Released: November 1997
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Rated R
Run Time: 108 Minutes
Genre: Science Fiction/Action
Distributor: Fox Studios
Cast:
Sigourney Weaver: Ripley
Wynona Ryder: Call
Ron Perlman: Johner
Dan Hedaya: General Perez
J.E. Freeman: Wren
Brad Dourif: Gediman
Michael Wincott: Elgyn
Gary Dourdan: Christie
In 1979, Ridley Scott unleashed Alien into the world. Widely considered to be one of the best science-fiction films of all time, it was also regarded as one of the best horror movies of all time. The fusion of science fiction and horror had never really been done before. Critics and audiences alike were blown away by how well-crafted the film was. Not only did the film give us one of the most memorable movie monsters of all time, but it also gave us a very strong female hero in Ellen Ripley. When the film came out, it terrified audiences world-wide. It took the genre of science fiction into a much darker and hostile territory. Nearly 40 years later, Alien is still regarded as one of the best movies ever made. Fox Studios had a major hit on their hands, so they eventually tried for a sequel. When The Terminator made its debut in 1984, Fox knew they wanted James Cameron to helm the sequel to Alien. In 1986, the action-packed Aliens made just as much of an impact as the original film, even though it was a very different kind of flick. Sigourney Weaver was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, which is very rare for science fiction films, especially during that period. That being said, the second sequel, Alien 3 suffered some major turbulence when Fox took creative control away from first-time film director David Fincher. The resulting film was a bleak and beautiful, yet underwhelming film that truly divided audiences. In the next two weeks, Ridley Scott will be releasing Alien: Covenent in theaters. This will be the first real Alien film since Alien Resurrection over 20 years ago. I will be looking at Alien Resurrection in this post.
Set 200 years after Ripley’s sacrifice on the prison planet of Fury 161, Alien Resurrection sees Lt. Ellen Ripley return from the dead in the form of a clone. Created by the United Systems Military, Ripley was clone for the purpose of retrieving the alien queen that Ripley took to her grave in the previous film. After successfully extracting the queen from Ripley, the scientists begin studying the xenomorph, not realizing that the Ripley’s DNA has been spliced with the Aliens DNA. Teaming up with a group of mercenaries, Ripley must go into battle one last time against the creatures that have haunted her for so long. Even for 1997, cloning as a plot point was already a well-worn cliche. As a result, we ended up with a very different kind of movie than what we’ve seen in the past. Now, I remember when a fourth Alien movie was nothing but rumor and conjecture. Look, while Alien 3 had its problems, it was still a decent film, but it also had an ending that was absolutely final. It was absolutely clear that Ripley’s story had come to an end. To bring her back 200 years later kind of diminishes the sacrifices that the character had made in the previous movies. The story here is nothing more than a hodge-podge of tired genre cliches. It’s a shame, too, because I found this movie to be somewhat compelling in certain ways.
I’m going to start with the negatives here, before I go into the positives. First of all, the entire film has this hideous yellow-green tint throughout the picture. It was somewhat distracting. The writing here is also some of the worst I’ve ever seen. Now, Joss Whedon of Firefly fame, is credited with writing the film. However, very little of what he wrote actually made it into the final picture. It was not initially intended for Ripley to return, but rather Newt from the second film. Nope, if Fox was going to do another Alien film, they wanted Sigourney Weaver to return, so Whedon’s script was thrown out the airlock. As a result, we have a film that is rather uneven. The writing doesn’t quite match up with what we are seeing on the screen. It’s as if the writers and the director are at war with each other. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very interesting visual cues and shots that I really like, but I’ll get to those later. The acting is passable for the most part, except for Wynona Ryder. What the fuck was she doing? She’s a much better actress than what she displayed here. Not only that, but the merc’s leader, Elgyn, comes across as a bad-ass, but doesn’t fire a shot and ends up getting killed pretty quickly. There was a LOT of CGI used for this movie, and even for 1997, it was not particularly good. Especially when compared to Starship Troopers, which came out the same month. Some of the visual effects are NOT convincing at all.
Those negatives definitely bring the film down quite a bit. Let’s talk about the good stuff, now. The practical effects and creature designs are second-to-none. The director was not afraid to use make-up effects for the gore, which was plentiful and over-the-top. The idea that Ripley is now part Alien and part human makes for an interesting dynamic, considering her relationship to the creatures. Some of the performances are actually rather interesting. Brad Dourif is always a fun one to watch. He’s such an amazing character actor, that you can’t hate him. Not even in this movie. Ron Perlman is one of my favorite actors period. He gets to play a guy with a bad attitude, and he chews the scenery like it’s nobody’s business. Sigourney Weaver, has a very different take on her role this time around, but one of my favorite scenes is when she finds the room with 7 failed cloning attempts. This is one of the most disturbing scenes in the film, actually. The detail on these clones is hauntingly grotesque, but Weaver’s performance here really sells how the character feels about the situation, and it’s heartbreaking. The sound design in the film is equally haunting, especially when the Newborn Alien is killed. Good god, that’s freaky. This is a very uncomfortable movie to watch at times and I applaud Jean-Pierre Jeunet for that.
Alien Resurrection is a very strange beast, so to speak. It’s very different from the previous films in terms of tone and visual style. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but those two things tend to clash from time to time making for a really bizarre experience. While the practical effects, Weaver’s performance and sound design are all fantastic, the film is hampered by a second-rate story, Wynona Ryder’s abysmal performance, and lousy CGI. That being said, I didn’t hate the movie. I first saw it when I was 14 years old. It was the first Alien film I saw in theaters. It’s still light-years beyond the Alien Vs. Predator movies, for sure. I personally don’t think that this film really qualifies as a sequel. In my opinion, it’s some kind of strange off-shoot. But it’s a black sheep that holds a special place in my heart. I know that a lot of people hated it, but I loved Alien Resurrection for various reasons. I still like it.
Final Score: 7/10.