Resident Evil: Extinction

Resident Evil: Extinction

International poster
Directed by Russell Mulcahy
Produced by Paul W.S. Anderson
Jeremy Bolt
Bernd Eichinger
Samuel Hadida
Robert Kulzer
Written by Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring Milla Jovovich
Oded Fehr
Ali Larter
Music by Charlie Clouser
Cinematography David Johnson
Editing by Niven Howie
Studio Constantin Film
Davis Films/Impact Pictures
Metropolitan Films
Distributed by Screen Gems
Release date(s) September 20, 2007 (2007-09-20)
(Russia)
September 21, 2007 (2007-09-21)
(Mexico & United States)
October 12, 2007 (2007-10-12)
(United Kingdom)
Running time 95 minutes
Country France
Australia
Germany
United Kingdom
United States
Language English
Budget $45 million (estimated)
Gross revenue $147,717,833[1]
Preceded by Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Followed by Resident Evil: Afterlife

Resident Evil: Extinction is a 2007 science fiction action horror film also categorized as a doomsday and zombie film, and 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.

Contents

Plot

The film begins showing a clone of Alice (Milla Jovovich) waking at the mansion, in a scene that is almost identical to the one in Resident Evil. Alice moves through obstacles including the laser room seen in the first film, though she is eventually gunned down by an Umbrella product. Her dead body is taken by three scientists, including Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen), and dumped into a pit outside the Umbrella facility. The pit is shown to be filled with numerous Alice Clones. The camera zooms out from the facilities main entrance (the remaining facility being underground) and shows hundreds of zombies trying to enter the facility, which is surrounded by barbed wire fence.

Five years after Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Alice , 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 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 (Christopher 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 and taking out the operator of the pintle-mounted flamethrower 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. 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.

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 Isaacs from disregarding Umbrella corporate regulations. After Isaacs explains himself, Slater admits that these Super Zombies (the Crimson Heads) could useful in re-capturing "Project Alice", but that Isaacs is too out of control.

The Umbrella corporation is able to triangulate Alice's location based on the use of her psionic powers, and Dr. Isaacs against Chairman Wesker's orders 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' 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 by plowing 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 in an attempt to counter-act the mutation his attempts had on the T-virus and shoots him triggering mutation 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. The clone awakens, but seemingly dies from shock. A battle between Isaacs and Alice 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 who woke up 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 who are awakening.

Cast

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 director Russell Mulcahy,[18] and on the cover of the September 2007 issue.[19] The following details were revealed, although some points proved to be untrue:

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.

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 $97 million overseas for a worldwide total of $147 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 Playstation".[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

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  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 "Resident Evil: Extinction Production Notes". sonypictures.com. Fall 2007. http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGklz7V3BHZ3AB1qlXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE4bW8zNjNoBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNgRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA0Y4MjNfOTIEbANXUzE-/SIG=14pfi5avn/EXP=1198631291/**http%3a//www.sonypictures.com/movies/residentevilextinction/site/download.php%3ffile=library/ResidentEvilExtinction_ProductionNotes.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
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External links