The very last of the summer 2007 “threequels” is also the most unassuming. Based on a video game, these future-set actioners haven’t been blockbusters, merely low-key successes. Maybe that’s why this doesn’t come off as overblown and pretentious like so many others. Each of the movies is a little different too. In the first movie, Alice escapes from the scientists experimenting on her. In the second, she confronts the effects of the virus that has spread across “Racoon City” and turned much of the populace into flesh-craving zombies. Now, with the virus spread across the planet, cool, collected Alice (Milla Jovovich) aids a convoy (of which Ali Larter plays the leader) and opposes a mad scientist in a world that resembles that of Road Warrior, only with zombies. All those undead folks gives the opportunity for lots of mayhem without it seeming too gruesome. The virus has also spread to other life forms, leading to sequences featuring mad dogs and birds. Fuel and food shortages represent other obstacles for the few that survive. The whole subplot with the scientist is on the goofy side, and missing is much detail about how the world got to be the way it is. But the strength of the movie is that it doesn’t try to do too much. Some good action scenes—Alice’s signature move is twirling twin knives in each hand before she offs a couple of zombies—enough story to move things forward, and some variation keep things interesting. Probably the other two films are slightly better, but it’s close enough that I suspect many people will disagree. Enough loose ends remain to see that writer Paul W. S. Anderson has some ideas about a fourth entry (though none is planned).
IMDB link
reviewed 9/24/07
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