Now this! This is more like it! While not nearly as fun to watch as the original, "Resident Evil: Extinction" is a massive improvement from the lackluster "Apocalypse". Actually, come to think of it, why wasn't this one called "Apocalypse"? Because, you know? THIS ONE ACTUALLY TAKES DURING THE APOCALYPSE! Aw, who cares anyway?

Taking us as far away from the bland blue city of Racoon and instead heads for the sandy deserts of Las Vegas was probably the best choice to make, since it makes for a much more fun setting for our characters to play around with it.

Another stellar choice was to replace whatever the fuck his name who directed the second one with Russell Mulcahy of…

This is the best one so far. From the opening moments it looks better than the previous movies, set in a desert landscape that is appropriate for its title, besides deserts always look awesome on film. In Resident Evil: Extinction they basically forego any plot and instead go with a simplistic ‘trying to get from point A to point B’ narrative. Thank you. If you aren’t going to write a compelling story in the first place you might as well abandon it all together, wise choice. A few characters from the last one return in addition to a new band of vagabonds including Claire Redfield, another slight nod to the games which by the way they have entirely given up…

52/100

Resident Evil: Extinction is a definite improvement over Apocalypse, not only in filmmaking competence but in world-building and franchise progression. Led by Russell Mulcahy, director of Highlander, The Shadow and the twisted brilliance that is Razorback, Extinction is a Resident Evil installment told through action, even more so than Anderson's original. Desolate, barren landscapes are evoked not though exposition but by the movements of bands of survivors and loosely connected set-piece moments. Buildings, structures, and monuments are remnants of a world lost, with diseased zombies populating it not only out of hunger but out of habit. Alice as a character is fascinating in this outing, mainly because of her added Telekinetic powers and the way she utilizes them to…

“Yeah, you're the future all right”

Whilst Resident Evil: Extinction develop the story, it’s also quite a big leap to go from the city of the previous film to what’s now apparently a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-desert. As the film recaps several years worth of plot, there’s some adjustment to be had but luckily, it’s easy to appreciate the dystopian aesthetics, even if the film really doesn’t do anything new in that area.

Introducing a gang of new characters isn’t a bad idea but the issue is that the film doesn’t so much introduce them as it just throws them into the plot. They’re given quite a lot of time, but with no real personality and constantly intercut with the villains…

Instantly more visually appealing than the second one from the first frame, but still not quite up there with the first two on the pure "dumb fun" level. Mulcahy is a much more experienced director than Witt and it shows, Extinction is much more technically precise than Apocalypse even tried to be, the use of contrast is a very inspired choice: be it close-up-based fight sequences back to back with setting introduction wide shots or just the protagonist breaking through the wall of a dirty, brown room to enter a clean, white hallway. Sadly, it tries to emulate Apocalypse and the original film's kinetic savagery a few times and just comes across as fake, its chaos is not sincere or…