See it, but don't expect much

Rating: 6/10 (19 June 2008)

Easily my least favorite of the Alien films, mainly due to the lack of identity. As another commenter posted, Alien = Suspense, Aliens = Action, Alien3 = Drama; Alien 4 has little going for it beyond gore and an almost shameless retread of the previous films. A retread, with little done right. Whedon's fingerprints are all over this one and although his sarcasm-laden dialogue works for some of the mercenaries, it does not quite jive with the Ripley character (despite her being somewhat more "ruthless" thanks to her combined DNA). Nothing will beat the rapport the marines had with one another in Aliens. The one area where this film succeeds is the display of the Company's tinkering with the Alien embryos and DNA, presenting a truly frightening gallery of failed experiments. This was something only hinted at in the previous movies and it was satisfying to finally see the twisted fruit of Weyland Yutani's tree.