Alien Resurrection
Reviews
John Chard
Let sleeping dogs lie? Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the makers here basically stick safe to the formula of the series. This time it's a space station with space pirates and a cloned Ripley (Siggy Weaver of course) - yes! A cloned Ripley, only this time she's devoid of human compassion - kind of... The gore quota is significantly upped, which makes for some serious sci-fi terror, and some of the imagery crafted is outstanding (a clone lab sequence is shatteringly unforgettable). A tip top cast featuring Ron Perlman, Michael Wincott, Brad Dourif, Dan Hedaya and Winona Ryder, all give good shows, whilst the photography (Darius Khondji/Se7en) and art design (Steve Cooper, Andrew Neskoromny and John M. Dwyer) takes the breath away. Yet come the final straight it loses its way, sinking into a mire of over confidence, topped by a crown of thorns involving an albino baby alien hybrid. Shame that. 6.5/10
bestchallenger
A pretty average movie, specially compared to the previous installments in the Alien franchise (even Alien 3). The plot sometimes gets very confusing and none of the characters are memorable. Some of them are even rather cartoonish. The movie seems like a cheat attempt at cash crab, by using a known franchise. I would recommend watching if you are a fan or are looking for a mediocre action/horror movie to watch with friends.
Wuchak
_**A combo of the first three with a couple fresh ideas**_ Two hundred years after Ripley’s death in the previous film (Sigourney Weaver), she wakes up as a clone in a space station, which also serves as a colossal vessel. Scientists there are experimenting with xenomorph/human eugenics to create, I guess, the ultimate living weapon. Meanwhile a ship of smugglers visits the station when (big surprise) the aliens escape captivity. Winona Ryder and Ron Perlman play space pirates while Dominique Pinon and Michael Wincott are leaders at the station. Brad Dourif is on hand as a scientist. "Alien Resurrection" (1997) is the fourth film in the series and combines elements of the previous three while throwing in a couple of new things. The diverse cast is great but I started to get bored by the end of the first act. Thankfully, the movie perks up with an outstanding underwater sequence that recalls “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972), albeit more amped up. The peripheral cast is highlighted by the voluptuous Kim Flowers as Hillard and the formidable Gary Dourdan as Christie. But you just know they’re the equivalent of red shirts in Star Trek. If you’ve seen the first three entries, there’s no pressing reason to see this one. It has a been-there-done-that vibe. However, if you appreciate those films and want more of the same with a new cast, “Alien Resurrection” is well done for what it is, proficient sci-fi/horror. Armchair critics have been too hard on it. While it lacks the mystery of the first movie and the suspense & utter horror of the second, it has more pizazz than the relatively subdued third installment. The film runs 1 hour, 48 minutes. GRADE: B-/B
r96sk
Super fun! I wasn't expecting <em>'Alien Resurrection'</em> to come out better than <em>'Alien³'</em>. Sure, this 1997 flick isn't as great as <em>'Alien'</em> and <em>'Aliens'</em> but I honestly wouldn't put it that far off. I really enjoyed it, cracking action coupled with a great cast. Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley is a pleasure as always, meanwhile this is the most I enjoyed a support cast from the franchise. Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Brad Dourif, Raymond Cruz, Gary Dourdan and Michael Wincott all have positive moments. Not the franchise's best, yet arguably its most entertaining. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
CinemaSerf
At the end of the last film, we see "Ripley" (Sigourney Weaver) fall headline into a vat of what looks like molten lava, clutching her newborn - determined that neither shall survive. Well, luckily for all concerned, technology roars ahead and 200 years afterwards we have somehow managed to clone her - and her baby. Military plans for the killer beasties are the reason, but as we all know by now - nature finds a way, and after some dodgy DNA sequencing, they face an enemy that presents a terrifying hybrid of alien and human that could threaten Earth itself. It is up to her, whom the aliens still think is one of then, and a disparate bunch of space pirates to try to thwart the creatures - and to survive! This offers quite a shocking indictment of just how state-sponsored science, coupled with militaristic aspirations can lead to some hideous creations but aside from that rather obvious moral imperative, the rest of this is pretty routine. There is no shock left for us to feel; we have seen it all before and just like last time, the folks getting gobbled up are largely deserving of their fates. Winona Ryder's ("Call") adds a little quirkiness to the plot later on, but otherwise this is all just completely forgettable, churned out sci-fi that, though quite quickly paced and complete with some great special effects, offers nothing new.
