dichotomies in life

Rating: 6/10 (29 October 2007)

While "Alien: Resurrection" continues the story of extraterrestrial monsters going after humans, there's something of a dichotomy with Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Certainly she's in control and as much of a bad-ass as she was in the previous movies; hell, she beats the men at basketball. Which makes it all the more surprising when she utters "How many men do I have to f--- to get out of here?" If you're going to all the trouble to turn a woman into Rambo, why have her say that? Maybe it was partly that around the time when this movie came out, Sigourney Weaver also starred in "The Ice Storm" (and played an icy character), so it was a little perplexing as to why she chose to continue playing Ripley when each successive movie focused more on the gory aspect.
Truth be told, I can't fully explain why Ripley does what she does, and I don't know whether or not the movie would qualify as sexist. I did find it pretty enjoyable. Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dominique Pinon, Ron Perlman, Leland Orser, Dan Hedaya and Brad Dourif play some neat roles. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet more recently directed the Audrey Tautou vehicles "Amelie" and "A Very Long Engagement".