moments preceding them are of considerable significance to the development of her character. Highlights include a scene in the ravaged Umbrella facility in which Alice searches for the Tyrant and discovers its horrific deeds.

Below are some Resident Evil: Extinction related links that may be of interest to you.

• Resident Evil: Extinction official site
• Resident Evil: Extinction TFL-approved fanlisting
• Resident Evil: Extinction TFL-approved Alice character fanlisting
• Resident Evil: Extinction at IMDb.com
• Resident Evil: Extinction at RottenTomatoes.com
• Resident Evil: Extinction at Wikipedia.org

• Russell Mulcahy at IMDb.com
• Russell Mulcahy at Wikipedia.org

• Ali Larter at Ali Larter Fan
• Ali Larter at Ali Larter Source
• Ashanti Douglas at Ashanti Daily