Okay Action Flick, but not very Good for an Alien movie

Rating: Null/10 (26 August 2003)

Okay, I will admit that I am one of the most disturbingly Hardcore Alien fans on Earth. I spent an entire summer watching Aliens 2 to 4 times daily just to learn how to draw the damn things. And I like Alien 3.
But i had a hard time swallowing Resurrection. I love Ripley, we all do, but c'mon. Cloned? Grown up in a few weeks? Retaining Memory?!?!
Movies do require suspension of disbelief, but the other Alien movies did not require very much. The 2 originals were masterworks done by two people I believe to be geniuses. The third was done by another incredible talent (Fight Club is another favorite of mine and Se7en made me sick to my stomach, for all the right reasons). Resurrection...... I'll admit, ive never seen anything else this guy had directed. All I can assume is that he figured he was making a movie for an American audience, so he decided to make it nasty, gross and disgusting.
Do the others have their share of gross? You betcha. Did it drive the plot foward? For the most part, yeah.
But I can't eat through much of Resurrection. That friggin baby-thing at the end makes my skin crawl every time, and I have to put my drink down when it comes on the screen. It seems to be that in some director's hand-book it says "When a creature bites down on a head, blood should spew forth like the mighty Old Faithful". I never realised that death caused the blood vessels suddely gain the power of fire hoses, but here is the proof.
All the "so-so" parts aside (it is a pretty good movie, it just stinks for an alien movie), the only real gripe i have aginst this movie is the scene where Christie (Gary Dourdan) dies. It has always grated on me, because it was so completely unnecesarry. I never understood how acid-scarring and a high-dive into very deep water killed him. He was tough. It always struck me as the writers said "Well, the black guy always dies in movies, so I guess we should kill him". Irritating. Christie was one of the best characters in the movie.
I will mention that I miss the old Ripley. The new one is cool, but it's more "Siguorney Weaver in another Alien Movie" than good old Ellen Ripley. She has the same name, but is a different character entirely.
All complaints aside, i do like the movie, and was not at all let down that it was included in the Alien Legacy set. (which , of course, i have). The characters are a tad shallow, but still enjoyable. The references to the other movies reminded me of a Simpsons episode (that is a compliment from me). I like Ron Perlman, he's always welcome to any cast. Michael Wincott rocks. I've liked him since Robinhood: Prince of Thieves.
All in all, it is a creative, enjoyable sci-fi action movie. 6 out of 10