In the grand tradition of both converting video games to big-screen successes and drawing those successes out to trilogies, the new addition to the “”Resident Evil”” franchise is a little rough. If the first was a pimply tween and “”Apocalypse”” was a frustrated adult, then “”Extinction”” is a haggard golden girl if ever there was one. Gone are the zombie-thick woods of Raccoon City and the skimpy ninja couture of our feisty heroine – Alice (Milla Jovovich) has morphed from a slinky, beautiful Umbrella Corp. operative to a barbarian cousin of Mad Max in “”Beyond Thunderdome.”” Yeah, so she does have genetically enhanced physical powers, but can someone please hand the woman a hairbrush?

The most troublesome thing, predictably, is the plot. Sure, she’s trying to bring down the evil corporation because it kind of turned a bunch of people into zombies, but what the hell happened to Vegas? Who blew it up? Wait – have those pesky zombies finally developed the big ol’ bomb we’ve been so worried about? Well shucks, might as well pull on a leather bodysuit and some badass kukri knives to gear up for the hot Nevada sun.

I’m sure the undead love the desert. At least they will now, as Alice hides out among the dunes with a guilty conscience and a rag-tag band of survivors that includes singer/actress Ashanti (so that’s where you’ve been!). “”Extinction”” is bound to be brimming with outrageous action and daredevil fight scenes, sliding ever further from the atmospheric skulk that made the games so great. Because dumping a legion of undead onto the tail-end of a hot helping of shit does not a scary movie make (yes, “”Apocalypse,”” we’re talking to you), the film will hopefully return to the grittier style of the first, reviving those meat-covered canines or speeding up those lethargic ghouls. If nothing else, the movie is guaranteed to go bitch-cakes with the explosions – after all, this is the final chapter of the trilogy. (But if they do make another one, they really ought to go all out. I’m talking zombies in the tundra – let’s call it “”Resident Evil: Xtreme Sub-Zero Annihilation.”” Who wouldn’t watch that?) Sept. 21.