by Dennis Davison

Jan 25, 2000

For the Alien Heads this may be somewhat of a let down. The Cinemaphotography is excellent making a must see on the bigscreen. The plot is good, yet I walked away feeling empty. The suspense starts to build at points but leaves you flat only minutes later.

If you thought Alien 3 was a bomb, this at least leaves you with a little more satisfaction. A few interesting plot twists, there is another droid, and the Alien goes through a genetic change.

A few places of humor showed through the seriousness of the movie. Ties to #1 include a computer now named Father instead of Mother and chest burst is once again resurrected.

The effects were great. Yet, I still can't help feeling empty. This movie could have been much better, and I wonder what may have been left on the cutting room floor.

Long live Ripley.......

 

by David bostaph

Jan 25, 2000

To try to sum up the movie I have just been subject to, without giving away too much of the heavily guarded plot, is difficult. Thus, I will try to emphasize the look of this beautiful movie. Sure for those of you who read the Joss Whedon script this movie may be a sort of disappointment, but do not compare it. Do not try to think of it along the same lines as Alien, Aliens, or even Alien 3. It is its own movie, and a lot of the negative hype you will hear about this movie comes from the people who do compare it to these movies. This movie is a wonder to look at. It has a foreign feel to it, and some of the shots involved with it are very new and rather dangerous as compared to the standard American movie shot format. It is not a standard American movie. The cinematography in this movie was unreal, very dark, and very unsettling. In such a large ship you get the feeling of being trapped, something not felt in the movies since that first incident with the Nostromo. The aliens themselves are beautiful and very meticulously rendered in CGI and animatronic stylings by Gillis and Woodruff. They should know by now what they are doing with these incredible beasts. As for the creatures in the movie, they are at their slimy best. They move and act so real, even when you get to see them in whole body shots. It sometimes feels as if they are there, looking for you. Also these are not dumb animals. They may have seemed it in the past episodes of this franchise, but they are not 75 IQers. They react and have a great degree of intellect and reation to their environment.

 

by Terry Crouse

Jan 25, 2000

I thought "Alien: Resurrection" was going to develop into a really special movie. It had all the right ingredients -- a strong cast, an intriguing setup transition from where the last "Alien" movie left off, cool special effects, and so on and so forth. But for whatever reason, the makers of this movie got only into a portion of the film before they decided to kill everyone off and blow everything up and stop any serious storyline from unfolding. In essence, what we ended up with was a weak rehash of the second "Alien" movie.

The promise shown at the beginning of the film was tantalyzing. The time frame had been fast-forwarded to 200 years after the previous movie, which seemingly allowed movie's designers to come up with a completely different universe from the previous sequels. Instead, however, nothing seems to have changed much at all. The sets all seem vaguely familiar from the previous ones. Even the action sequences seem rehashed.

I am at a loss at trying to understand why the directors did so little with the film's development. For instance, would someone please explain to me just WHY, of all things, the scientists are harvesting the aliens in the first place? The movie deals with this issue for maybe one or two seconds, without really exploring the thought behind such obvious folly, when it should have spent most of the movie resolving this mystery for us.

I suppose, by itself, this would probably have been a pretty good movie. However, as the fourth installment of an ongoing series, this movie does nothing at all that the other three haven't already done, and is therefore a complete disappointment. Also, unlike the other three, I was unable to find a single redeeming quality about this movie. It was dark, mean-spirited, ugly, depressing, and in the end left me wishing I hadn't even gone to see it, especially after they finally give us an alien with some sort of human likeness (and therefore one that might be worth rooting for) and sadistically kill it off in one of the most disgusting methods imaginable! How sickening.

 

by PERRY PRESTI

Jan 25, 2000

"REMARKABLE, EYEPOPING, SHOCKING, SPINE-TINGLING, BREATH-TAKING.". THESE WORDS ( UNFORTUNATELY ) DO NOT PERTAIN TO ALIEN4. THIS MOVIE IS SO BAD, IT BELONGS TO BE SHOWN WITH "ROCKY5", OR IS IT ROCKY6,7,8.... WHO KNOWS, AND WHO CARES. ITS TIME TO PUT ALIENS TO BED. TO SUM IT UP THIS MOVIE STINKS.

 

by Mark A. Sellers

Jan 25, 2000

There is a very dark and disturbing "creepy" feel to the whole of the movie. Compared to "City of Lost Children" by the same (french) director, this is both less bizarre and faster paced, much more mainstream, butcompared to the other films in the Alien series, "Resurrection" has much more of a "art film" quality -- however, the great special effects, action, and suspense, are all still there. no obvious holes in the plot. rather than simply using the "resurrection"/cloning plot device to explain the recurrence of a character already killed off, the resurrected Ripley character is made into an intriguing and well thought out wrinkle, well played by a hardened Sigourney Weaver. Ron Perlman (TV's "Beauty and the Beast", "City of Lost Children", etc.) has a great supporting role, and Wynona is very credible in a key role, but seems, well... very small. I suggest renting "City of Lost Children" (but not when you are sleepy) and Ridley Scott's original "Alien", as primers, then get on out and see this one on the big screen.

 

by Brandon273

Jan 25, 2000

Sorry the first review was a missprint. This movie was horrible totally disgusting. Go see Starship Troopers instead if you want to see better aliens and better action. Personally I thinked it sucked, dont even rent it.

