Alien Resurrection is a 1997 science fiction horror film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dan Hedaya, J. E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, and Michael Wincott. Two hundred years after her death, Ellen Ripley is revived as a powerful human/alien hybrid clone. Along with a crew of space pirates, she must again battle the deadly aliens and stop them for reaching Earth.

Two hundred years after the events of Alien 3, Ripley is cloned by a group of scientist and with her, the alien queen she was carrying. However, the aliens escape and Ripley must team up with a band of smugglers to not only escape but stop the ship from reaching Earth. The overall story isn’t really that bad. I particularly love the bit where the Ripley’s blood was used to clone not only herself but the Queen she bore when she died, reviving the xenomorph species. It’s twisted and shows how demented humans are which helps feed the theme that humans can be as bad, if not worse, than the aliens themselves. There’s a lot of really exciting moments with our protagonists attempting to survive this shit storm. Hell, despite the unlikable characters there’s actually a surprising bit of development.

However, I feel as if the story failed to explore some aspects that could’ve benefited the film. Not including the 200 year leap (which is a stretch because honestly it could’ve just as easily been ten years) the story could’ve delved more into what the experiments were resulting in. Were they creating superweapons? Were they creating enhanced human soldiers? Like what’s the end goal of the bad guys? Another interesting aspect is does Ripley have a connection to the original Ripley? The lack of transition of her accepting that she’s not the original or not fully human would’ve been helpful to flesh out her character. Who are the big wigs running the show?

In itself the story isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be. But compared to its predecessors it does feel like everything’s been done before (except for the cloning bit). There are elements of the other films present that both help the film and hurt the story. Still, the film does have a pretty interesting and exciting story. (3 out of 5)

One of the biggest problems are the characters though that’s not to say that they’re all bad. But many aren’t well-written. Ripley this time around is a clone who’s housing some xenomorph juices in her blood stream and has a connection with the aliens. This Ripley’s a bit shallower than the original and even though she has the personality and memories she’s a different Ripley. I know some fans are butt hurt about this but I think it totally works for the movie.

Aside from Ripley, Johner (cause Ron Perlman’s always awesome), and Call, many of the other characters are either unlikable or plain shallow. Johner is the loud mouth tough guy who brings the humor (again thanks to Perlman). Call has a surprising amount of depth among the cast. Now, that isn’t to say that they don’t grow on you. I really enjoyed Johner and Vriess’ back and forth banter. Frank (captain of the mercenaries) and Sabra (assistant pilot of the Betty) aren’t given much to do. They’re perhaps the most shallow of the group. I thought Christie was pretty badass. There are a couple more included with the group, of course, one has to be the bad guy. (3 out of 5)

Despite the mix bag of characters, the cast is Grade A. We have some of the greats, including Sigourney Weaver (of course), Ron Perlman, Michael Wincott, Winona Ryder, Dan Hedaya, and Brad Dourif. There are a couple who play themselves, Perlman of course comes off as cocky and a smartass and Dourif is creepy as usual. I liked seeing Weaver return to give her character a different portrayal. I fell in love with Ryder through this movie and I like the chemistry between her and Weaver. The performances are good for the most part. Supporting cast includes Dominique Pinon, Gary Dourdan, Kim Flowers, J. E. Freeman, Raymond Cruz, and Leland Orser. (3 out of 5)

I will say that the look of the movie is impressive. Not only does the ship designs look good (if not a bit bland) but the overall tone feels different. Everything is basked in colors of orange, brown, and yellow which makes it look mechanical (much like the ship) but creepy at the same time.

Despite many of the film’s faults the Alien designs are the fucking best of all the films. They’re big, they’re oozing fluids and have steam coming out. The bodysuits look gross and coupled with the smooth movements of the animatronics helps make them look monstrous. There are some CGI aliens for sure, but they pale in comparison to practical.

Now let’s talk about the Newborn. Well, honestly I didn’t like the look nor the idea of the Newborn. I didn’t like the look nor the idea of the Queen. Yes, the practical’s great looking but the overall designs are…less than pleasing. Despite that, the special effects are awesome. (4 out of 5)

No matter what anyone says, the music is absolutely beautiful. Much like the special effects, the music doesn’t get enough appreciation. John Frizzell manages to bring some pretty strong themes to the table that both explore the dreaded feeling of horror while also focusing on science. I’m actually thinking that it sounds like a mad scientist successfully creating a monster, ie Frankenstein. (5 out of 5)

I admit I know nothing of Jean-Pierre Jeunet so I’m not familiar with his directing style. There’s something specific that he brings to the film but works and doesn’t work. I liked that the story explores themes of what it means to be human which is addressed through the eyes of both Ripley (as a clone) and Call (as a synthetic). Even the focus of Ripley and the Newborn. The dialogue isn’t bad but it can be raunchy at times. There are some decent lines the best delivered by Perlman.

There’s a good pacing and the editing isn’t bad. There’s action, suspense, and horror but it’s not as memorable as it could’ve been. However, what we get is decent. The best action scene in the film revolves around the characters dealing with the aliens in an underwater sequence and a climbing sequence. It has a strong intensity to it.

Another issue in the writing that doesn’t make sense is the underutilized military presence in the movie. As soon as the xenomorphs break out, all the military soldiers jump ship. How come we didn’t get a soldiers versus xenomorph battle going on. It didn’t have to take front and center but it would’ve been nice to have had it going on in the background or as a potential side story with the character Vinnie Distephano. The movie’s set on a huge research facility with a huge military presence and in the end, the military shouldn’t have been in the movie at all because they weren’t used at all.

The whole Newborn idea was decent in theory but I don’t like it. If the Newborn was created by the scientists, I get it. I would’ve worked out for the whole mad scientist bit and we would atleast see some results of the experiments. But the Queen giving birth to the Newborn was stupid. And, how did it give birth to the Newborn when it was laying all those eggs? And how did it evolve to give live birth when laying eggs was more efficient? There are more issues but I’ll just end it here. (2 out of 5)

In the end, Alien Resurrection is one of those films where you’re be tempted to either love it or hate it and not dance in the shade of gray. Most of the films’ shortcomings are derived from the lackluster characters, story, and poor writing choices. However, the movie does have value. It’s an interesting take on the series, the cast and performances are good, the special effects are good, the music’s good, and the direction is decent. Alien Resurrection gets 3 out of 5. It’s not as bad as many make it out to be so give it a chance.