“All Bets Are Off” Synopsis: Survivors of the Raccoon City catastrophe travel across the Nevada desert, hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice joins the caravan and their fight against the evil Umbrella Corp.

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Calamity Brains:

Extinction is the first Resident Evil movie in the series that truly feels like a zombie movie. Depending on why you watch these movies, this could be a good or a bad thing. While I found the apocalyptic atmosphere very interesting, it did mean that there were a lot fewer action sequences than viewers have come to expect from the Resident Evil franchise. Alice (Milla Jovovich) has also started to develop telekinetic powers, which (while cool) mean that she does less in the physical realm than she did in other movies, too.

For most of the movie, there are two fairly divergent storylines: a group of survivors lead by Claire (Ali Larter) travel as they struggle to avoid the zombie plague, and groups of Umbrella leadership work to reverse the mess they’ve made. Alice’s actions inevitably cause the two groups to intersect, and fireworks ensue. I found the survivor storyline more compelling – I liked seeing how the small band scavenged to survive – but the Umbrella storyline definitely had a few fun and wtf moments (not the least of which was the inclusion of the White Queen).

I didn’t mind most of the movie, but it definitely runs a lot slower than the first two entries in the series, Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse. It feels as though the filmmakers were going for a grittier vibe, rather than an action one, but mostly missed the mark. Sweeping desert shots lacked the focus and polish that a stronger cinematographer could have brought to the table; the CGI was often distracting; there was more of a human element, but that was never fully explored. All in all, this movie feels more like an elaborate set up for the rest of the series, rather than an entry in its own right.

Calamity Brains’ Rating: C+

Ludwig von Stroodle:

Okay, Ludwig didn’t provide us with a review per se… just some color commentary which I very much enjoyed. Note that these comments are from throughout the movie and unlike our reviews, may contain spoilers. Read on at your own risk. -CB

Ludwig: “That’s not what I would be doing with Milla Jovovich clones.”

Ludwig: “Who wears sunglasses to a meeting?”
Calamity: “Underground.”

Ludwig: “He’s going to run out of people if he’s in an underground lab and killing them so casually.”

Ludwig: “I like the totally random future tech for no reason.”

Calamity: “He looks like if Mark Zuckerberg and Justin Timberlake had a baby.”
Ludwig: “Who then tried to be Morpheus.”

Ludwig: “I feel like you could just say, ‘hey, I’ll leave you alone if you give me some blood.'”

Upon Alice discovering the pit of clones.
Ludwig in the understatement of the century: “That would be weird.”

Ludwig: “She pulled out her knives all dramatically to go in and then switched to a gun in the elevator.”

Calamity: “Catching your own naked body must be a trip. Like, ‘hey, let’s make out.'”

Both: “I’m 100% okay with a sexy army of Milla Jovoviches.”

Ludwig von Stroodle’s Rating: B-
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