It wouldn't surprise me if the Alien franchise turns out the way the Star Trek franchise has, with the even-numbered installments being the best ones, and the odd-numbered ones leaving something to be desired. The first Alien movie, while intense and atmospheric, grows paler with age, and the third movie in the series, Alien 3 had poor blue screen effects and a by-the-numbers story until the very end. All in all, both the first and third movies are still good, but Aliens, and now Alien: Resurrection are the benchmarks so far.
Resurrection isn't a terribly big departure for a genre that revels in slimy ooze, alien acid blood, and hi-tech ammunition, but watching it is a great, therapeutic way to vent any anxieties you may be feeling. The story begins when Ripley (a more contemplative Sigourney Weaver) is brought back to life through the miracle of cloning. At the conclusion of the previous movie, she was carrying an alien queen inside her, so when her DNA is used to bring a Ripley model to life, she miraculously (!?) retains all of her previous memories, thanks to the alien DNA that is inexorably linked to her. Once this is established, things kick into high gear. The aliens are bred aboard a spaceship, using live human hosts for the initial "hatching" process. Eventually, the aliens outsmart their captors, killing lots of characters and running rampant as the giant vessel careens towards Earth (referred to in the future as a worthless "hole").
There are a couple of new twists this time around, the most notable being that the species makes an attempt to breed an alien-human hybrid. The result is a disturbing creature, a mix between a gooey skeleton and a scary old lady. One scene has the monstrosity literally biting into the cranium of a scientist, played by Brad Dourif. Those few seconds of screentime are among the goriest I have ever seen, so prepare yourself if you have a weak stomach. Another new twist is an android who is actually a "good guy" this time around. Her name is Call, and she's played by the oh-so-pinchable Winona Ryder. You'd think Ryder wouldn't have the chutzpah to hold her own in the action scenes, but she manages quite well. So do Ron Perlman as a grizzled labourer and "everyman" actor Dan Hedaya as the bumbling General Perez. However, each of the Alien installments rely on Sigourney Weaver, and this time around she is quite mesmerizing. Whereas in the previous three films, the character of Ripley had to battle not only the aliens but her own deadly fear of them, this time around she is curiously mesmerized with the aliens herself. The result is a kind of maternal erotica, which I'm sure was no accident, given that the film was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
When Alien: Resurrection gets going, it doesn't stop. There are lots of suspenseful moments, scary deaths and even an underwater scene. The effects are exceptional, which allows for easier viewer involvement. The characters are a little shallow, but the movie doesn't require any grand speeches, because this time around, it's about lots of action, and boy does it deliver.
