Subject: Review: Alien: Resurrection (1997)

From: [email-masked] (Michael Redman)
Date: 29 Dec 1997 05:09:12 GMT

Ripley is alienated and so are we

Alien; Resurrection
A Film Review By Michael Redman
Copyright 1997 By Michael Redman

**1/2 (out of ****)

"You're not Ellen Ripley. She died 200 years ago" accuses space pirate Call to
the newly cloned Ripley-8 in the fourth film of the <I>Alien<I> trilogy.
That's the primary defect with this movie: she's not the heroine of the first
films, but..."something else".
        A couple of centuries after the alien-fighter made her long beautiful dive
into molten metal to rid the universe of the dripping slimy killing machines,
scientists for a top secret military operation have succeeded in recreating
her from a blood sample found on the prison planet in "Aliens 3". Not only
that, but they've extracted the queen from her chest.

Working, as always, for the good of mankind, they allow the queen to hatch 12
new beasts. It's not ruining anything to reveal that the aliens escape their
prisons and destroy almost the entire crew: that's a given in any Alien movie.

The "heroes" this time around are a rag-tag group of rough space pirates who
deliver humans to the science ship to serve as hosts for the infant
monstrosities. The space-age highwaymen are a likable bunch for folks who sell
living people to be used as incubators. We grow to like them before most get snuffed.

Especially appealing in a humorously Rambo way is Johner (Ron Perlman). The
hyper-tough guy and Weaver bounce off each other admirably: "So. I hear you,
like, ran into these things before. "Yeah." "What did you do?" "I died."
Crippled Vriess (Dominique Pinon) is the realest member of the cast.

"Little girl playing pirate" Annalee Call (Winona Ryder) seems a bit too nice
to be mixed up with the rest. She and Ripley form a relationship reminiscent
of her  attachment to the little girl in "Aliens". One touch of love in an
otherwise detached film.

Due to the cloning process, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has a mix of Alien DNA
which gives her superhuman strength, acidic blood and a telepathic sense. She
has become something more — or less — than human. The queen mother has picked
up some Homo Sapiens DNA in the process and the creatures have become more man-like.

Easily the best scene in the film is when Ripley discovers the flawed previous
seven clones. Touching and grotesque at the same time, the moment allows her
to briefly touch her humanity and help her sisters in the only way that she can.

What constitutes humanity is a theme of the film. Our heroine is part alien.
One of the characters is unveiled as an android. Vriess is something of a
cyborg, attached to a high-tech wheelchair. The aliens have feelings. The
scientists are monsters.

There is a particularly interesting scene where the alienated Ripley is
talking to a very humanized android in the ship's chapel. The clone is aloof
and emotionless throughout almost the entire film. The android is sobbing
because it is only a machine. Which one has a soul?

The creatures are great for the most part. They have always been one of the
best-designed visuals in any film. Now that computer technology has advanced
further, they look even better, but it is disturbing that they sound and move
exactly like the raptors in "Jurassic Park". 

The new type of alien near the end of the film is disappointing and could have
been lifted out of "Seven Voyages Of Sinbad". H. R. Giger, designer of the
original film, should have been brought back for this rather than using a
rubber suit found in cinematic storage.

The transformation of Ripley ruins one of the most appealing aspects of the
previous films. As she is sniffing around for aliens (and everything seems to
be smelling everything else in the film -- there's even a breathalyzer as a
door lock) and ripping metal off the walls, she seems almost invulnerable. The
old Ripley was constantly in danger: one person against an unstoppable force.
This one is above that. There's no audience investment in her safety.

There are some intriguing aspects of director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's ("City Of
Lost Children") film. Ripley, reborn after dying for mankind's sins, relearns
of even more sacrifice. Witnessing unselfish actions by others, and although
she unplugs the high-tech Bible from the computer, the final scene is straight
from that book.

As the baby boomers age, older actresses have had the opportunity to be
leading women and with good reason.  At two years shy of 50, Weaver is an
accomplished performer and easily as sexy as anyone on "Bay Watch". Her
performance clearly overshadows the youthful Ryder's. She plays exactly who
she is supposed to be. It's just disappointing who that person is.

This is a difficult one to write. "Alien: Resurrection" was my most
anticipated film of the year and coming out of it, I was filled with very
mixed emotions. It's fun but not nearly as much as it should be. Weaver is
great in her role, but that role is disappointing. Asked numerous times, I've
responded with my three-word review: "good, not great".

Oh well. There's always the next one and trust me, there will be an "Alien 5".
Count on it.

(Michael Redman has written this column so long that this is his fourth
"Alien" review. He's overjoyed to announce that he is again one with the
electrons at [email-masked]. Now if he'd only get something there.)

[This appeared in the 12/4/97 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana.
Michael Redman can be contacted at [email-masked] ]
-- 
mailto:[email-masked]
This week's film review at http://www.bvoice.com/
Film reviews archive at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Michael%20Redman