“Resident Evil: Extinction” zombified my brain
It’s hard as a student critic to go see every movie that comes out on any given week. Sometimes I’m forced to choose between movies. This week I had to pick between “Resident Evil: Extinction” and “Good Luck Chuck.” After a quick check of Rottentomatoes.com, I found out that “Good Luck Chuck” had a dismal 3 percent on the critic ‘Tomatometer.’ So, “Resident Evil” it was.
Here is where I usually describe the plot of the movie before going into depth why I liked or didn’t like it. But, I assume we all know the plot; actually I need a better word here, how about motive? OK, so we all understand the motive behind the “Resident Evil” movies right? Big corporation creates virus. Virus gets released. People get infected. People turn into zombies. Milla Jovovich (“The Fifth Element”) commences in blowing their brains out.
Now that we’ve got the basics down, we can talk about this third installment in this tired series of movies. The virus has taken over the entire Earth, affecting everything from people to birds. The world looks like it did in the “Mad Max” movies, but without any creative thought.
Take for example a scene where a convoy of survivors, including Jovovich, drives into Las Vegas, which is now covered in sand. Giant dunes have engulfed the once-electric Strip, and you find yourself wondering, “Did the virus affect the sand too?” What the filmmaker tried to do here was give the audience a scene where they go, “Whoa.” Instead, the scene befuddled me. What purpose does it serve to cover the whole city in sand? Then we get our answer when one survivor asks, “What happened?” Jovovich answers by saying, “The desert took it back. Five years with no one to keep the sand back.” Right! I forgot about all those people employed as ‘sand keeper backers’ down there in Sin City.
Sadly, the rest of the movie is just about this brainless. The Umbrella Corp., which released the virus in the first place, has a new plan. They are going to domesticate the zombies and create a docile workforce. Can you imagine a friendly zombie grunting “Hello” as you enter Wal-Mart? What a world that would be. Does anyone want to guess how this domesticating program goes? That’s right – badly. At least the movie’s consistent, right?
It’s easy to see the parallels “Resident Evil” tries to draw from big business and how their uncaring attitude toward people will eventually end poorly for the rest of us. But, that shouldn’t be the lesson we take away from this movie. The lesson is this: If ever a virus is unleashed on mankind and turns us all into brain-dead zombies, maybe then we’ll enjoy these movies.
-aaron.peck@aggiemail.usu.edu