GenerationofSwine
I can't believe how the Alien franchise has been politicized in two directions by the same side of the political debate. I pointed out Ripley as an example of a strong female lead that everyone loves, and that got me the ire of the cancel culture folks. It's not politically correct to like Ripley when you have worse and more modern strong female leads. But, I really didn't like "Alien: Resurrection" and that earned me the wrath of the exact same people!!!! So, I guess the basic rule of thumb is that you are only supposed to like the bad movies to be politically correct? I don't know how it works. For those of you that are rational, "Alien: Resurrection" stinks. For starters, Ripley is supposed to be dead. Bringing her back the way they did, well, that's not only an insult to us fans that love her, but to Ripley as well. Seeing her like that left a sour taste in my mouth. And though I always loved and will likely always love both Winona Ryder and Ron Perlman, and though they did as good of a job as they could...they couldnt act their way around a horrible script and a terrible premise. You can't blame the actors for this nightmare. You can see that they are actually trying to salvage something from the mess. In the end, you have to blame it on the fact that this is an Alien movie that no one asked for, and it's a plot that should never have been. In 1997 this movie was trash. In 2018, however, it's fresh air considering the Alien movies we have now. But still, I'm giving it the 97 rating. it was over at 3, no need to insult a stellar franchise.
Filipe Manuel Neto
**Despite some merits and the effort of the director and cast, it is the weakest of the Alien films.** This was the fourth film in the Alien franchise, and the last one for many years. The franchise started well and developed nicely into three films that, while not without criticism or problems, work really well and have a lot of coherence as a joint work. The fourth film, unfortunately, completely breaks with this coherent and harmonious union. Jean Pierre Jeunet has done a pleasant and undoubtedly strong job. It is one of the films that made the director's career and that we remember when we talk about him. And there is no doubt that he managed to prevent this film from being even worse, putting great effort into his work, coordinating his technical team and guiding a strong and highly competent cast. Sigourney Weaver is back with the character that launched her career, despite the very understandable reluctance to accept the project (after all, Ellen Ripley had died in the immediately preceding film). She herself stated, without any fuss, that she agreed to do the film because she was handsomely paid. I don't blame her. For an actor, who lives off the jobs he's called to, and who never quite knows when they'll appear, it's important to accept lucrative opportunities. And we have to be honest, the actress committed herself to the work and did everything to give us a performance at the same level as we have seen in previous films. However, she unfortunately did not have been material with the same quality. Winona Ryder, who was experiencing a particularly happy period in her career, is also here, and she also gives us a very reasonable job, although far from matching the great performances she achieved in other films of the same period. Ron Perlman, fairly unknown, is in good shape, as is Brad Dourif. On a technical level, the film is frankly inferior to its predecessors, and considering that all this is a set that should be cohesive and homogeneous, it is difficult not to make some comparisons. It's a film that continues to rest solidly on very strong visual and special effects, which are very reasonably done considering the age of the film and what has gone before it. It's not as spectacular as its predecessors, and any originality has been lost, but it's not bad, and it's worth seeing. Unfortunately, for a horror film with monsters on the loose, the action scenes are sparse, and seem very weak copies of what was done in the other films (to give an example, this film also has an alien sucked through a hole, in a very similar way to what happened in the first film). The tension and suspense are still present, and it's a truly unnerving film, which can be unsettling for some people. However, the really effective scares are few, even if it is a more visual and bloody film than its predecessors. An excellent cinematography helps to set this all up reasonably well. Between merits and demerits, what really has no salvation is the script. The story we see in this film, in my opinion, not only has a very poor articulation with the films that preceded it, but actually ends up contradicting them. All it takes is to bring back to life, through a rather lame artifice, a character we saw to die with dignity. If this film needed Ellen Ripley – and indeed it needed, she was the character who gave the previous films its strength – the most logical thing was not to make a sequel, but a prequel or a spin-off with a story that was credible and logical, considering what was already done.
Movie Recommendation
AVP: Alien vs. Predator2004-08-12When scientists discover something near Antarctica that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a research team out to investigate. Little do they know that they are about to step into a hunting ground where Aliens are grown as sport for the Predator race.More...
