Very good 4th part in the alien series-every sci-fi fan should see it !!!

Rating: 8/10 (14 November 2003)

****The first two paragraphs are an extended plot description . If you have already seen the movie you may as well skip them****
**** For those who haven't seen the movie there may be some SLIGHT SPOILERS****

It has finally happened . After 200 years the unstoppable hostile beasts called aliens are resurrected . Lieutenant Ripley Ellen is long dead but the scientists found the secret to bring her back along with the alien queen embryo that she carried inside her . The greedy corporation Ripley worked for doesn't exist , but as long there is money and power hungry governments , somewhere , somehow , there will be someone who will fund an illegal program of bio-engineering in order to find the secret of the alien power . In this case the United Military Organization is behind this project although it is obvious that they are not even authorized by the Congress . They want to breed a new alien species to study them for purposes such as vaccines or alloys (but who are they kidding ? Inevitably the aliens will be exploited as a new super weapon) . The space base Auriga where the experiment is being conducted , is in orbit behind Pluto (naturally every illegal program takes place beyond the borders of the solar system) . The leader of Auriga is General Perez (Dan Hedaya) a rather mild mannered military officer who wants the project not to take a single risk . The scientists are led by Dr Wren (J.E. Freeman) and Dr Gediman (Brad Dourif) who are very enthusiastic about the potential of their task . They use frozen samples of Ripley 's blood in order to get the mixed human/alien D.N.A. and eventually clone Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) , resurrecting her and the alien fetus . The clone has not only the looks and physical shape of the deceased Ripley but unpredictably it has inherited all her memories and her psychological characteristics . There are also other side effects due to the genetic crossover and the clone shows some special features . The scientists isolate Ripley to study her later and focus on the Alien Queen which grows rapidly and incubates . In order to find some hosts for the face-huggers and the alien larvae , General Perez allies with a team of space smugglers led by Captain Elgyn (Michael Wincott) . They are black market merchandisers and in this case they supply Auriga with people they hijacked from other spaceships while they were on suspended animation . The unfortunate victims against their will are destined to be the first alien fodder . If you think the colonels are scumbags wait to hear where they get their financial sources : they cultivate vast quantities of cannabis ! This was an abandoned scene from the initial script and I thought it was best for you to know . Anyway , within a few days a bunch of aliens blossoms and everyone seems to be happy , but not for long .
Captain Elgyn lands on Auriga with his spaceship called `Betty' and they stay for a couple of days for refueling . Elgyn definitely is not aware of the classified project and just wants his fee . The rest of the Betty 's crew are Johner (Ron Perlman) a tough , foul mouthed and ugly sexist goon , Vriess (Dominique Pinon) a handicapped short man who is stuck in a wheel chair and is a mechanic with quite `long hands' , Hillard (Kim Flowers) an attractive woman who is Elgyn 's girlfriend and Christie (Gary Dourdan) a skilled and methodical shooter with rasta hair who is calm and seems to be the second in command . The recently added member is a short young girl named Call (Winona Ryder) who is a talented engineer and is the misfit of the group . Call has read the banned books written centuries ago by the convict Morse (another abandoned line) and is the only one who knows the legends about Ellen Ripley and the aliens . Ripley on the other hand is kind of a savage and autistic child in an uncomfortable environment . She hates the scientists for bringing her back to revive her worst nightmare . The inevitable occurs very soon as the aliens break loose and all hell with them too . The gory killings of the Auriga staff set everyone on alert . General Perez and the vessel 's central computer Father (he he) command the immediate evacuation of Auriga . Very soon all the remaining military members have left via the emergency exit vehicles , while the aliens have already formed a cocooned nest for their queen so she may reproduce more eggs . The space smugglers finally listen to Call 's warnings and head to the Betty . Unfortunately their spaceship is on the other side of Auriga . They form an uneasy alliance with Dr Wren and a soldier called Distephano (Raymond Cruz) who know the ship's design in order to get to the Betty fast and safely . They also take the cloned Ripley with them since her advanced knowledge on the species may be useful . The space shuttle is wrecked and under inner siege . Will their weapons help them survive ? See the movie and judge for yourselves .
Jean-Pierre Jeunet gives great imagery to the 4th and last chapter of this immortal sci-fi / horror series . Art direction and the magnificent photography deliver one of the most imaginative science fiction films of the decade despite the overused concept . The plot is rather predictable as we all have seen everything recycled in previous films (like the ending) . The visionary director provides us a beautiful film and the script gives us one of the most successful aspects of cloning in cinema generally . Jeunet and Joss Whedon who wrote the script gave their own approach on the series . The movie relies heavily on blood , gore and violence although it is sometimes depicted in a twisted , black humored , cartoonish manner . This the `funniest' in a dark way chapter of the saga and there are a few moments which tend to self-parody . It doesn't matter at all . The message of the script is the obvious catastrophic impact of the cloning experiments that are bound to happen in the next years . The aliens are now visible more than ever in the screen and they spend a lot of time gutting soldiers in the most vicious way (splatter fans will find their favorite element and glee) . We have seen the stereotypes `Man cannot tame nature' and `Greed is always punished' in numerous films but Alien Resurrection pulls it off with utter success . The sanguinary beasts dispatch the naive humans who foolishly thought they could control them , in the most revengeful way . Yes there are numerous films which have dealt with cloning but never this successfully . From the 7 mistakes preceding Ripley to the final `rebirth' the side effects are clear as crystal : messing with the genes can only generate trouble and atrocious monstrosities . The former scene is the most tragic one of the movie and will truly be the one Alien Resurrection will be remembered for . It sums up the poetic vision that Jeunet tried to give us and it is a chilling dramatic scene about what we might all experience in the (not so) distant future . Weaver 's character includes some surprises and twists and this really helps because a series needs evolution in order to survive . This is the most intriguing aspect of the Alien quartet . Each part was directed , written , photographed etc. by different people and each one gave his addition in the mythology like for example the biology of the creatures.

Alien Resurrection suffers from a great deal of problems which made the fans turn their back and despise it . Many of them thought that the film was way over the top and not terrorizing enough and lambasted Jeunet as improper for the job . As I already mentioned Alien Resurrection combines perfectly the dark shadows of a possible future with spoofing sequences and at the same moment grotesque images : the evacuation scene seems to be inspired by the respective one in Spaceballs ! Indeed some of the one - liners suck BADLY and almost turn the film to a typical Hollywood urban chauvinistic action flick `Who do I have to f*** to get off this spaceship ?' . Others are smashing and pull your leg nicely `Hey , Ripley , I heard you like , run into these things before' `Yeah !' `Wow man : so , what did you do ? ` ` I died !!' . The profanity here has hit the ceiling but I think that there is some background to it and let us not forget that the leads are criminals or rough military members . The greatest problem is the newly introduced characters . Ripley 's transformation and the ethical dilemmas she faces are nicely executed . Weaver gives a standout performance and she may be a bit more cynical but after the odyssey she has endured it is quite logical . After all , her new capabilities and enhanced power breath a touch of fresh air . It would be dull and repetitive if she was the same character . Winona Ryder is also very good as the mysterious Call . The two of them share good chemistry and accomplish the best acting of the film. J.E. Freeman is solid as Dr Wren too . Unfortunately the rest of the leads stink badly . I don 't care if it was intentional but Ron Perlman's character is thoroughly dislikeable and unbearable . Dominique Pinon is not especially amiable either . It also puzzles me why did they bother casting Dan Hedaya and Brad Dourif in virtually non existing roles . Just for the billing I guess . Both of them are literally wasted here and I am talking about less-than-cameo status . I have never heard of Michael Wincott and can 't see why he is so popular . His coarse voice makes him another repulsive character (probably he is the most chain-smoking person on earth) and he is also wasted . Characters worth caring for are Christie and Hillard . Kim Flowers is the only one who managed to insert humanity into her character , save Ms Ryder . Gary Dourdan has an underwritten role and too bad because he could have done much much more . Raymond Cruz is the extra / lead (thought it could never happen in a movie ?) playing the soldier who serves as the guider of the gang and I won 't omit Leland Orser as Purvis , one of the abducted by the smugglers hostages for the aliens harvesting . All the aforementioned characters had great potential but their screen time is little and are never fully developed .Too bad that the main characters are a**holes like Johner or Vriess whom you don 't give a damn for . The worst aspect of the movie is the ending . The baby alien is stupid but what comes as a great disappointment is his showdown with Ripley . OK the scene can be interpreted as hilarious or tragic at the same time but what happens is totally unrealistic (I am talking about laws of physics). The finale is totally rushed and feels a bad cop out . Rumors claim that it was reshot at the last minute (originally the movie ended on Earth) and it shows. Apparently they didn 't have the time to support it with some decent SFX . Another little nitpicking I would like to add is that the music score could have been better and at many parts it feels out of place .

Nevertheless I enjoy the film for many other reasons . The opening line is brilliant and it is quite obvious who Ripley refers to . Secondly , aside from Jeunet's inventive direction and the horrifying messages about cloning , the script finally answers a much debated subject . It is clear now that the aliens ARE intelligent creatures who know where to strike and can even outsmart humans . Another aborted line from the script stated that the aliens communicate with supersounds `just like bats' . The evacuation scene is also the most realistic one I have ever seen in a science fiction film , instead of waiting for the cast to be decimated and finally the 2 - 3 surviving leads go to the EEV , something they could have done right away . Here , when Father sets the distress mode , the soldiers INSTANTLY and without the slightest time waste abandon the vessel . The movie is actually plotless : the first hour is the introducing of the characters (although it is bare) and after the release of the aliens and the mass departure , the second hour is quite simply and frankly , the course of the leads to the Betty . No intermediate battle scenes just for dwindling of the cast . The SFX are for the most part believable , like the acidic blood , the alien agile moves or the super weapons that the smugglers have . Ripley's bilateral nature makes her and the movie far more interesting than a typical sequel . The acclaimed European director uses astonishing cinematography and brilliant sets to join forces with a genuinely American genre such as science fiction . The combination of Jeunet's psychedelic imagery and ordinary futuristic themes (a la Star Wars , Star Trek etc) is achieved quite balanced and we have an artistic approach to the series.

Alien Resurrection is certainly nowhere near as good as Aliens . It is quite good on its own merit and a decent 4th installment in the Alien universe . It is one of the best samples of sci-fi from the 90's and is bound to earn more recognition in the future . It was actually one of the most anticipated movies in history . Although some were disappointed , it is worth noting that everyone's favorite heroine lived again simply because an Alien film without Sigourney would have been a plain cash-in . The opening scenes with the cloning experiment is what everyone was eager for . This vertical glass tube with the reformed naked Ripley is already a distinct landmark . These sterilized labs with the subtle greenish lighting are uniquely conceived and the depiction is P-E-R-F-E-C-T . The entire film seems a nightmare transferred to the screen . Gross in some points with a wicked sense of irony and some parts that ignore common logic (like the cartoonish ricocheting of the bullets) . This is what Jeunet wanted and the execs did well hiring him . Alien Resurrection stands alone as a lyric vision of the fantastic intergalactic society that cinema tries to predict or warn us . It is not only for strict Alien fans but any casually interested movie fan should check this out . To put it in one word part 4 is one beautiful film . Witness the resurrection !
ALIEN RESURRECTION 8 / 10