 

by Jason Whyte

Jan 25, 2000

Now let's get the record straight: I have not seen any of the first three "Alien" movies. They don't seem to interest me. The opportunity arrived for my friends and myself to go see "Alien: Resurrection", and when given the chance to go to a movie, I always go. And surprisingly, what I got out of Alien 4 was a fun-loaded, visually spectacular future fantasy that is stupid as "Con Air" yet high on adrenaline.

The plot is rather confusing, but here is a sequel that at least briefs you on what is going on. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), is a woman who committed suicide 200 years before, and has been brought back as part of an expirement. An Alien is brought out of her body and put into custody for future study. Naturally, you can guess what happens next. The alien breaks free and begins to wreak havoc on the ship, terrorizing all on board, including an expedition crew led by Winona Ryder, who shows up to study Ripley being brought back.

"Alien 4" does have some major problems, including its inability to sustain interest in the first half hour; it is all pretty boring stuff. Then, the plot and the action really kick in, and it never lets down after that. Included in all this nonsense is an underwater chase (where the main characters seem to have the ability to hold their breath for ten minutes) that is really exciting. The special effects are great, even though the Aliens, when they are moving underwater, look very fake. And the gore is at a fantasticlly high level, with all the ooze and blood dominating the screen.

The whole movie is loads of fun, and the effects, the sound, and the pyrotechnics are very entertaining. Directed by Jean-Pierre Guenet, he has a very fresh style that is going to be memorable. Only the story needs to be worked on, yet if you are a fan of the series I recommend seeing this on film to amass all its detail.

Grade: B

Tech Review:

Picture: 5+ The best looking picture of the year: full of vibrant colors, startling blacks, perfect contrast. This is the best treat to my eyes all year.

Sound: 4.5 A very dynamic dts mix, however there were not that many split surrounds! That being said, the mix is very powerful, with strong bass and easy to hear dialogue.

Photography: 5 Shot in Super 35, a better version that flat, what all directors should be doing in the first place.

Length: 109 min. Rated R for excessive gore and language. jwhyte2@hotmail.com

 

by Ron Higgins

Jan 25, 2000

First off, I should explain why I would give a movie of this quality a "See Now" rating... If you have any intention of ever seeing this film, at the movies on video, on TV, or whatever, you should not wait, but instead see it on the big screen. The cinematography is very good. The movie was shot to be shown on the big screen, and it shows.

Now, on to the actual review of the film.

If you're looking for a rehash of the original movie from 1979, go no further. Starring Sigourney Weaver, back from the dead and Winona Ryder as a tough little alien fighter.

Ripley (<A HREF="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?Weaver%2C+Sigourney">Sigourney Weaver</A>) has been brought back to life 200 years in the future in a cloning experiment meant to get at the alien queen that was within her when she died at the end of Alien3.

Well, we all know what happens when you mix aliens and humans, right? If not, you haven't been paying attention....People Die!

So, we spend the rest of the movie being chased by aliens as our little group tries to escape and keep the aliens from reaching Earth.

On the Alien scale of 1 to 4, one being the best and 4 being the worst, I'drank the 4 films in this series as follows:
1 - Alien
2 - Aliens
3 - Alien Resurrection
4 - Alien3

The order of the first two movies could be debated. Both were very good.

The bottom line is that this movie doesn't present us with anything new. The characters aren't fleshed out (no pun intended) very well. We don't get to understand the motivation behind their actions.

If you've never seen any of the Alien movies, see one of the first two (or see them both!), don't bother with this one. It was better than Alien3, but that isn't saying much.

<I>Copyright 1997 - Ron Higgins No unauthorized publication or distribution without the consent of Ron Higgins.</I>

 

by Matt

Jan 25, 2000

To see "Alien: Resurrection", you should really watch the first one. It will really tell you the history of the entire story. It makes you understand "Alien 4" more.

 

by Peter Woods

Jan 25, 2000

This movie makes Alien 3 looks like a Blockbuster hit. Look at this.... What is this trash.... Come on people, You guys can do better then this. I can do a 1,000 more times better then Alien Resurrection.This is the lameist movie I ever saw. If you like to be scare seen Scream 2 and leave this little piece of junk alone.

Rating:No Stars

 

by Edward Terkelsen

Jan 25, 2000

ALIEN RESURRECTION is a wonderfully eccentric, visually arresting, often profound addition to the popular franchise. The film has the audacity to break loose from conventions (gasp) which seems to frustrate audiences searching for more routine spills and chills. I'm sure the teeny-bopper set weened on mundane horror shows like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" are missing the film's point entirely. (The film's subtext shoots right over their pointy little heads.) There are enough exciting ideas in ALIEN RESURRECTION for a dozen good movies. The climactic scene when dear Ripley must sacrifice her hybrid offspring for the good of the Earth is one of the most emotionally wrenching moments in the history of the genre. This is, at times, a very disturbing film, but it is not without wit. I loved it!

 

by George Jobson

Jun 8, 2003

Winoma Rider is the only good thing about "Alien:Resurrection." The fourth of the series. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, who is being chased by those aliens for the past three movies. Here in the fourth, she returns from the dead in a new body, constructed by DNA. But the series seems a bit tired and it time for the series to end.