ALIEN RESURRECTION 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
2 :-) :-) for bringing the beast back from the grave
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Dan Hedaya, J. E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, Michael Wincott. Screenplay: Joss Whedon. Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
In this resurrection of alien carnage only a handful will survive the acid test of death. If nightmares could be personified in a living creature, then whisper the word Alien. Through the miraculous wonders of cloning we are represented with a newly revived Queen Alien and a healthier, more robust Ripley. These two mothers who are perpetually on heat are armed to the teeth, and when it comes down to a dogfight they really know how to bitch.
The role of Ripley fits Sigourney Weaver as tightly as Indiana Jones has become synonymous with Harrison Ford. She was made to battle Aliens and come out smirking. Without her the family gathering would never be the same. Once again Weaver does her sex proud as she claims the position of dominant female and takes charge of the situation when aliens start misbehaving. Unfortunately, the new Queen Alien is not as feisty as reputed and it will suffice to say that she does a very maternal thing towards the end of the movie.
The big question on every ones mind is how does this movie compare to its predecessors? It is not as suspenseful as ALIEN, not as thrilling as ALIENS and not as outright awful as ALIEN3. Writer Joss Whedon has decided to mix the popular elements of the previous three movies into his script. We're back on a research vessel with only a handful of crew still on board, regenerating the claustrophobic feeling created in ALIEN. The crew are once again grossly outnumbered and hunted down by a pack of bloodthirsty aliens as introduced by James Cameron in ALIENS. As for the other characters beside Ripley and the Queen, they are an assorted rat bag of space scum, not too dissimilar to the inmates of ALIEN3. The real fun comes in guessing who is going to have their head bitten of next. Let's just say if you're not mutilated, mutated, robotic or crippled – you have a pretty good chance of becoming monster chomp.
In terms of the general feel of the movie. The suspense is greatest when the aliens are still caged and waiting to escape. After this it becomes standard running about, with only a few memorable scenes worth mentioning. Let's just say the aliens are graceful swimmers and I would like to have them on my water ballet squad. As for acrobatics, I like a man who can shoot a gun hanging upside down. The ending is not as spectacular as the 1986 showdown between Ripley and the Queen, not as melodramatic as the 1992 Ripley throwing herself into an inferno, but it carries a lot more suck than the 1979 version of vacuuming the beast into to space. If you're wandering what I mean - think about eating spaghetti through a straw.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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