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Resident Evil: Extinction
File:RE Extinction.jpg
International poster
Directed byRussell Mulcahy
Written byPaul Anderson
(Screenplay)
Shinji Mikami
(Original Story)
Produced byPaul Anderson
Jeremy Bolt
Robert Kulzer
Bernd Eichinger
Samuel Hadida
StarringMilla Jovovich
Oded Fehr
Ali Larter
Ashanti Douglas
Iain Glen
Matthew Marsden
Chris Egan
Spencer Locke
Jason O'Mara
Mike Epps
CinematographyDavid Johnson
Edited byNiven Howie
Music byCharlie Clouser
Production
companies
Constantin Film
Davis Films
Impact Pictures
Distributed byScreen Gems
Release dates
September 20, 2007 (2007-09-20)
(Russia)
September 21, 2007 (United States)
October 12, 2007
(United Kingdom)
November 3, 2007 (Japan)
Running time
95 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
Australia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$45 million
Box office$148 million[1]

Resident Evil: Extinction is a 2007 science fiction action horror film. It is the third installment in the series of film adaptations based on the Capcom survival horror series Resident Evil. The film follows the heroine Alice, along with a group of survivors from Raccoon City, as they attempt to travel across the Mojave desert wilderness to Alaska and escape a zombie apocalypse.[2] The film was directed by Russell Mulcahy and produced by Paul W. S. Anderson.

The film was released in the United States on September 21, 2007 and was commercially successful, grossing $147,717,833 worldwide.[3] However, it received many negative reviews from critics. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on January 1, 2008.

Plot

Despite the nuclear destruction of Raccoon City, the T-Virus has escaped containment. Unable to be contained by the Umbrella Corporation, the virus quickly spreads across the world, within a matter of weeks engulfing the United States and within a matter of months reaching the rest of the world. Drying up the lakes, rivers, and continents in the process, whilst infecting the human population and spreading to other species. Five years later, the vast majority of the Earth is a post-apocalyptic wasteland crawling with zombies and mutated animals, and humanity is on the verge of extinction. The Umbrella Corporation appears to be the only human authority left, its remnants forced to live underground in Hive-like constructs around the world.

Alice (Milla Jovovich), is now alone in the desert wastelands of the remains of the United States. She has superhuman strength and psionic abilities gained from Umbrella. Dr. Sam Isaacs (Iain Glen) considers re-capturing Alice a top priority because of her ability to bond with the T-Virus and attempts to persuade the rest of the Umbrella board that he can use her blood to develop a permanent cure, as well as tame the infected. Umbrella chairman Albert Wesker (Jason O'Mara) orders Isaacs to create a cure using clones of Alice created from the blood of the original and refuses to authorize manpower to recover Alice until they are 100% sure of her location.

Meanwhile, Claire Redfield's (Ali Larter) convoy, which includes Alice's fellow Raccoon City survivors Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and L.J. (Mike Epps), along with new survivors K-Mart (Spencer Locke), Mikey (Chris Egan), Chase (Linden Ashby) and Nurse Betty (Ashanti Douglas), are attempting to survive. While searching a small motel for supplies, L.J. is bitten. The next morning the convoy is attacked by infected crows. The crows very nearly overpower the convoy, killing Nurse Betty as she helped some of the younger survivors escape, and taking out the operator of the pintle-mounted flamethrower and causing the weapon to careen out of control. Alice appears, and uses her mental powers to save Carlos and a fellow survivor from a fiery death, redirecting the flames to incinerate the crows.

Dr. Isaacs' attempts to domesticate the infected have led to a new breed of zombie but Wesker's subordinate, Captain Slater (Matthew Marsden), is adamant about keeping Issacs from disregarding Umbrella corporate regulations. After Isaacs explains himself, Slater admits that these Super Zombies (the Crimson Heads) may be useful in re-capturing Project Alice.

Alice is introduced to Claire, and gives her a diary Alice found in a deserted gas station. The diary claims of an infection-free population living in Alaska. Alice and Carlos convince Claire and the convoy to head to Alaska. The other survivors agree to head for Las Vegas to obtain supplies before the trek to Alaska.

The Umbrella corporation is able to triangulate Alice's location based on the use of her psionic powers, and Dr. Isaacs has a crate full of his newly created zombies transported to ambush the convoy. Carlos becomes infected by L.J, and most of the convoy, including Chase and Mikey, is killed in the ensuing battle. Umbrella attempts to shut Alice down, however, she breaks free of their programming and fights on. She locates Isaacs at the scene, and he is infected by a Crimson Head as he attempts to flee. Alice and K-Mart enter the Umbrella tent and use Isaacs's computer to track the helicopter's flight path, thus learning of Umbrella's underground location.

