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38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best in the series, but definitely not the worst, June 4, 2001
Nope. Alien: Resurrection holds the title as thje worst Alien movie. This film simply should have been the END of the Alien series, or at least for Ripley. As far as I am concerned, this IS the last movie, because Resurrection is not a part of the Alien series, it is more of a 'wacky spin-off adventure'.In this violent, but sometimes poignant film, we see the survivors of the Sulaco, Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop peacefully in hypersleep, drifting home. Unfortunately, they had failed to realize something very important. When the Queen managed to get on the dropship, she had also laid an egg where she hid on the ship. While drifting back to earth, the egg hatched. The facehugger tried to get into Newt's capsule, and the shattering glass pierced the creatures, its acidic blood eating through the floor causing a fire. Then the terror begins yet again... The Sulaco's emergency prep drops the cryo tubes into an EEV(Emergency Escape Vehicle) and ejects it out into space, with the facehugger still on board. IT plummeted into the gravitational pull of Fiorina 'Fury' 161, a double-Y chromo prison facility. The EEV plummets into the ocean with disastrous results. Be prepared to break any emotional attachments you made to the surviving characters. The landing was quite grisly. The inmates lift the tattered EEV out of the ocean and into the junk pile, bringing RIpley, the only survivor, to the medical facility. However, as the EEV is placed in the garbage heap, one of the in-mate's Rottweiler is aroused by movement in the EEV...it is the facehugger. Shortly thereafter, we see a brand new breed of alien. With the replicated genes of a dog, this alien runs on all fours, is incredibly fast, and is by far the meanest Alien we have ever seen in this movie series yet! When the Warden does not beleive Ripley's story, even after some of the inmates are turning up murdered, it is up to her and her new found friend, Dr. Clemens, to try and convince them all what they are dealing with, but it may already be too late, as Ripley herself is carrying with her a horrible secret, that not even she knows about yet... Although this movie got bad reviews, and is my least favorite among the trilogy(I do not consider Resurrection a part of the series), I definitely think that the Runner, or Dog Alien, is probably the best alien in all the movies. Unbeleivably vicious and just, to quote Superintendant Andrews, 'Generally Unpleasant', the beast has a mean streak and often toys with the prisoners, making this the darkest and most violent of the trilogy. The bad parts about the movie are obvious. After seeing the Colonial marines in action, it is tough to see the events of this movie. You will miss the marines. Another very troubling aspect is the deahts of Hicks and Newt, whom Ripley had strived so very hard to rescue in the last movie, only to have their lives sorrowfully taken from them. Seeing Hicks die, as my favorite character from Aliens, was upsetting. The acting isn't exactly top notch, but you will grow to like a few of the prisoners, namely Morse and Dillon. Not the best in the trilogy, but it definitely brings a good closure to the series. Unfortunately, Alien: Resurrection ruined this closure by bringing us a rather poor plot and extremely poor acting, not to mention a whole new take on the Aliens, which i felt was stupid and unnecessary. Keep Alien 3 as the final movie. Watch Alien: Resurrection if you are in the mood for a 'wacky spin-off', because that is all it is.
