Another excellent film in a series of solid 10s

Rating: 10/10 (8 February 2005)

Series note: It is strongly recommended that you watch this series in order, as each entry is a direct continuation of the story, as if chapters of a book. The previous films, in order, are Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), and Alien 3 (1992).
Taking place 200 years after the events of Alien 3, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is now a clone living on a military ship as the subject of scientific experiments. Unfortunately, they also get a hold of specimen of the titular malevolent aliens. Shortly after a ship of "space pirates" docks to complete a deal with the military ship's shady General Perez (Dan Heyda), things start to go haywire, and once again, humans are fighting for their lives.
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's series entry is most similar in tone to Aliens, James Cameron's action-heavy take on the alien mythology. The primary differences are those rooted to each film's place in time--Aliens is a typical mid-80s actioner, this is a typical late 90s actioner--and distinctions due to James Cameron's style versus Jean-Pierre Jeunet's, although in some ways, this is a more unusual film for Jeunet, who has leaned more towards surrealism and "art films" throughout his career.
On the other hand, the script for Alien Resurrection, which was written by Joss Whedon (of television's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly fame), can be easily seen as more surreal than the other entries in the series, if not darker (the tone of Alien 3 makes it difficult to call anything darker). After all, Ripley is a clone here, there are lots of bizarre almost X-Files like government conspiracies and experiments going on, and on a subtextual level, the whole film is a very disturbing take on motherhood. So even though both Aliens and this film are primarily action flicks, there is less of a focus on firepower here, and more of a focus on sci-fi weirdness. I love both, so it's nice to have different films in the series with different focuses.
We also get "Super-Ripley" in this film, which for me was a hoot. Sigourney Weaver was always one of the best things about the series--she presented a deep, intelligent, resourceful character, and in Alien Resurrection, she gets action hero-like physical prowess to boot. She is also able to add a slightly sinister, slightly inhuman edge, which brings a whole new dimension to the films. The rest of the characters were almost as enjoyably over the top as Cameron's Marines in Aliens. My only complaint on that end was that I would like to have seen both Brad Dourif and Dan Heyda much more.
Jeunet gives us some of the more haunting scenes of the series, one of the best being an extended underwater trek through a flooded deck, as our heroes attempt to escape. Alien Resurrection's climax also features what very well may be the most disturbing creature in the series, and no, I'm not referring to Ron Perlman.
It shouldn't take much to recommend this entry. You should have watched the first three films before you get here, and if you've watched that far (which surely means you've enjoyed the films more than not enjoyed them), you may as well check out the fourth, too. Don't forget to also see Alien vs. Predator (2004) after watching Alien Resurrection. It's of a similar quality to anything in either the Alien or Predator series.