Alien Resurrection (1997)

After that debacle that was Alien3, we got this one. A resurrected Ripley and a new cast of characters, including Ron Perlman and Winona Ryder. A lot of people seemed to hate this one, but I liked it better than Alien3. There was action but it was a little more warped than its predecessors, including that creepy alien baby that makes the Chupacabra look cute. I won't call this one the best, but it was decent in my opinion. If you enjoyed the first two, fine. But don't bother if you've already seen Alien3. This may not be much consolation. But don't take my word for it.

The paraplegic, wasn't his ear supposed to be burnt off, thus causing major medical issues for him? If not burnt off, then at least severely injured, because right after Jean-Pierre went so far as to zoom in on his ear, in Vriess's next shot, his ear was A okay. Oh well, I guess these mistakes happen, it's just that, when they happen in a movie so draining, it's hard to focus on anything else.The Alien series is truly a disappointment. Its been over 250 years, and these aliens are still what they were back in 1979, because this entire series is filled with repetition and gimmicks, with zero story.There was an Alien, that alien came from a queen alien, then an alien lay an embryo inside Ripley and Ripley killed herself. She got cloned and had her DNA mixed with another queen alien, that then gave birth to another alien, and now Ripley has moved from being prey, to being mommy. The 1st sentence is literally all 3 of the first Alien movies, and the second sentence, is a convoluted mess meant to resurrect a kicking horse.I don't know how I would've felt watching these films back in the day, but watching them today, I can't help but see shoddy pieces of work, that get crippled more and more with every sequel, by their predecessors. Heavy hitting names are attached to this series; Scott, Cameron, Fincher and Whedon, which is why I feel so at war with myself, however, I can't ignore what the situation is. 4.4/10.

One of the longest running modern day horror franchises, "Alien" is a fascinating beast in the world of entertainment and media. With its humble origins as a quiet, slow-burn sci-fi thriller, the series evolved through sequels and spin-offs into something else entirely. Whether it be through James Cameron's exquisite action-extravaganza "Aliens", or the Paul W.S. Anderson schlock-tastic crossover "AVP: Alien VS Predator", or even series co-creator Ridley Scott's own pseudo- philosophical quasi-prequel "Prometheus"... "Alien" has changed and evolved quite a bit over the past forty years.But one release in particular has attracted an almost unanimous scorn and unending ridicule from all over the fanbase. A film that's so reviled, it's almost become a prerequisite that you're just expected to hate it. That being 1997's "Alien: Resurrection"- a strange little footnote in the series that tries its hardest but never quite comes together into much of anything. An attempt to turn the series around after the mixed reception garnered by "Alien 3", this fourth film aims for the stars, but stumbles and falls flat on its face. Although, if I am to be completely honest... I actually don't mind it too much. It's silly, but quite amusing and thrilling, with stylish visual direction and plenty of laughs and thrills to go around. Yes, "Resurrection" might be a mindless and trite exercise in style over substance... but it's also bold and extraordinarily entertaining. It's a ton of fun, even if it is objectively a "bad movie."Two-hundred years after the events of the previous film, scientists working for the military successfully clone Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the queen embryo she had been impregnated with, intent on allowing the alien life-form to reproduce so that they might study its race. This "new" Ripley has retained some faint memories of her former life thanks to genetic memory, but as a result of the cloning process, has also taken on some characteristics of the dreaded "xenomorph" species. When the offspring of the alien queen manage to escape, however, Ripley is forced to team up with a group of mercenary space-pirates (including Ron Perlman, Winona Ryder) in order to escape. Along the way, she will uncover startling and deadly revelations about the project that brought her back to life, and come face to face with a devilish new threat...Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet from a script by the world-renowned geek-god Joss Whedon, "Resurrection" does so much right that it's frankly a shame it's so routinely dismissed without much thought. It's essentially an incredibly slick and exceedingly well-made crappy B-movie. The plot is ridiculous. The characters silly and archetypal. And it's filled to burst with nonstop gore and effects. But it's made with a massive budget, an A-list cast and comes from a wildly talented director with a clear vision. Even on a pure aesthetic level, it's one of the most striking films of the franchise, with Jeunet's wonderful eye for flow and composition delivering many incredible set-pieces and designs that'll stick with you. It's just a gorgeous film all around.The cast is an absolute blast, with Weaver once again knocking it out of the park. Especially as this "new" Ripley also goes through some fascinating changes that both allow Weaver to stretch her acting chops... and have some fun chewing the scenery from time to time. Perlman and Ryder are good fun as members of a space-pirate team, with Perlman in particular being a good fit for the franchise. He's a criminally underrated performer and it's a joy seeing him on- screen. We also get small but fun turns from the likes of Brad Dourif, Dan Hedaya and Michael Wincott, and all serve the film quite well. The effects and action are top-notch for the time, with many sequences still holding up quite well to this day. An underwater chase-scene and a trippy climactic battle against a potential new threat in particular being eye-popping and absolutely jaw-dropping. And the wonderful cinematography and almost amniotic musical score add much to every single scene.But yeah... despite that praise, the film does have a lot of problems. Like I said above- it's basically a big-budget B-movie filled with the tropes and archetypes you'd expect, and it doesn't fit in with the rest of the series quite well. Unless you're willing to forgive a lot and go with the flow, you're not gonna have a good time with "Resurrection." There has been a lot of talk of how Whedon disowned the film and felt his script wasn't translated properly to screen, and I could definitely see shades of that. For all the amazing things he does, Jeunet seems less interested with story and more interested in increasingly psychotic visuals. And if you're looking for anything more than surface-level entertainment, you'll be sadly let-down.But me? I take movies for what they are and what they aspire to be. It's clear everyone involved on-screen is having a lot of fun. It's clear that Jeunet is trying to build a wild thrill-ride of a monster-movie. And it's clear that this is a film more concerned with crazed displays of gore and effects than a cohesive story. And you know what? I had a lot of fun with it. It's technically a "bad" movie, but to me... it's a FUN bad movie. And I'm giving it slightly above average 6 out of 10. Give it another shot with an open mind. It just might surprise you how enjoyable "Alien: Resurrection" really is.

Alien ResurrectionThe hardest part of mixing human and alien DNA is picking the right mood music.Regrettably, the scientists in sci-fi thriller don't divulge which slow-jams were successful.When a ship of mercenaries (Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon) docks at a military vessel to drop off stasis bodies for scientific experiments, they recognize a familiar face. Despite being dead for 200 years, military heroine Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) appears alive, well and enhanced with alien attributes, including acidic blood.The mercs eventually discover that there are other genetically engineered aliens aboard and that the infested ship is headed straight for Earth.Thanks to French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, this third sequel in the Alien franchise manages to stand on its own merits, despite sharing similarities with its predecessors. With strong female leads and creative visuals this unsung sequel deserves revisiting. However, the real horror show doesn't start until the human/alien in-laws meet.Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca