A Hollywood franchise gutted by an echo of the French New Wave.

Rating: Null/10 (26 June 2004)

I've been waiting for years for someone more articulate than myself to tackle this, but I still haven't read the review of this film that I've been waiting to see. I guess I'll have to write it myself.
I believe there's ample evidence on the screen in Alien: Resurrection to suggest that Jeunet had ulterior motives when he put this film together. While Scott, Cameron and Fincher all had the intention of making seamless Hollywood films that pull the audience into their world of horror and sci-fi for a cathartic and engaging experience, I do not believe that was the intention of this film. I believe Jeunet was using a method well-known to fans of the French New Wave that is often referred to as "laying bare the device." The intention was to make the moviegoers aware that they were watching a movie by allowing continuity errors or allowing the cameraman to catch his own reflection in a mirror. It was supposed to pull you out of the moment and make you aware that you were watching actors performing. What Jeunet does in this film is actually more subtle. He sets up scenes that parody conventions of Hollywood blockbusters and he pushes them just far enough so we know as an audience that we're in on the joke before continuing on. For a moment we're taken out of the film and given time to reflect on how ridiculous the genre can be, but before casual moviegoers can throw up their hands the film begins to take itself seriously again and we proceed. It's like Jeunet was taking potshots at Hollywood on their dime.
There are dozens of examples of this technique in the film. An example is when Dan Hedaya's General Perez is attacked from behind and he reaches around and grabs a piece of his brain to examine. Another is when Michael Wincott's Elgyn is led down a corridor by a trail of guns which he picks up one by one as he walks into a trap. Or the whole gag about the door locks keying on the breath of the people with access. Or when Ron Perlman delivers his "Waste of ammo...must be a chick thing" line (which holds the convention of the action- hero one-liner up to the light). You can go on and on with these examples. Some have suggested it was just bad writing, but I feel like there are too many clear signs that this was Jeunet's attempt to murder a Hollywood franchise by milking its own conceits until it drowned in them.
The next Alien film will undoubtedly be "back on track" as far as the intent of the filmmaker goes. Paul Anderson isn't exactly known for the layers of subtext in his films. I think it's very interesting that Alien: Resurrection was made at all. I also wonder if Fox ever had any idea (or has any idea to this day) that Jeunet made this film to ridicule and destroy the Alien franchise.