Forum Topic
get-it-out-of-me!
MemberOvomorphJul-15-2012 12:32 PMNo, come back!! I don't think its half as bad as some would have you believe.
The look of the film I think perfectly clashes with what was happening in Europe at the time, 1996-1997. Yes I know it was filmed in the US but it had a European director and mostly crew.
Hard to believe now, but Europe at this time was a pretty glitzy, glamourous place to be. Think New York in the 1970s. So I think the flashy art-house look of Resurrection is influenced by this. So it works, if you know your late 20th Century history, on that level, as a piece and look reflecting the times.
The storyline...well yes the storyline was kind of clunky but this IS science-fiction, not based-on-a-true-story. We're constantly asked to believe quite fantastical things when watching films of this genre.
The casting I think was solid too, capable of delivering the lines with vigour and conviction. Another criticism is that its a bit jokey and played for laughs at times. Guess what? I don't want to be depressed every time I watch a movie! Winona Ryder was very believable as an android and Ron Perlman I think came close to stealing the movie.
The 'newborn' however I have issue with. I don't think it was ever quite believable and is slightly clumsy, a view at least partly shared by the creative people when you watch the making-of on the Quadrilogy. They could probably have thought of something better.
Apart from that, what's not to like? Don't be snobby. Its not Shakespeare because, duh, its not supposed to be! As a piece of bright, occasionally dumb and enjoyable work where you don't have to tax your brain too much it hits the spot. As an entry-level movie to the series and mythology it works too.
*Puts on tin hat* let the debate begin!!
12 Replies
joeyjoe
MemberOvomorphJul-15-2012 12:42 PM@joeymanic: well, i just got through completely agreeing with you as far as your analysis and opinion of alien 3 (posted within the alien 3 discussion you started....ill add more later, as i have a lot to say regarding alien 3). I think alien 3 is a triumph in so many ways! Having said all of that, i could not disagree more with the notion that "alien: insurrection" is anything but a complete travesty (it seems like the film enjoys being such as well). I detest virtually every decision made regarding this film. I try my best to pretend that alien: insurrection does not exist. As far as im concerned, the Alien franchise is a trilogy...a trilogy that just recently became that much better because of a incredible prequel(ish) side story known as prometheus. If i fall into the snob category....so be it. hehe.
Red Wolf
MemberOvomorphJul-15-2012 1:07 PMDifficult to disagree with you, joeyjoe-joe. The entire storyline was ridiculous (though I liked how the aliens killed one of their own to get out of their cell; showed they are more intelligent than meets the eye -- and Kim Flowers' ASH in spandex was an ab-so-lute 10!).
The "offspring" was laughable. Nothing more need be said. Well, OK, I will say this: AVP was TEN TIMES better than Resurrection; THAT says it all.
Though I sometimes wonder what the cloned Ripley is doing today...
Red Wolf
MemberOvomorphJul-15-2012 1:17 PMI stand corrected. Flowers was in a thong:
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=kim+flowers+alien&hl=en&biw=1326&bih=738&tbm=isch&tbnid=Mso6oMGLDm7GjM:&imgrefurl=http://prometheusfilm.tumblr.com/&docid=R23nAIz1cQRcnM&imgurl=http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1sgn8Yj8j1rrwp9mo1_500.jpg&w=500&h=214&ei=NggDUI_ZGKTY6wG1nbHjBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=671&vpy=338&dur=3960&hovh=147&hovw=343&tx=153&ty=172&sig=108635009141002637820&page=1&tbnh=90&tbnw=210&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0,i:130
TheNostradamus
MemberOvomorphJul-15-2012 1:35 PMI find Alien Resurection hard to swallow for so many reasone, most people say AVP killed Aliens but I say Alien Resurection did more damage than any of the AVP movies, the whole film is so bad from the cast to the story. I hate the fact that in this film the Aliens work together too as a team to get free from their cell like some sort of fecking team building excercise.
