Excellent movie

Rating: 10/10 (30 August 2005)

I'm always surprised at the critics to this great film who claim that it's as bad as the theatrical version of Alien 3 or worse than Alien. Truth is that AR is one of the best films ever made, second only to the nearly perfect Aliens and much better than the decent Alien. It's just too bad that the mass audiences did not agree, letting this $70 million gem make $140 million worldwide, and thus securing that the AR genre would not continue.
*****SPOILERS****** First, for the positives. That starts with Jeanet's direction, which is artistically and visually beautiful. Then there's the writer, in Joss Whedon (back when he used to be good and before he sold out to maximize his profits). That's proved in the fact that no one could've ever predicted how the aliens initially broke out of their containment. Add to that surprises aplenty (underwater scene was gorgeous) such as Winona Ryder's initial "death", the infected miner getting his revenge against the evil doctor, the overall dialogue, and this is one of best-written films anywhere.
Add to that the acting, which is excellent on Sigourney Weaver's part, and pretty good on the part of everyone else, with special mention to Ron Pearlman and Michael Wincott's unfortunately-limited presence. And last, the special effects, which are awesome. Granted the CGI doesn't look as good in some places, but truth is that one could not tell this story by using people in suits (such as the ultra-cool scene where the alien jumps out of the water and latches on to the ladder above).
But there is one negative, and that's the Newborn. Not that I disliked this monster. In fact, it was impressive indeed, and its death scene was another shocking scene to watch open-mouthed. But the Newborn was unnecessary. We still had plenty of story that could've revolved around the facehuggers, xenomorphs and the Queen, that could've been developed without bringing a new monster into the genre. Personally, I would've had the Queen have a child-like attachment to Ripley, and have the Newborn's death be the Queen's death, which would've made this movie perfect.
Overall, it's such a shame that this film wasn't accepted by the masses, and it's also a shame that Winona Ryder made a stupid decision by shoplifting a few years later. I heard rumors that her off-screen behavior is partly what convinced Fox to do the horrible AvP and not do a fifth Alien movie with her character as the lead. Instead, we got Paul Anderson's garbage. What a waste.