The convoy survivors find the location of Umbrella's Las Vegas facility surrounded by hundreds of zombies. Carlos' infection has gone beyond a cure, and he sacrifices himself for the convoy. Carlos plows through the facility before setting off a dynamite charge, giving Alice and Claire time to load the survivors onto the helicopter. Alice decides to stay behind and finish the mission.

Dr. Isaacs has been locked in his lab. Ordered by Wesker to "liquidate" Isaacs, Slater finds him at his lab desk, injecting himself with massive doses of Anti-Virus. Isaacs explains that the T-Virus carried by the Super Zombies is more potent and therefore he needs much more Anti-Virus. However, the Anti-Virus overdose triggers a massive mutation of Isaacs into a Tyrant. Isaacs goes on a rampage, killing all the employees in the facility, but the White Queen manages to confine Isaacs in the lower levels of the lab.

Entering the facility, Alice meets a holographic representation of the Red Queen's sister AI, the White Queen (Madeline Carroll). The White Queen informs Alice that her blood is the cure to the T-Virus. Then she informs Alice of her current problem with Dr. Isaacs, and Alice agrees to deal with him.

On her way to the lab's lower levels, Alice comes across a clone of herself still in a vegetative state. Isaacs attacks her, but she manages to fight him off. The clone awakens, but the shock apparently kills her. Alice goes after Isaacs and finds herself in a replica of the Spencer Mansion, where a battle between Isaacs and Alice ensues, with both displaying use of telekinesis and cunning skill and strategy: however, Isaacs begins to gain the upper hand. When the fight spills into a replica of the laser corridor from The Hive, the laser grid activates and slices Isaacs into pieces, but just as Alice is about to meet the same fate, the lasers are deactivated by the clone of Alice in the nick of time.

Later, in Tokyo, Japan, Wesker informs the rest of the Umbrella board that the North American branch has been lost, and he will now control further scientific experimentation from Japan. Suddenly, Alice makes an appearance at the board meeting from the North American facility, declaring that she and her friends are coming for them now. Standing beside the clone of herself, Alice looks onto the rows of pods containing other clones. As many clones begin to awaken, the film ends.

Cast

  • Milla Jovovich as Alice and clones: The primary protagonist who is being tracked down by the Umbrella Corporation in order to develop a serum from her blood. Since being exposed to the T-Virus outbreak in Raccoon City, Alice has been captured and subjected to experiments[2]
  • Ali Larter as Claire Redfield: Very loosely based on the video game character of the same name, she plays a prominent role in Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code: Veronica. In the film, she is a protagonist and leads a convoy of survivors alongside Carlos.[2]
  • Iain Glen as Dr. Sam Isaacs: The primary antagonist, and head scientist of the North American facility. Dr. Isaacs had been involved in the creation of the Nemesis program as well as the creation of Program Alice in Apocalypse. He is turned into the Tyrant monster as a result of a bite by a "super-zombie" and from then injecting himself with too much anti-virus.[2]
  • Oded Fehr as Carlos Olivera: Ex-U.B.C.S. soldier, based on the video game character of the same name in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, protagonist and survivor of the Nemesis program as well as the "cleansing" of Raccoon City. Since the events of Apocalypse, he has helped lead Claire's convoy of survivors.[2]
  • Jason O'Mara as Albert Wesker: based on the video game character of the same name, he is a prominent antagonist in many of the video games. In the film, he is the Chairman of Umbrella. His office is in Tokyo, Japan and through holographic technology, he has regular meetings with committee members including Dr. Isaacs who gave the order to find and capture Alice.[2]
  • Spencer Locke as K-Mart: A girl found by Clare's companions hiding out in a K-Mart store prior to the outbreak.[2]
  • Ashanti as Nurse Betty: A tough young woman who acts as the medical unit in Claire's convoy. She is a nurse, helping to aid members of the group to full recovery. Betty drives the paramedic vehicle and is a love interest of L.J. She sacrifices herself by locking herself inside the bus with the crows when they attacked.[2]
  • Mike Epps as L.J.: Former citizen of Raccoon City, who survived the Nemesis program and Raccoon City's destruction in the previous film. He also travels with Claire's convoy. He is Betty's love interest. He is bitten by a zombie in the motel near the beginning of the film and later turns into a zombie himself when super-zombies attack.[2]
  • Chris Egan as Mikey: A young mature computer junkie who drives the "computer station" portion of the convoy. Mikey is responsible for monitoring the radio in search of other survivors as well as monitoring the motion sensor perimeter cameras. He is killed by the super zombies.
  • Madeline Carroll as White Queen: The sister Artificial Intelligence of the original Red Queen. She is designed to protect and preserve human life and monitor the Umbrella facility, like her sister computer. However, the White Queen has more advanced holographic technology.

