Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Genre

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

Director

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Country

USA

Cast

Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Michael Wincott, Dan Hedaya, J.E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, Marlene Bush, Carolyn Campbell, David St. James, Raymond Cruz, Kim Flowers, Gary Dourdan, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Leland Orser, Tom Woodruff Jr., Joan LaBarbara, Archie Hahn

Storyline

Two hundred years after her death, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is revived as a powerful human/alien hybrid clone who must continue her war against the aliens.

Opinion

When I set my mind on watching the Alien franchise I was pretty sure "Alien: Resurrection" would be the weakest entry. I was wrong: this film not only ended up being superior to its predecessor - which wasn't that hard to accomplish - but it's also a solid-ish addition to the series.

I have to admit that the storyline didn't convince me much. I mean, bringing Ripley back from the death felt like one of those clichéd, last resort of filmmakers to make terrible sequels, but Joss Whedon wrote it. And even though the story itself is quite predictable and simplistic, this "fresh" new start was exactly what the film needed.

Whedon also did a wonderful job with the character of Ripley. He was indeed able to bring the character back from the death, both literally and figuratively, and find new things to do with a character that was pretty much done.

Unfortunately he didn't do the same with the other characters. The majority of the supporting characters, if not all of them, are basically action film clichés, and undeveloped. Actually Ripley is the only developed character.

But I guess I should be also blaming director Jean-Pierre Jeunet for that. He goes straight into the action, and doesn't leave much room for everything else. But at least the action sequences are very well done.

As for the cast, Sigourney Weaver kept doing what she did in the other three films of the series, a fine job. The same cannot be said about Winona Ryder though. Her (mis)casting and overacting were just a big no for me. But on the other hand there's Ron Perlman who shines as usual.