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Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Michael Wincott ... see more see more... , Dan Hedaya , J.E. Freeman , Brad Dourif , Raymond Cruz , Kim Flowers , Gary Dourdan , Leland Orser , David St. James

Two centuries after Ellen Ripley's death, doctors aboard the space station Auriga clone her using a blood sample taken from Fiorna 161, in hopes of harvesting the queen embryo that was incubating insi... read more read more...de of her when she was trapped on the remote penal planet. Finally succeeding after numerous attempts, they remove the alien and repair the clone for further study. Before long, the Ripley clone has gained consciousness, and displays superhuman capabilities that suggest it possesses alien DNA. When Ripley discovers that General Perez (Dan Hedaya) is keeping the queen in a heavily fortified room of the space station, she warns the military man and his scientists that the creature cannot be contained no matter how hard they try. Meanwhile, General Perez has hired a crew of space pirates to deliver the cryogenically frozen bodies of another ship to the Auriga so they can be used to breed more aliens. The leader of the pirates is Johner (Ron Perlman), a gruff mercenary who engages Ripley to no avail. When Call (Winona Ryder), one of Johner's crewmembers, admits that she was sent to assassinate Ripley, General Perez attempts to have the pirates executed. The result is a tense standoff between the pirates and the military men, with the aliens causing havoc after breaking free of their containment cells. Attempting a daring escape, Ripley and the pirates discover the lab where she was cloned before being forced to swim through the mess hall, which has been submerged in water during the aliens' escape. Discovering a carefully guarded secret about Call's past, Ripley attempts to convince her to alter the Auruga's course, which was set to Earth when the ship went into emergency mode. With the fate of mankind hanging in the balance, Ripley is captured by the aliens and taken to their nest, where she comes face to face with the mutated results of the scientists' experiments. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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66 critics

R, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Release Date: November 26, 1997

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DVD Release Date: December 2, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (8,274)

  • CloudStrife84
    May 9, 2012
    CloudStrife84
    Best known to the world for his wonderful gem Amélie, French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet was a rather unlikely helmsman for a project of this nature. I mean, going from flowery and lighthearted comedy to something as dark and gritty as an Alien movie, is quite the artistic... read more leap. Even more surprising, however, is his success in adding a worthy installment to the franchise. I know many consider this the weakest in the quadrilogy - and yes, it does get a little cheesy and over the top at times - but all in all, I think it's a great and underrated installment. Having Ripley resurrected through the magic of cloning, may be a cheap way to return her to the story, but I'd rather see her present in the film, than not at all. Backed up by some really memorable supporting characters - including a half-crazy Ron Perlman and the equally exceptional Brad Dourif - it's quite the wild space ride, filled with excitement, badassery and skin-crawling close encounters. That being established, I don't really care what they critics say. Because this is a highly entertaining sequel that more than meets my requirements for a fun and action-packed evening.
  • phubbs1
    May 6, 2012
    phubbs1
    I liked this, again its another visual masterpiece and really shows another great individual look for the series. It is a slight reworking of the Cameron vehicle I must say, the motley crew in this film try their best to be as cool as the Marines. In a sense they do succeed as a ... read moreunique bunch of space pirates but they lack bite.

    Different takes and camera angles by the Frenchman make this a visual feast, as to be expected with this franchise, but some aspects I didn't like, a bit too similar to other films perhaps, couldn't quite put my finger on it.
    Overall the film does tend to swing a little bit towards your typical slasher albeit set in space, not badly but sense is there.

    Still the aliens are slick and lethal as ever plus they swim here, the technology is believeable and ice cool whilst the characters are top notch despite lacking some originality, they obviously pushed hard for that. Downers are clearly the alien/human hybrid in the finale and a dodgy looking queen, still, it ends on a good cliffhanger, I want number five by Ridley please.
  • garyX
    March 1, 2012
    garyX
    200 years after the death of Ellen Ripley she is cloned by yet more misguided scientists in order to breed the species for their research on board a military vessel. Alien 3 tried to follow the template of the first film with some flawed success and Alien Resurrection does the sa... read moreme for its sequel Aliens with similar results. The very contrived premise is one that you have to accept considering Ripley died at the end of the previous film but the whole alien hybrid concept is a little harder to swallow. Joss Whedon actually disowned the script after various studio rewrites but it does have some very nice moments; particularly the scene in which Ripley confronts "herself" and the idea of self aware androids consumed with self loathing. Jeunet also stamps his own brand of attractive visual invention on the proceedings and the effects are streets ahead of Alien 3's. The aliens also have a lot more character and the set pieces are executed with some real panache, especially the underwater pursuit that reminded me of a futuristic Poseidon Adventure! Unfortunately it falls down at the last hurdle with the afore-mentioned hybrid that's a slightly ridiculous idea and the creature itself looks rubbish. The journey there is very entertaining though and despite being the least inventive of the series it's still a creditable addition to the franchise. But inevitably, it's once again nowhere near as good as the first two.
  • FiLmCrAzY
    September 22, 2011
    FiLmCrAzY
    I Actually preferred this forth installment of the alien franchise compared to the previous three!
    I thought it was more entertaining and more intense.
    I actually preferred Weaver in this last Alien movie, i thought she was more intense and much more of a stronger female lead, ... read morereally enjoyed her in this actually.
    The graphics are far better and still brilliant fight scenes between the aliens and humans.
    A really good strong cast, and an enjoyable plot and storyline.
    I liked the idea of them creating more and it backfiring on them one step further the company have gotten compared to the previous three Alien movies.
    Far more enjoyable and worth a watch!
  • fb535316333
    May 26, 2011
    fb535316333
    Too many "larger than life" characters for the viewer to take any of this seriously. It also opts out the thrill and suspense of the horror genre with blockbuster action making it a non-stop rollercoaster of adrenaline rushing incoherency.