Production

Pre-production

Resident Evil: Extinction was first discussed by Resident Evil franchise writer Paul W.S. Anderson after Resident Evil: Apocalypse opened Number 1 on the US box office in 2004, earning more than $23.7 million dollars on its opening weekend.[4] Anderson told SciFi Wire that he would like to oversee a third installment,[5][6] under the original title of Resident Evil: Afterlife. Shortly after, the film and another planned sequel were officially announced by Sony Screen Gems on June 13, 2005.[2][7]

On November 7, 2005, Davis Film, Constantin Film and Screen Gems announced their distribution rights worldwide[8] with the film's title being changed from Resident Evil: Afterlife to Resident Evil: Extinction.[2] Impressed with Russell Mulcahy's work on Highlander, Highlander II: The Quickening, The Shadow and Ricochet, Anderson signed Mulcahy on as director, stating, "Russell pioneered a very distinct visual style, a lot of moving camera and crane work, lots of very fast cutting. He’s got a very cool eye and sees great ways to shoot. His work certainly had a big influence on me as a filmmaker and that’s why I was very excited to work with him on this movie."[2]

Casting

On June 12, 2005, Milla Jovovich was announced to reprise her role as the heroine Alice.[7] In an interview with BlackFilm.com on September 9, 2005, Mike Epps confirmed that he would also be reprising his role as L.J., noting that "Black people die in these movies and [Anderson] was like, 'Well Mike, I kinda like you.' So then I asked him, 'Are you setting me up to die because if there's a fourth movie, I'm as good as dead."[9] Sienna Guillory was planned to reprise her role as Jill Valentine; however, she passed on the role, citing commitments to Eragon.[10][11] On May 9, 2006 Oded Fehr, Iain Glen, Spencer Locke and Ashanti Douglas were added to the cast. It was rumored that Debra Marshall was originally cast as Cindy Lennox. However, it was proven to be only a rumor.[12]

Story development

The film's story takes place in Death Valley, where the large scale action sequences take place amid post-apocalyptic landscapes of Las Vegas in broad daylight. Drawing inspirations from western films and post-apocalyptic movies, including the Mad Max series, Extinction manages to reference such predecessors, with plot elements revolving around the shortage of oil, the shortage of supplies, a convoy traveling across a desert, and the desert taking over civilized land.[2]

Anderson stated that the film's story is original and unfolds in a world that fans of the game recognize: "It’s all part of trying to deliver a movie-going experience that satisfies the fans of the game but also provides a fun cinematic experience for a broader audience that has never played a Resident Evil game".[2] The story takes place five years after the events of Resident Evil: Apocalypse. While previous installments in the series had minor changes to plot and characters, Extinction branches completely away from the video game series as evidenced by the fact that Resident Evil 4 takes place six years after the events portrayed in Resident Evil: Apocalypse and the world has not become overrun with zombies. References to Code Veronica are made, such as the replica mansion and the viral outbreak itself.[2] A common element used throughout each Resident Evil film is the climatic battle which occurs in the finale.[2] Extinction marked the first appearance of herbs, a healing item in the video game series, as seen in Dr. Isaac's lab,[2] and it also referenced the first film with the inclusion of a replica Hive facility designed after that one in Raccoon City, the Raccoon City Hospital, a holographic computer database known as the White Queen, and the replica Spencer Mansion.[2]

Numerous references to the video game series have been made including zombies being unleashed through a T-Virus mutation. While the concept of the undead remains the same, this film includes "Super Undead" (otherwise known as Crimson Heads). As Anderson explains, these are "a result of Umbrella experimenting with the Undead and attempting to give them back some of their reasoning power, some of their intelligence and a little of their humanity. Unfortunately, these experiments don’t quite work and the side effect is the Super Undead, which are Undead that are faster, stronger and [a] more cunning foe."[2] Other creatures from the video game series have also made appearances in the film, including the Tyrant, a swarm of crows, and a pack of Dobermans (although Belgian Shepherd Dogs were used during production).[2]

Two main characters were added to the film's cast: the main antagonist Albert Wesker (portrayed by Jason O'Mara) and secondary protagonist Claire Redfield (portrayed by Ali Larter) from Resident Evil 2.[2]

Filming and post-production

Resident Evil: Extinction began principal photography with a budget of $45,000,000 in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico[13] in May, 2006[14] after filming locations had to be changed from the Australian Outback to Mexico causing production dates to be pushed back repeatedly from November 2005 to May 2006.[7] Numerous sets were designed by production designer Eugenio Caballero including Umbrella's underground laboratory, the Las Vegas Strip, the New York-New York Hotel & Casino, Paris Las Vegas, Realto Ponte, Luxor Hotel and the replica of the Spencer Mansion.[2] The film entered post-production in late July 2006 with details about production being kept secret[15][16] and with the film's special effects being covered by Tatopoulos Studios and Mr. X Inc., whom both worked on the 2006 film Silent Hill.

