Alien Resurrection: A Wild Ride Beyond the Usual Xenomorph Fare

I was apprehensive about revisiting *Alien Resurrection*. My initial viewing in 1997 left me disappointed, and it consistently ranked at the bottom of any *Alien

film list. I had convinced myself it was simply bad. But, determined to revisit the franchise before the release of the upcoming *Alien: Romulus*, I set out to give *Resurrection* a second chance. And, to my surprise, I ended up grinning from ear to ear, happy to have been thoroughly wrong. Well, almost.

Having already revisited the masterpiece that is Ridley Scott's *Alien

and my personal favourite, James Cameron's *Aliens*, I felt no need to rewatch David Fincher's *Alien 3*. It left me underwhelmed on previous viewings and, frankly, my colleague Cheryl Eddy had already provided a brilliant retrospective on the film. So, knowing *Romulus* was set between the first two films, was there any point in watching *Resurrection*, especially with the expectation that it would be a dud?

There wasn't, but I'm glad I did. The bar for the *Alien

franchise dips significantly after the first two entries. Even the most devoted fans can admit that. But compared to the formulaic *Alien 3*, *Resurrection* feels like a breath of fresh air. While not everything works (and, arguably, most things don't), I found myself continually surprised and entertained by its daring attempts to push the *Alien* franchise in new and exciting directions. It's far more than just the infamous basketball scene that seems to be mocked everywhere.

Set 200 years after the events of *Alien 3

(where Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley met her demise while battling an alien queen), *Resurrection* starts with the improbable: Ripley's resurrection. But this isn't the Ripley we know. It's a clone, and the reason for her cloning is the presence of alien queen DNA in her cells, which is exactly what the nefarious scientists desire.

This concept alone is brilliant. We have Weaver as Ripley, yet not truly Ripley, and now she's the mother of an alien queen...sort of. This allows Weaver to craft a wholly new interpretation of her iconic character, opening the door for fascinating exploration. This Ripley shares traits with her alien offspring, and by the film's end, we learn that these similarities extend the other way.

Within this framework, we encounter the usual ragtag group of characters ready to be picked off by the Xenomorphs. But thanks to director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, we are treated to a roster of fantastic character actors, including Ron Perlman, Dan Hedaya, Brad Dourif, Raymond Cruz, Gary Dourdan, and Michael Wincott. And then there's the brilliant addition of Winona Ryder, who initially appears to be a crew member but is later revealed to be the Bishop/Ash android. This revelation doesn't contribute much to the plot, but it makes her knowledge of Ripley, the aliens, and their history more believable. Plus, Ryder seems to be having a blast.

Another aspect I greatly appreciated about *Resurrection

is the first (hopefully not last) glimpse into the military/scientific/villain's plans for handling captured Xenomorphs. We see their cages, their experiments, and, of course, everything goes to hell. After three films where Ripley struggles against the threat of these creatures falling into the hands of those who wish to study and weaponize them, it's refreshing to actually see this in practice.

However, the execution of *Resurrection*'s ideas doesn't quite live up to their exciting potential. (It's worth noting that the script is credited to Joss Whedon before his rise to fame, and long before the abuse allegations against him surfaced.) Once the aliens are unleashed, the film lacks much of the suspense and terror present in previous entries. This can partially be attributed to the dated CGI, and the fact that the film doesn't have much time to kill off characters. One exception is a hilarious and fantastic sequence where our heroes battle Xenomorphs in water. It's utterly ridiculous, but fun and awesome.

Then there's the ending, which takes the film's biggest swing yet. Whether it connects or not is up for debate. We discover that the alien queen Ripley gave birth to shares her human reproductive system, resulting in the birth of a human/Xenomorph hybrid. This hybrid then kills the queen and attempts to bond with Ripley. The ickiness and imagination of this idea work, but the lack of exploration and the unconvincing design of the hybrid let it down. It's the culmination of all the wild insanity *Alien Resurrection

has been building towards, and while it has a gross and satisfying conclusion, it never quite lands as hard as intended.

Despite its flaws, *Alien Resurrection

is so wild, entertaining, and ambitious compared to *Alien 3* and the subsequent sequels that I can't help but applaud it. I'm not sure it's a good film, and it certainly has no bearing on *Romulus*, but I'm grateful for having reevaluated what many consider the worst film in the franchise.

*Alien Resurrection*, along with the rest of the franchise, is now available to stream on Hulu.