Alien Resurrection Review

by "Andy Wright" (louk AT seanet DOT com)
February 6th, 1998
ALIEN RESURRECTION

Grade: B (Somewhat disappointing, but worthwhile for fans of the franchise and goop in general)

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Written by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dan Hedaya (Blood Simple), Michael Wincott (Strange Days), Brad Dourif (Exorcist 3)
Year of Release: 199720
Rating: R

Deserves Recognition for: Actress (Weaver), Cinematography (Darius Khondji)20

Capsule Review:
Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley's back from the dead and fighting more of the most Freudian bugs in the universe in a flick that, while nowhere near the quality of the installments helmed by Ridley Scott and James Cameron, is still a pretty fun ride. By far the shortest film in the series, this sacrifices some potentially intriguing ideas about genetic responsibility in favor of sheer balls-to-the-wall speed. (I became a little more disappointed with the film thinking about it on the way home after the rush had worn off.)
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children) seemed like a good choice for reviving the franchise, but his ultra-quirky style mingles uneasily with the one-liner intensive script by Joss Whedon (significantly, the two best sequences - a kickass underwater chase and an encounter with some eerily resonant failed experiments - are both virtually dialog free), resulting in a film that wavers between the moods established by the first two installments, but never quite finds an distinct identity of its own. Still, the set design and lighting (by the great Darius Khondji, who also did Se7en) are fabulous, Sigourney Weaver scores some subtle variations on her usual persona, and most importantly, it's a far more entertaining movie than the misbegotten Alien 3. Bring on part 5.

Copyright 1998 by The Critic formerly known as Andrew Wright For more insanely biased reviews, check out http://www.seanet.com/~louk/ e-mail [email protected]

"Saturday Night Thing.
Drunken Hillbilly Bar Fight.
My Soul Rejoices."

A Haiku in honor of ROADHOUSE
A9Andrew L. Wright esq.

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