In late June 2006, Sony released the films first two production stills which included Alice wearing a costume designed by her fashion company Jovovich-Hawk[2] and Claire Redfield.[17]

Fangoria magazine features

Horror magazine Fangoria featured the film in the August 2007 Issue, talking with producer Paul W.S. Anderson,[18] and on the cover of the September 2007 issue.[19]

Release

The film's teaser trailer was shown with Ghost Rider on February 16, 2007, and was structured in the same manner of the "Regenerate" teaser trailer for Resident Evil: Apocalypse.[20] The film's website was launched by Sony on February 17, 2007 with confirmation of the September 21, 2007 release date. It was also revealed that the film was rated R by the MPAA for strong horror violence throughout and some nudity.

The film's teaser poster was leaked onto the internet via a fansite in May 2007,[21] before appearing on IGN,[22] whereas a German website leaked concept art for Extinction including vehicle and numerous set designs.[23] The film's theatrical trailer premiered onto the Yahoo! Movies in late July 2007,[24] with NBC releasing several scenes including the crow attack sequence.[25] The social networking website, Myspace also featured numerous clips of four of the main characters Claire Redfield,[26] Carlos Olivera,[27] Nurse Betty,[28] and Alice.[29] The official website for Extinction, launched an online game titled Resident Evil Extinction: Online Convoy Game in August 2007. On September 12, 2007 Sony released numerous promotional clips and television spots[30] and on September 17, 2007 the film's soundtrack was released, whereas the film's score was released on December 18, 2007.

Resident Evil: Extinction was released on DVD, UMD, and high-definition Blu-ray Disc in North America on January 1, 2008. A Blu-ray release of the Resident Evil trilogy, featuring the three films in one package was also released on January 1.[31] Milla Jovovich and Oded Fehr filmed a commentary while Jovovich was pregnant, which Fehr expects to be shown "in a little square box in the corner" of the Blu-ray version.[32] The DVD and Blu-ray versions of the film showed previews for Resident Evil: Degeneration, a trailer of Devil May Cry 4, and a video of Resident Evil 5.[33] Resident Evil: Extinction was released on DVD in Australia on February 13, 2008[34] and in the UK on the February 18, 2008.[35]

Reception

The film was the number one movie at the North American box office in its opening weekend, grossing $23 million in 2,828 theaters, averaging $8,372 per theater.[36] It opened more strongly than the two previous films in the series, and as of January 1, 2008, the film had grossed $50,648,679 domestically and $96 million overseas for a worldwide total of $150 million.[3]

Steven Hyden of The Onion's A.V. Club said that "the movie delivers some simple-minded thrills" and praised the "solidly effective killer-ravens sequence" but felt the film was too predictable, saying: "Anybody who has ever seen a zombie movie can figure out what happens next. Somebody will get bit without telling the others, which will inevitably backfire. Survivors will be forced to shoot suddenly undead friends in the head. One of them dastardly science folk will protect the monsters in order to study them, which will also inevitably backfire. And legions of undead will be re-killed in surprisingly easy fashion."[37]

Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave Extinction half a star out of a possible four, saying that the film was "no more interesting than watching someone else play with his Xbox".[38] Scott Brown of Entertainment Weekly said that Extinction "plays like a flabby middle chapter, full of nerdy details but fraudulently short on the ruined Vegas-scape that ads have been promising."[39]

Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide gave the film a score of two and a half stars out of four, saying: "Equal parts Mad Max and Day of the Dead, [Extinction] is no less derivative than its predecessors but moves along at a brisk clip."[40] Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat gave Extinction a score of three out of five, saying that the film had a "rather lazy pacing" but added that "the way Anderson keeps upping the ante with regard to Alice's ultimate fate continues to amuse."[41]

Jack Mathews of the New York Daily News gave the film a score of one and a half stars out of five, calling the action scenes "monotonous" and urging audiences to "flee this yawn of the dead."[42] Helen O'Hara of Empire gave Extinction a score of two stars out of five, saying that the film was "better than Resident Evil: Apocalypse and had "an effectively creepy empty world setting" but felt that it's "nevertheless scuppered by a lack of coherence."[43]

