Alien Resurrection Review

by Ram Samudrala (me AT alanine DOT ram DOT org)
December 4th, 1997
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Alien: Resurrection
A film review by Ram Samudrala
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/Alien: Resurrection/ is the fourth installment in the /Alien/ movie series. There are a lot of positive and negative aspects to this movie. However, I think the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones, but just barely.

Most of the negative aspects are due to the derivative nature of the plot, especially considering that some of the events don't change very much compared to the first three movies. After a 200-year absence Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is back, thanks to the wonders of genetic engineering. This time, she is the involuntary host/mother of a new alien queen. And there's a conspiracy here to boot: all this is occurring on a huge spaceship under the auspices of the government.
Of course, man cannot mess with nature and get away with it (sound familiar?), even if the purpose is noble (in this case, the plan is to use the aliens for gene therapy, vaccines, what have you). Soon enough, the aliens are out there dripping acidic saliva and munching at everyone's heads. Ripley allies with a band of rag tag rebels delivering cryogenically frozen human bodies that serve as hosts for the alien embryos. It's up to Ripley and her compatriots to escape and destroy the aliens before it's too late.

This movie is interesting in that there are plenty of plot-holes that can be called into question, but when watching the movie, it is the suspense and action that drive it while logic and consistency are relegated to the back seat. It's only after I left the movie that I actually thought about the suspension of disbelief required. Fortunately, I suspect that for most people, during the movie, the lack of consistency won't make much of a difference. /Alien: Resurrection/ provides exactly what we've come to know and love about the /Alien/ movie series, even though it is repetitive.

The acting is decent by all concerned, but /Alien: Resurrection/ is Weaver's baby and she carries it all the way through. Winona Ryder as Annalee Call, while providing a pleasant visual distraction, is essentially wasted here. Worth the matinee fare.

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