In space, no one can hear you scream...

Rating: 6/10 (16 May 2007)

... in rage! Alien 3 was supposed to end the saga, but since they wanted to make more money, Fox decided to make another sequel. Only problem: how were they going to do it? As you may remember, David Fincher's underrated third installment ended with Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) sacrificing herself to put an end to the alien threat for ever. As there can't be an Alien film without Weaver (and those who have seen Alien vs. Predator know it), something had to be done to bring her back convincingly. Hence Alien: Resurrection.
Taking place 200 years after the events of the third film, Resurrection solves the death issue in the most original way: cloning. That's right, the movie opens with a group of scientists finally succeeding, after seven disastrous attempts, in creating a perfect copy of Ripley. While the people involved in the experiment are thrilled, the crew of the Betty (a spaceship that stopped by for supplies) are not as excited. It does not take long to figure out why: the scientists' real purpose was to revive the Alien Queen that was inside Ripley at the time of her death, and use the offspring as biological weapons. And when the creatures start spreading terror and death, everyone realizes that maybe it wasn't such a good idea.
To be fair, the premise was not that bad: the idea of a cloned Ripley and the conspiracy regarding the aliens could have been awesome, if used correctly. Which is something neither writer Joss Whedon (who usually is a terrific storyteller, as Buffy and Angel prove) nor director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (yes, the same guy who did a masterwork like Amélie) know how to do. While the production design is superb and the special effects are generally good (with the exception of the hideous "Newborn" alien), the suspense and claustrophobia that made the first three movies unique are gone. What was meant to be a blend of sci-fi and horror is turned into a straight-out action flick, complete with loud guns, lame dialogue (maybe Whedon was suffering from writer's block in that period) and lousy characterizations: apart from Weaver, who does her usual job with finesse, and Ron Perlman, who plays a rude-yet-charismatic scumbag, no one is able to add something extra to a bunch of disposable, two-dimensional stereotypes, not even a clearly miscast Winona Ryder, who seems to have lost all the charm and intensity she had in the likes of Heathers and Edward Scissorhands.
Once again, the law of diminishing returns has been confirmed: aside from a few inspired moments early into the film, Alien: Resurrection is the most disappointing movie in the series. While Ridley Scott, James Cameron and David Fincher's contributions knew what they were aiming at and hit the target, Jeunet's franchise-closer doesn't even know where to aim.
5,5/10