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35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Alien 3 - Much better than I remembered it to be!, January 19, 2004
I remember the long wait between the release of this movie and "Aliens" and the great amount of anticipation that was built up around this movie considering how extraordinary the first two films were and just imagining how great this one was "going" to be. Then its release date came and it received generally bad reviews and collectively, the majority of the fans were highly disappointed by it, including myself. That being said, I was quite reluctant to spend the money on this DVD but after reading some of the other positive reviews I decided to give this film one more chance and now, after having watched it again I would have to say I've completely changed my mind. Alien 3 just wasn't as bad as I remembered it to be from that one time viewing in the theater so many years ago and in fact, stylistically, it's a movie that was ahead of its time. Ultimately, I think what turned so many people off of this film when it was released is that it was so dramatically different from the first two that it initially just didn't seem as though it belonged in the mythos that is the Alien legacy. The one thing about this film that does make it drag is its pacing. What the director appeared to be reaching for was the same feel that "Alien" engendered but in the end, in reaching for that intense atmosphere didn't always work and only resulted in the pace slowing down and too little suspense. As stated above though, thematically it was just years ahead of its time and I believe, were it a movie that were originally released more recently, with some minor changes, it might've garnered much more success in the theaters. Performance wise, Sigourney Weaver does just as wonderful a job with this film as she did with the first two and, not to mention, she co-produced the film, further showing her support for the script and this addition to the Alien mythos. Charles S. Dutton's role in the film is "over the top," as his acting usually is and it fits quite well with the character. David Fincher, who took up the directing mantle for "Alien 3" deserves a fair amount of credit for the thematic style of this film, bringing the original story and screenplay to fruition. Twelve years ago, I would've said don't ever let the man direct again, but this second viewing of "Alien 3" and after seeing some of the other films he's directed since, I would definitely have to say that he is a very good director! This Collector's Edition release comes with two options, the original 1992 Theatrical version or a 2003 Special Edition. One note of caution, the Special Edition doesn't really add too much to the film, but of the small portion that is added, it helps to set up the story that much better. The THX certification and 5.1 Dolby Surround is perfect for the film, bringing out the score beautifully! The Premise: As Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop are slumbering away in hyper sleep, hoping to next wake up near Earth, the ship suddenly encounters problems of the alien kind. Being the good futuristic starship that it is, it kindly ejects Ripley and the bodies of her companions on a prison planet. Ripley awakens to find herself on this prison planet and not long thereafter, prisoners start showing up dead and Ripley herself finds that her worst nightmare has come true... What follows from there, as stated above, is most certainly not the best of the Alien series but it is most definitely a lot better movie than my initial assessment of it had been. I would definitely recommend this film to any and all fans of the Alien series, as I believe it plays an integral part in the mythos. {ssintrepid} Special Features: -1992 Theatrical version (Deleted/Extended Scene Index) & Alien vs. Predator Teaser Trailer
-2003 Special Edition (Deleted Footage Marker)
-"Development: Concluding the Story" Featurette
-"Tales of the Wooden Planet: Vincent Ward's Vision" Featurette
-"Pre-production, Part III" Featurette
-"Xeno-Erotic: H.R. Giger's Redesign" Featurette
-Still Photo Galleries (multiple)
-"Optical Fury: Visual Effects" Featurette
-"Music, Editing and Sound" Featurette
-"Post-Mortem: Reaction to the Film" Featurette
-"Production, Part I" Featurette
-"Adaptive Organism: Creature Design" Featurette
-"Production, Part II" Featurette
-"Production, Part III" Featurette
-"Furnace Construction: Time Lapse Sequence"
-E.E.V. Scan Multi-Angle Study with Optional Commentary
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Far superior to the theatrical release., June 24, 2005
This is a review of the printed edition:
Wow!! This version is so much better than the theatrical release. There is much more character development here. The prisoners have much more dialogue amongst each other, and you really get to know who they are before their eventual demise at the hands of the alien. The relationship between Ripley and Clemmens(the doctor) is expanded. The superintendant also has more dialogue with the prisoners. Just makes for a better film. This way you have a sense of who the character is when they die as opposed to them just being a piece of meat that has bit the dust on screen.
A few changes of note: such as the alien comes from an ox rather than a dog. No big deal, however the birth of the alien is better. The little alien running away after it's birth was incredibly believable. Also, Ripley is found washed up on shore as opposed to being found in the wreck itself. These little changes I feel actually make the film better.
A couple of negatives about the film: (I can look past them though): The big one in my view is that this particular alien was I guess left behind by the queen from the movie "Aliens". I guess the viewer is supposed to assume that, but since she tore herself away from her "laying machine" to pursue Ripley and Newt, it does leave a few questions unanswered. How did it get there? Also, this facehugger apparently has implanted both Ripley and the ox. That never happened before. In the previous installments, the facehuggers fall off eventually and die once it has implanted the embryo.
Since the dog in this version is never introduced, there is a scene where a prisoner backs into a fan after being struck by the Alien. He sees movement down a shaft which he thinks is the dog and calls out his name. "Spike, hey Spike!!" The dog was never introduced so who the hell is Spike. Bad move there, at least have the dog somewhere in the movie.
And finally the quality of the alien I have to admit in some phases is a little cheesy looking. Only the computer generated alien mind you. I wish they could have gone back and redid the alien with some update computer graphics to make the alien look more believable.
By far the positives out weigh the negatives in this film and it is a welcomed edition to the series. I really don't see why so many people hated it.
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