The Resident Evil series has always been one that makes you feel good to be a guy. Each movie has provided the substance to make for a great action movie: little back-story, a lot of guns and explosions and of course hot girls in modest slinky outfits?. oh and ZOMBIES! If this sounds like the popcorn flick stuff you?re made of, than Resident Evil: Extinction is the flick for you.

Resident Evil: Extinction is the third and final entry in the series, and therefore the overall feel of the movie is that the series is/was running on empty when it comes to new content and material. While the movie isn?t terrible by any means, it?s just not as good it could have been. In case you?re new to the Resident Evil world, the series is based on the survival horror game series which first appeared on the Playstation console. Over the years the series has built a cult status, and with it comes the die-hard fan base. If you are one of the ?die-hards? then this movie will probably disappoint. If on the other hand you?re looking for a brain dead (no pun intended) action movie for a Saturday night then this is the movie you?re looking for.

The story picks up years after the events of Resident Evil: Apocalypse and focuses now on a post-apocalyptic Earth. After the Raccoon City disaster the T-Virus has ran wild across the globe; the Earth?s population is reduced to hordes of flesh-eating zombies. Although most of the world?s population has fallen victim to the effects of the T-Virus, small bands of survivors remain. Extinction focuses on one of these groups as they fight for survival and ultimately search for a place of refuge. This third movie brings back a few of the key characters from the series. Of course Alice (Milla Jovoich) is back as our main heroine, this time though she is alone, as she has become of her liability and the threat she posses to those around her. Alice continues her struggle to survive with her new found powers, and ultimately wish to bring down the Umbrella Corporation led by the arch villain Albert Wesker (Jason O?Mara) and head researcher Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen). As the movie progresses, Alice realizes she doesn?t need to be alone and in turn ends up meeting up with the survivor?s convoy. The convoy is travelling through the Nevada Desert, which has now spread to most of the Western States. The group is led Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), an obvious nod to cult fans. The rest of the group is made of some new characters Nurse Betty (Ashanti), K-Mart (Spencer Locke), but more importantly brings back highlight character Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and the comic relief of L.J. (Mike Epps). Once all our characters unite it?s an all out battle to avenge the actions of the Umbrella Corporation. This involves the group travelling for supplies through the wastelands to the now destroyed Las Vegas. Along the way they will meet new threats in the form of hordes of zombies, killer crows and the most terrifying creature yet created by deadly T-Virus.

Overall the film is fun, not great, not bad, just?fun.

Video

Although Resident Evil: Extinction is the newest film, its presentation on Blu-ray is somewhat mixed. This disc is presented in a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer in the theatrical 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The video is overall grainy, especially in dark scenes, and colors often look washed out and pale. There is no visible ?dirt? on the transfer which does provide a clean viewing experience. Other highlights include the brightness and contrasts, which are fairly good when fighting and travelling in the bright desert sun and an especially nice looking scene when Alice meets the killer crows.

Audio

The audio is simply great! It?s loud, but effective. Explosions feel lifelike, bullets sound like there shot in the room with you, dark scenes are creepy and eerie. The English audio is provided via lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 format for those that can utilize it, if not it?s down to Dolby Digital 5.1. Overall audio is about as good as it gets for an action film.

Special Features

DVD extra’s, which was day and date with the Blu, were all carried over. This includes:

• Audio Commentary by Director Russell Mulchy and writer/producer Paul Anderson
• Beyond Raccoon City: Unearthing Resident Evil Extinction, basically a making of the film, with some sources of influences and ?borrowed? ideas
• Deleted Scenes, nothing to moving here, but it?s still nice their included
• and finally my favorite extra? The Resident Evil: Degeneration Trailer!!!! A teaser trailer for the fully CGI next Resident Evil movie, boy does it look good.

It should also be noted that Resident Evil: Extinction is one of the first Profile 1.1 (Bonus-view) discs to hit the market, therefore includes a picture-in-picture experience. While I did play with the feature a little, I found it to be somewhat weak and overall not very involving; it?s certainly not the U-Control experience of HD DVD.

Final Thoughts

Fun films are just that, fun. If you?re sitting around on a Saturday night looking for a little excitement and action, without the need to think about a story and plot, then this makes a great addition to a Blu-ray collection. Even better is that the film is available in the trilogy pack, which bring the price of each film down to less than 20 bucks a pop. While it?s clearly not reference video material, the picture still looks good, even on a big screen. Audio is excellent and loud, you feel the movie, and for those that like extras there is quite a bit to keep you busy.