A common complaint among critics was the noticeable digital airbrushing on numerous close-up shots of Jovovich's face, for which reviewers were confused at the use of, or found unnecessary.[44][45][46][47]

References

  1. ^ "Resident Evil Extinction (2007)". boxofficemojo.com. 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Resident Evil: Extinction Production Notes" (PDF). sonypictures.com. Fall 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  3. ^ a b "Resident Evil: Extinction Box Office Figures". boxofficemojo.com. Fall 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  4. ^ "Resident Evil Sequel Infects Weekend Box Office". countingdown.com. 2004-09-12. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  5. ^ "Taking Thoughts on Afterlife". countingdown.com. 2004-09-12. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  6. ^ "'Resident Evil 3' Still in the Cards Says Anderson". bloodydisgusting.com. 2004-12-09. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  7. ^ a b c "Huge 'Resident Evil' Sequel News Times Two!!". bloodydisgusting.com. Summer 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  8. ^ "'Resident Evil: Afterlife' Soaks Up the AFM- Refuses to Die!". bloodydisgusting.com. Winter 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  9. ^ "Mike Epps Returns in 'Afterlife'- Refuses to Die!". bloodydisgusting.com. Summer 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  10. ^ "Jill Valentine Returns, Anderson to Direct?!". bloodydisgusting.com. Summer 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  11. ^ "Sienna Guillory". empireonline.com. 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  12. ^ "More 'Resident Evil' Casting News, Begins Shoot Monday!". bloodydisgusting.com. Summer 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  13. ^ Coming Soon (May 1, 2006). "Filming Begins In 2 Weeks". Movies Online. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
  14. ^ "Extinction On Yahoo". videogames.yahoo.com. 2006-04-10. Retrieved 2006-04-10.
  15. ^ "Extinction Has Classified Information". About. June 28, 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-15.
  16. ^ "Production Wraps Up". Film Force IGN. July 26, 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  17. ^ IGN (June 29, 2006). "2 Production Still". IGN. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
  18. ^ Waddell, Calum (2007). "Resident Evil: Extinction, Hot Blood in the Sun". Fangoria. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  19. ^ Turek, Ryan (2007). "Resident Evil: Extinction Daylight of the Dead". Fangoria. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  20. ^ Comingsoon.net (February 16, 2006). "Grind House and Resident Evil trailers to premiere this weekend". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  21. ^ Bloody Disgusting (May 6, 2007). "Teaser poster leaked?". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  22. ^ IGN (May 8, 2007). "Exclusive: Resident Evil: Extinction Poster". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  23. ^ "Gerade sind die Dreharbeiten zum neuen Film". kingmo.de. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  24. ^ "The New Resident Evil: Extinction Trailer!". Coming Soon. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  25. ^ here "NBC". nbc.come. Retrieved 2007-08-01. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  26. ^ "Myspace Claire Video". myspace.com. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  27. ^ "Myspace Carlos Video". myspace.com. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  28. ^ "Myspace Nurse Betty Video". myspace.com. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  29. ^ "Myspace Alice Video". myspace.com. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  30. ^ "New Resident Evil TV Spots and Clips". Coming Soon. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  31. ^ McCutcheon, David (2007-11-12). "Resident Evil Goes Extinct". IGN. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  32. ^ "Oded Fehr talks Resident Evil: Extinction DVD". IGN. 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  33. ^ "Sony Joins Profile 1.1 Party with 'Resident Evil: Extinction' Blu-ray". High Digest. 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2007-11-18. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  34. ^ "Australian DVD release". EZY DVD. 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-01-10. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  35. ^ "Amazon UK DVD release". Amazon UK. 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-01-10. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  36. ^ "Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  37. ^ Resident Evil: Extinction review, Steven Hyden, The A.V. Club, September 24th, 2007
  38. ^ "Flicked-off video". New York Post. Fall 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  39. ^ "EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  40. ^ Resident Evil: Extinction review, Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide
  41. ^ Resident Evil: Extinction review, Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat, September 23, 2007
  42. ^ Resident Evil: Extinction review, Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
  43. ^ Resident Evil: Extinction review, Helen O'Hara, Empire
  44. ^ "'Citation". midwestbusiness.com. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  45. ^ "Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)". dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  46. ^ "Resident Evil - Extinction: Movie Review". wildbluffmedia.com. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  47. ^ "Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)". themovieboy.com. Retrieved 2007-09-20.

External links