This third film in the Resident Evil franchise came out after the successful but not very well reviewed Apocalypse. Director Russell Mulcahy (Ozploitation filmmaker of Highlander fame) held the reins of this production with a script by Paul W. S. Anderson himself. Milla Jovovich reprised her role as Alice and starred alongside Oded Fehr, Ali Larter, Iain Glen, Ashanti, Mike Epps and Christopher Egan.
Taking place some time after the zombie outbreak of the first two films, which has now become a global problem, survivors from Raccoon City are crossing the Mojave desert in order to reach Alaska (which is supposed to be a safe place) and escape the undead flesh eaters. The T-Virus reaches animals as well and causes an ecological disaster, making the wasteland environment even more dangerous. Alice intercepts the travelling group and joins them in their journey as her superhuman abilities keep increasing.
By changing the setting from apocalyptic to post-apocalyptic I think the film gets rid of the main appeal of the original, the line between borderline chaos and complete degradation of human society and civilization has been crossed and it sort of develops into a mostly generic movie of its type with desolated deserts, fringe cannibal families and groups of survivors moving in vehicles while trying to stay alive and organizing. Nothing special and quite derivative, but in line with the director's previous work.
I will say that the direction is less frantic and the film is slightly more worried about handling the scenery and the intensity of the moment rather than rapidly moving onto the next scene, which makes it less fluid but gives you more time to breathe and digest the world and situations. The rest keeps up with the fast pace of the other films, with quick editing and constant, to the point of saturation, action and fight scenes that become more and more spectacular as the series goes on.
The dirty and grainy look serves the film right as the forsaken junkyard texture works well with the coarseness of the concept and the wardrobe and change of style Alice goes through in this movie is also quite cool and pleasant. The enemies are just as intimidating and this time we have some human threats as well but the only real good additions are the crows, which do become creepy. The comedy is pretty much sidelined here and it never feels intrusive.
There are certain well planned and well timed sequences that give us some really unsettling imagery, like the scene with the crows, that very much add to the desperation and urgency of the scene. The swift camera movements and the somewhat old but still convincing cgi along with practical effects give a very commendable visual aptitude to the overall aesthetic work.
Recommended for anyone who likes some disheveled post-apocalyptic desert action flick with gore and blood.
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