Alien Resurrection Review
by James Sanford (jasanfor AT MCI2000 DOT com)December 2nd, 1997
ALIEN RESURRECTION
(Twentieth-Century Fox)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Chances are good that many of the moviegoers who'll be stand in line for "Alien Resurrection" this weekend weren't even born when the original "Alien" debuted in the summer of 1979, introducing the world to Ripley, one of the most dynamic --and determined-- heroines ever to appear in science-fiction. Eighteen years later, she's still being played by Sigourney Weaver, and the most intriguing aspect of "Resurrection" is the way Josh Wheadon's screenplay allows Weaver the opportunity to overhaul Ripley somewhat. After all, when we last saw her, she was plunging to her death to avoid giving birth to a new Alien queen; by the time, "Resurrection" opens, approximately 200 years later, scientists have successfully cloned Ripley (after seven botched tries) from DNA samples.
But their motives are hardly humanitarian. Indeed, when we first see Ripley, she's in the process of undergoing a kind of Caesarian section, having the unborn baby queen removed from her chest. From this specimen, General Perez (Dan Hedaya) spectulates, science can learn about all facets of the alien and possibly even find a way in which to tame them (!). "As far as I'm concerned, Number Eight is a meat by-product," says Perez of Ripley, who, in this new incarnation, is stronger and stranger than ever before. Her senses are alarmingly acute, and though she looks human, her blood now sizzles when it's spilled.
After Perez's ship is visited by the crew of a freighter called The Betty, "Alien Resurrection" takes a more familiar turn, as the alien specimens escape and run amok, decimating the human population. Call (Winona Ryder), the least off-putting of The Betty team, realizes that everyone needs Ripley's help to survive, but at the same time, Call isn't sure this genetic superwoman is really trustworthy: After all, who knows how human she really is?
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (best-known for the cult fave "The City of Lost Children") manages a stylish mix of arresting imagery and largely non-stop action. In one of the film's best shots, Jeunet's camera swoops into the mouth of a screaming man and travels down his throat and into his chest to reveal the gaping jaws of the alien fetus inside of him, and Internet addicts will enjoy Jeunet's visualization of the future of computer interfacing, which looks like a cross between religion and heroin use. Jeunet and Wheadon also handle the story's quieter moments with equal finesse: the eerie encounter between Ripley and her failed "forerunners" is one of the finest, most chilling sequences in any of the "Alien" films. Weaver, perhaps inspired by the new kinks in Ripley's character, seems much livelier and more vigorous than she did in the so-so "Alien 3," and there are flashes of surprising humor in her exchanges with Call, who Ryder underplays effectively. Michael Wincott and Ron Perlman contribute the requisite grit as Call's uncouth co-workers and Brad Dourif's nutty take on the chief scientist is quite amusing.
Though "Alien Resurrection" can't entirely sidestep the feeling of deja vu that hangs over most sequels, and ultimately wraps up with a climax that's less exciting than most of the rest of the picture, it's a perfectly respectable sequel, crafted with a certain degree of imagination and produced with some of the finest special-effects money can buy. If it doesn't have the novelty value of the original or the relentless suspense of James Cameron's "Aliens" (1986), "Resurrection" is still a swift, rewarding shocker in its own right. James Sanford
More on 'Alien Resurrection'...
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
