'Alien Resurrection' is the fourth film in the franchise and was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and written by Joss Whedon. The film is set 200 years after the events of 'Alien 3' and sees Ellen Ripley returning as a clone with the genes of the hostile alien species within her. With her new abilities, she soon finds herself in the midst of another outbreak of xenomorphs and must put her trust in a band of ruthless mercenaries and an android named Call (Winona Ryder) in order to escape. Whedon is likely more known for 'The Avengers' films and 'Buffy: The Vampire Slayer' however back in the early to mid 90's he had written several screenplays and directed the 'Buffy' movie with this film being one of his lesser works ('Waterworld' would top that list). While there's no doubt the man is a great writer, his work with 'Alien Resurrection' has either been lost in translation or it just didn't work out. His characters are all pretty generic and with each death, you care less and less about them and once you leave the theater you pretty much forget them all.
I think the major problem with the film is that it feels very sleazy and overly comedic. Everything is slimy, has a puke color scheme, and the film is excessively violent even for this series. A similar issue would come up with 'AVP: Requiem' where both films feel like grindhouse exploitation and not so much like an 'Alien' film. When elements of the film do have the spirit of the series, it's all just more of the same, primarily from 'Aliens' where you have a team of soldiers fighting the xenomorphs. It's all just bland and something we've all seen before and you just sit there hoping for something redeeming.
The creature effects in the film are well done and are far better than 'Alien 3' with the xenomorphs and their biology are very realistic this time. The new creature in the film is not one I enjoy personally. It's too out there even for this film and it's just plain creepy and disturbing and not in a good 'horror flick' kind of way. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a very talented artist, with 'Ameile' being one of my favorites and he does bring a unique visual style to the 'Alien' series however as I said before if you have nothing behind those visuals, you only have a pretty mask covering the scars beneath.
'Alien Resurrection' is not a film I tend to watch all that often and even for the review it was somewhat of a chore. I remember enjoying the film a lot more when I was younger, and would always catch it on television whenever I passed by it. With each viewing however, it gets less and less enjoyable and it's the weakest film of the four. It's vulgar, vile, and overall completely ridiculous. I don't think you should necessarily skip it, as many fans do enjoy some aspects and if you're an 'Alien' fan you should check it out. I just am not a big fan with 'Resurrection'.
Alien Resurrection: D-
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