Alien³1992-05-22After escaping with Newt and Hicks from the alien planet, Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive the crash, a more unwelcome visitor does. The prison does not allow weapons of any kind, and with aid being a long time away, the prisoners must simply survive in any way they can.More...
Aliens1986-07-18Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.More...
Prometheus2012-05-30A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.More...
Alien: Covenant2017-05-09The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world.More...
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem2007-12-25After a horrifying PredAlien crash-lands near a small Colorado town, killing everyone it encounters and producing countless Alien offspring, a lone Predator arrives to "clean up" the infestation.More...
Predator1987-06-12A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.More...
Alien Nation1988-10-07A few years from now, Earth will have the first contact with an alien civilization. These aliens, known as Newcomers, slowly begin to be integrated into human society after years of quarantine.More...
Alien1979-05-25During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.More...
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull2008-05-21Set during the Cold War, the Soviets—led by sword-wielding Irina Spalko—are in search of a crystal skull which has supernatural powers related to a mystical Lost City of Gold. Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young man whose friend—and Indy's colleague—Professor Oxley has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts.More...
Metro1997-01-16Roper, a hostage negotiator catches a murderous bank robber after a blown heist. The bank robber escapes and immediately goes after the man who put him behind bars.More...
Alien Abduction2014-04-04A vacationing family encounters an alien threat in this pulse-pounding thriller based on the real-life Brown Mountain Lights phenomenon in North Carolina.More...
A.I. Artificial Intelligence2001-06-29David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David.More...
My Friend Dahmer2017-11-03Jeffrey Dahmer struggles with a difficult family life as a young boy. During his teenage years he slowly transforms, edging closer to the serial killer he was to become.More...
Surrogates2009-09-24Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.More...
Mercury Rising1998-04-03Renegade FBI agent Art Jeffries protects a nine-year-old autistic boy who has cracked the government's new "unbreakable" code.More...
Blade: Trinity2004-12-08For years, Blade has fought against the vampires in the cover of the night. But now, after falling into the crosshairs of the FBI, he is forced out into the daylight, where he is driven to join forces with a clan of human vampire hunters he never knew existed—The Nightstalkers. Together with Abigail and Hannibal, two deftly trained Nightstalkers, Blade follows a trail of blood to the ancient creature that is also hunting him—the original vampire, Dracula.More...
Grindhouse2007-04-06Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. It is presented as a double feature with fictitious exploitation trailers preceding each segment.More...
Predator 21990-11-21A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.More...
The Thing1982-06-25In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Soon unfrozen, the form-changing creature wreaks havoc, creates terror... and becomes one of them.More...
Similar Movies
Animal 2
2007-09-04Now serving a life sentence for murder, James "Animal" Allen returns to fighting for cash in order to help his troubled son on the outside. However, with his newfound fame as a fighter, Animal uncovers a jailhouse conspiracy that threatens to cause racial tensions to explode.Hellboy Animated: Blo...
2007-03-10When Hellboy, Liz Sherman, and Abe Sapien are assigned to investigate the ghost-infested mansion of a publicity-hound billionaire, they uncover a plot to resurrect a beautiful yet monstrous vampire from Professor Bruttenholm’s past. But before they can stop her bloodbath, Hellboy will have to battle harpies, hellhounds, a giant werewolf, and even the ferocious goddess Hecate herself.Splinter
2008-10-31When their plans for a nature trip go awry, Polly and boyfriend Seth decide to check into a motel. On their way, they're carjacked and kidnapped by low-rent crooks Dennis and Lacey, who take the victims and their SUV to a nearby gas station. Along the way, they encounter an increasingly terrifying horde of parasites, and if any of them intend to survive, they'll have to outsmart the deadly organisms.Death Race 2000
1975-04-30In a boorish future, the government sponsors a popular, but bloody, cross-country race in which points are scored by mowing down pedestrians. Five teams, each comprised of a male and female, compete using cars equipped with deadly weapons. Frankenstein, the mysterious returning champion, has become America's hero, but this time he has a passenger from the underground resistance.The Aerial
2007-04-19An entire city has lost its voice. Mr. TV, the owner of the city's only television channel, is carrying out a sinister plan to control all of the city's inhabitants.Chrysalis
2007-06-25Paris 2020, a high tech surgeon and her daughter are involved in a horrific car accident, the surgeon saves her daughter's life at the cost of manipulating her dreams and memories.Exorcist II: The Here...
