Review of Alien Resurrection (1997) by Joshua B — 05 Jun 2013

Despite feeling somewhat structurally similar to the disappointing Alien3, Alien: Resurrection is tonally a lot less weird and more fun. Set 200 years after the previous installment, the film literally resurrects protagonist and resident badass of the first three films, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who has been cloned in an attempt to extract the embryo of the alien queen for study. Of course...things go awry and Ripley again must go up against the monsters, this time with a crew of mercenaries and a new set of superpowers thanks to the alien DNA inside her from the cloning process. All of this plot background unfortunately depends on the ending of the forgettable third film, but thankfully Resurrection has a sense of fun missing from its predecessor. Campy and ridiculous and over the top -- the opposite of the tense, suspenseful action of James Camerons Aliens --, but fun nonetheless. The film is directed by Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet from a script by Joss Whedon. Like the early work of David Fincher on Alien3, this film is not the greatest example of Whedon's eventual talents as a writer, but the results overall are more positive, since Jeunet's bizarro visual aesthetic and quirky sense of humour keep the ball rolling.

Resurrection is decidedly inferior to the first two classic films in the series, but is enough improved over Alien3 to merit a viewing.