It seems not a lot has changed in a hundred years...at least not in the world of the ALIEN sequels. Somehow, Sigourney Weaver always in ends up in a steam filled corridor, on a ship with dripping chains that swing suspended from unseen heights for unknown reasons. The flamethrowers even look the same, for heavenıs sake.
What has changed, are the plotlines, which went from sleeper Hollywood hero film, to MUCH LARGER, CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD HERO FILM, to the last installmentıs anomalya dark, brooding tale that started things off by telling us that Ripleyıs heroic efforts at the end of part two were in vain, then shaved her head. It got worse from there.
This outing proves to be more interesting. The technical aspectssave for a few very hokey computer shots (beware the dreaded rolling hand grenade!), are very good. Cinematography is sharp while keeping everything low key, sound is excellent and the score odd, but workable. The film panders to no one, starting things off with only the most brief sketch of exposition, then plunging headlong into itıs sinister plot. The downside is that the film is really for ALIEN fans...the whole thing comes off as one large ³in² joke. This could not be said of the brilliant ³ALIENS,² which stands on itıs own as a masterpiece of suspense. But ³ALIENS² was a big, huge, commercial masterpiece as well. It seems that the series last two directors have been determined not to take that proven route, and to search out a more low-key, oblique approach that tries hard to achieve...dare I say...a more artistic approach. Unfortunately, these directors seem to feel the best way to achieve this is to start off things with a cast that looks more like a death row lineup, than a group of characters the audience might actually care about.
The cast, though a raunchy lot, is very good. Again though, the problem with them is that they are all such a seedy bunch that one doesnıt much care who among them gets the olı ALIEN plunger greeting. This differs from the first two films where each crew member had itıs share of fans pulling for him or her. There are no ³Game over man,² characters in this one.
Sigourney Weaver is a bit more subdued in this film...not the strong yet still vulnerable heroine that we want to root for (EARTH TO THE SCREENWRITERS...COME IN...), but she still makes a riveting screen presence, the most watchable female star in decades. Nope...in this one, we donıt worry about Ripley at all, she can handle herself. Boy, can she handle herself.
I must admit I was not a fan of the filmıs premise...that Ripley is part alien, part human. It belies the basic attraction she has for all of us...she *is* us, albeit a better version of us than most of us would be in her situations...and like all heroes from Clint Eastwood to, well, Ripley...she doesnıt need the added attributes of an ALIEN to make her strong or interesting. This Brundlefly approach to her character results in a few silly scenes depicting her abnormal strength, some of which are mildly amusing...but also results in some other less effective scenes as in one where she puts her ear to the floor and says ³Itıs the Queen...and sheıs hurt...². The ALIEN series deserves better than this kind of hokum.
There are many action scenes, the most spectacular of which involves the entire crew swimming underwater and holding their breaths for what seems like an eternity while trying to reach safety on the other side of the ship. There is a fair amount of suspense in this sequence, some great editing, and some very impressive scoring.
Unfortunately, the pivotal turning point of the film is one of those sequences that doom a film if enough people find it incredulous. It came off a little bit like bad King Kong to me, but I managed to stick with it. Worse, it is not strong enough to bring the film to its close with the same kind of ³get me off this rollercoaster!² sense of relief elicited in the first two films. The ending seems flat in comparison to either of the first two films.
With a little imagination, one senses in the final scenes that another sequel might be in order, but if so I hope they write out this whole Ripley as ALIEN/MOM thing. Clone her again, and do it right guys. There are enough creeps in the universe as it is---we need a HERO, not a 50/50 BAR.
Three and a half out of Five Stars, if you must have a rating;)
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