1977-06-17Bizarre nightmares plague Regan MacNeil four years after her possession and exorcism. Has the demon returned? And if so, can the combined faith and knowledge of a Vatican investigator and a research specialist free her from its grasp?Another 48 Hrs.
1990-06-08For the past four years, San Francisco cop Jack Cates has been after an unidentified drug kingpin who calls himself the Ice Man. Jack finds a picture that proves that the Ice Man has put a price on the head of Reggie Hammond, who is scheduled to be released from prison on the next day.The Scorpion King 2: ...
2008-07-19The heroic tale of young Mathayus and his relentless quest for justice against an evil and powerful villain, King Sargon. Mathayus faces heart-stopping tribulations during his adventurous, odds-defying trajectory toward his ultimate destiny: becoming the formidable warrior king of an ancient desert empire.Mirrors
2008-08-14An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.Electroma
2006-05-21Two robots embark on a quest to become human.Casshern
2004-04-24Fifty years of war between the Great Eastern Federation and Europa - now merged as Eurasia - have taken their toll on planet Earth. As a result of the use of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, much of Earth has become uninhabitable and people have become prey to new diseases. Professor Azuma's "neo-cell" project, which is supposed to be the answer to mankind's hardships, becomes a nightmare come true when mutants spawned from the experiment escape and declare war on the human race. Azuma's son Tetsuya, who was killed during the previous war, is reborn into the cyborg Casshern as mankind's last hope against the new mutant threat. This live-action sci-fi movie based on a 1973 Japanese animé of the same name.Halloween H20: 20 Yea...
1998-08-05Two decades after surviving a massacre on October 31, 1978, former baby sitter Laurie Strode finds herself hunted by persistent knife-wielder Michael Myers. Laurie now lives in Northern California under an assumed name, where she works as the headmistress of a private school. But it's not far enough to escape Myers, who soon discovers her whereabouts. As Halloween descends upon Laurie's peaceful community, a feeling of dread weighs upon her -- with good reason.Land of the Dead
2005-06-18The world is full of zombies and the survivors have barricaded themselves inside a walled city to keep out the living dead. As the wealthy hide out in skyscrapers and chaos rules the streets, the rest of the survivors must find a way to stop the evolving zombies from breaking into the city.The Girl in the Spide...
2018-10-25After being enlisted to recover a dangerous computer program, hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials.Captain America: Civi...
2016-04-27Following the events of Age of Ultron, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies.Flying at Ya', Androi...
1973-03-16A sinister organization launches a wave of audacious attacks in an attempt to gain world domination. Commanded by the evil Professor Gill, masked androids and fearsome DARK Destructoid monsters terrorize innocent victims and wreak havoc throughout Japan. A solitary figure emerges to combat the menace. Whenever DARK attacks, a denim-clad road warrior appears, strumming a haunting refrain on his guitar. His name is Jiro, and a secret lies at the heart of his lonely existence. Jiro is a mechanical man. Vulnerable to Professor Gill's shrill flute wooing him to the DARK side, Jiro battles the evil menace by transforming into the mighty red-and-blue android known as...Kikaida.Doomsday
2008-03-14The lethal Reaper virus spreads throughout Britain—infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. Authorities brutally and successfully quarantine the country but, three decades later, the virus resurfaces in a major city. An elite group of specialists is urgently dispatched into the still-quarantined country to retrieve a cure by any means necessary. Shut off from the rest of the world, the unit must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare.Space Babes from Oute...
2017-05-20Three beautiful Space Babes find themselves stranded on Earth when their spaceship runs out of energy after a dangerous encounter with their mortal enemies, the Scrotes. Once they discover human sexual arousal can recharge their ship, they accept the help of a lonely farm boy to harness energy at a local strip club and get back home — all while avoiding the nasty Scrotes.The Alien Agenda: Out...
1996-01-01Sci-fi anthology which shows us how aliens are living among us. The first story "Limited Vision" deals with a mysterious doctor named David Lodge who is on the lam. He catches a ride with a young man who becomes more and more suspicious of him. The second story entitled "Worm" shows us a homeless girl named Becky who meets a weird stranger named Sam who helps her to discover who, or what, she is.