And why was the whole set lit up like a Christmas tree, you could see what was coming and you saw way too much of the alien, im sure in 1 part of the film youcan see the stunt mans zipper lol (only joking)
I somtimes take the DVD out of the box set and watch the film hoping that i may just find it more interesting this time around but it always leaves me with the same dissapointed feeling.
I know there was a lot of hard work that went in to making the film but unfortunetly for me this is not a good film.
Rant over..... :)
Moonrunner
MemberOvomorphJul-15-2012 2:34 PMWell the hybrid alien at the end of Resurrection looked pretty good getting sucked out that hole into space. You could say he was not that menacing in terms of appearance. This movie never satisfies like when they swim into a nest of eggs. The scene was not developed and they came out too fast.
Fan
MemberOvomorphJul-15-2012 7:36 PMIf any out there seriously didn't like AR, check out the film City of lost children and then watch AR again. For me, watching city of lost children helped familiarize me with jeunets style of directing. It was also fun to see some of the cast in such a vastly different role.
ALL generalizations are WRONG!
LV-666
MemberOvomorphJul-15-2012 9:52 PMNo one has mentioned how ridiculous it was that Weyland-Yutani got written out of the entire story in one line! "Bought out by Wal-Mart"
chthon
MemberOvomorphJul-16-2012 11:45 AMThe queen removal scene is absolutely top drawer. No denying that.
As with every film post-Alien, it does have some merit.
Space Screamer
MemberOvomorphJul-16-2012 1:09 PMWhile I agree the movie was flawed, there are some things I really liked about it:
- Sigourney's performance was excellent. The detached way she watched things unravel, not really invested in either the Aliens or the Humans.
- I really liked Ron Pearlman's and Dominique Pinon's banter back and forth (that sort of love / hate friendship).
- Dan Hedaya was great as the General, even though he didn't survive for very long.
- Brad Dourif's scientist character was delightfully strange.
- Yes, there were a lot of laughs (intentional ones everybody - no cracks!), which was refreshing, especially after the extremely heavy tone of Alien 3.
- The Alien's looked really good, probably the best they've looked since the first movie. It was just the way they shot them, they looked so shiny and black, very threatening.
purple tree
MemberOvomorphJul-17-2012 9:44 AMI have to admit, i get on and off the fence on Resurrection too. I can completely understand why some people don't like it, but it's also one of the reasons i do like it. Each film was surely done by a fan of the Alien Universe and contributed to it's continued life and evolution. I hope that Sir Scott will allow all previous films to still be capable of relevancy otherwise i feel it would make the saga as a whole less legitimate. That said, yes, the hybrid alien was disappointing as they could have chosen to blow our minds instead. It would be nice if Ridley would touch on the devastated Earth at the end.
I do love the visual style of the film but if you're not familiar with the director or don't appreciate City Of Lost Children for example you can't be expected to like it. One of my biggest issues with all the films is that it helps to put into context more details like how Joss Whedon was involved with writing for not just Resurrection but had a hand in Aliens too. The only 2 of the saga with any real HUMOR in them. His humor is always obvious to me and i appreciate his involvement. After his recent House in the Woods and Avengers films, i've begun pointing this out to people and most actual stand there as if this never occurred to them. All the little things that add up connect to a bigger image of the saga and i still see things differently each time i sit to think about the movies. I'm so grateful for that.
Dustie
MemberOvomorphJul-26-2012 5:37 AMResurrection is a somewhat detached film, in the light of the first 3. I have always liked it, loved it even at some point, mostly because of the visuals and Sigourney's acting. Aliens are absolutely a supporting story in Resurrection, to the point where I concluded the proper name for the film would be "Ripley Resurrection." The Newborn thing was dissed so hard, as something that just 'sticks out', and I used to think about it the same way, but only until I saw Prometheus - that one explains how Aliens were supposedly born from an unusual mix, and thus shows how very prone their biological material still is to such mixing, which all in turn absolutely justifies how the Newborn could have come to life.
All in all, definitely like it, definitely consider it a whole with the rest. Yes, it cut out so much so easily, but at the same time it left a 200 year gap and just happened not to make any statements which would contradict Prometheus, thus leaving space for more storylines.
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