--Each of the films in the series has its own identity: A:R is just as solid an arthouse fantasia as ALIEN was a horror film, ALIENS an action film, and ALIEN3 an AIDS allegory.
--A murky and violent sexuality runs through the whole series - maybe it took a French director (Jean-Pierre Jeunet) to inject a level of knowing kink, in a story in which the aliens' nemesis finally matches their predatory sexuality.
--Speaking of which, the sheer physicality Sigourney Weaver brings to the cloned, aliened-up Ripley is simply awesome. Too few actors get the chance to be as all-out HOT as Weaver is in just the basketball scene.
--Brad Dourif gives great mad scientist.
--A dream team of actors give their all as the crew of the Betty, including captain Michael Wincott, staff lunkhead Ron Perlman (not someone with whom you want to fuck, but you have to love his grammar), and engineer Dominique Pinon. Winona Ryder does what the script calls for her to do as well, so leave her alone.
--The aliens have NEVER looked better, nor has any photographer lingered on them as seductively as Darius Khondji. If Helmut Newton teamed with HR Giger to make an Aliens movie, I doubt it would have looked much different.
--The scene where Pinon quietly, patiently builds a shotgun from his wheelchair as certain death draws near.
--The nightmarish underwater chase scene - Weaver was terrified of doing it, and claims that she let Ripley take over to get the job done.
--The gooey and spectacular revenge the guy gets even as an alien is bursting from his chest. Magnificent.
--The heartbreaking look on the hybrid's face when it realizes that Mommy has betrayed it.
Perhaps in response to the austerity of the previous film (which has its own rewards), ALIEN: RESURRECTION is filled with quirky moments (and many more creatures). The ALIEN series offers a strong model of franchise filmmaking, allowing gifted filmmakers to offer their own unique slant on the conflict between one woman and a rapacious race of predators, and if one gets beyond a need to place one entry over the others, there's plenty within ALIEN: RESURRECTION that allows it to stand confidently among the films that preceded it.
Maybe I need to see it again....
ReplyDeletealways loved this flick, every alien movie's director has gone on to make classics, this film is no different
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you've said. I liked the film, I liked the cast, I liked Ryder, I loved Perlman, I loved Douriff, and I particularly loved Weaver's new super-human sassy and snarky Ripley. I mean, this Ripley gives Jurassic Park's Jeff Goldblum a run for his money in the snark department. Also, she gets to play up her half/human nature by infusing the role with a fair amount of creepiness. She delivers that in spades. The scene between Ripley and Call in Ripley's holding cell...You're almost wondering if Call is actually going to make it out of there. "What makes you think...I would let you do that?"
ReplyDeleteI dunno what Whedon wanted. If he was looking for a cinematic version of "Firefly," then he shouldn't have joined the Alien franchise with his script. He wanted it to be funny? It is funny. It's got comedy that is so dark, it's pitch-black.
If his goal was "Firefly" with a Xenomorph, then I'm glad the director did what he did. Yes, Alien 3 was dark, but doing a complete tonal shift to "Firefly: Now with the Alien" would have been an incredibly horrid move.
Would I rate this as highly as Alien or Aliens? Hell no. Those are 9/10 or 10/10 films, and I'd give this a solid 7 for it's quality. However, I sincerely enjoy this outing as much as those first two films. I'd even go out on a limb and say it's a shame we didn't get another film or two with Weaver's genetically-modified "Ripley." It's a bold statement, but I think Weaver's Ripley here is the sexiest she's ever been in the role.
The best part is one of the full-circle moments of the film. Ripley in "Aliens" spends nearly the entirety of the film distrustful of android Bishop due to her near-death experience with the original's Ash. In this film, it's the android itself that is completely mistrustful of Ripley for a solid portion of the film. It's a very clever throwback, as is Ripley developing a relationship with Call that gets protective and draws parallels with Newt as the film progresses.