    I mean it had some cool ideas with the ... read moreAlien/Human hybrid idea but the theme never resonates enough throughout the film for it to play effectively with the overall story. I'd skip this if I weren't an Alien fan.
  • blacksheepboy
    March 24, 2011
    blacksheepboy
    Definitely superior to the previous installment, this fourth film does not add anything new or relevant to the series, but neither does it disappoint. It has plenty of action and scares, a mildly interesting plot and a particularly grotesque ending that works just fine.
  • fb100001493964409
    February 5, 2011
    fb100001493964409
    *WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ALIEN 3 AND ALIEN RESURRECTION

    This movie is by know means awful. Its actually pretty decent sci-fi movie fare, with some interesting twists and some twists that will make you want to seek out the director and punch him in the face. Se... read moreriously, was it necessary to make Ripley have implied sex with an alien? Why? WHY? On a brighter note (and if you're wondering why anything like that would ever happen), lets get to the story. After Alien 3, it was pretty much impossible to make a sequel seeing that Ripley was dead and the final xenomorph went with her. In this movie, 200 years after this event, she has been resurrected as the by-product of an experiment to bring the xenomorph queen back to life. But separating sequences of DNA is very difficult considering that Ripley apparently now has acid blood and sports a psychotic personality. This is easily the most interesting idea the movie presents us with, a new facet of the Ripley character. She's far more unpredictable than before and a lot more dangerous as well. The other cast members worth noting are Ron Perlman as an unlikable/likable man whose only concern is survival and Winona Ryder as Call, a woman with secrets of her own. I really liked Winona in this movie, she became my favorite by the end. The thing is though, this movie is nowhere near the pedigree established by Alien and Aliens, and it isn't even as good as Alien 3. Its not awful, but its easily the weakest link in the franchise unless you count the AVP movies.
  • mumby1988
    September 26, 2010
    mumby1988
    The number of good four-quels can be counted on one hand, if not one finger. Lethal Weapon 4, Die Hard 4, Police Academy 4 ? all titles that fill one with an instant sense of dread and disappointment. Near the top of this pile of ever-diminishing returns we find Alien Resurrectio... read moren, the last and weakest of the Alien films and the most deserving of the phrase ?flogging a dead horse? (or should that be xenomorph?).

    Looking down the cast and crew list, you could be forgiven for expecting a half-decent fourth instalment. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a very likeable director, who had charmed audiences with Delicatessen and dabbled in fantasy filmmaking with The City of Lost Children. The original treatment and screenplay were penned by Joss Whedon, who would later write the cult sci-fi western Firefly and its movie spin-off Serenity. And it co-stars Winona Ryder, who had recently received Oscar nominations for Little Women and The Age of Innocence.

    But based upon this pedigree, the kindest thing you can say about Alien Resurrection is that it is less than the sum of its parts. It lacks both the cohesion and sense of terror which previous the instalments displayed in some way, shape or form. When the film attempts to draw on some deeper issues raised by the plot, we don?t get anything like enough time or explanation to merit our patience. The rest of the time, it?s noisy, confusing, and worst of all quite boring.

    One of the big problems with Alien Resurrection is in the choice of director. Jeunet is a talented filmmaker, but he specialises in quirky, fantastical fables laced with offbeat humour. Here his unbridled imagination has been compressed and dumbed down, giving us a central mismatch between action and quirky comedy. In the midst of trying to set up a dark atmosphere, individual scenes are played for laughs in a way which is neither coherent nor beneficial. Why do we need Sigourney Weaver trouncing Ron Perlman at basketball, or Winona Ryder trying to drink from a mug while wearing boxing gloves?

    There have been many instances in which Hollywood executives have hired an arty, ?outsider? director to helm a mainstream blockbuster. Think of David Lynch?s Dune, Guillermo del Toro?s Mimic or more successfully Alfonso Cuaron?s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In most cases (Cuaron excepting), the studio uses a director?s reputation to sell the film but steadfastly overrules their ideas with regard to story or design. Elements of Jeunet?s signature style do survive: the crew of the Betty is a motley bunch of misfits with Heath Robinson technology, as in Delicatessen or Micmacs. But these elements are swamped by a mainstream-orientated blockbuster which struggles to justify its existence, let alone add anything to the series.

    While Aliens and Alien 3 were on one level action movies, they were intelligent in the way that they co-ordinated the action and balanced explosions with character development (even if, with Alien 3, this happened almost by accident). As a result they didn?t feel like a series of set-pieces being hastily book-ended by half-baked dialogue. Resurrection, meanwhile, is closer in structure to a video game. The plot is a very thin quest to get from A to B by going through a series of levels and avoiding monsters. The final scenes of arriving back on Earth are like the expository, triumphant little bits of video that appear after the final boss has been defeated.

    There has always been a debate amongst horror circles about whether it is scarier to show the monster or to withhold it. Alien proved that the latter is generally more successful, and Aliens demonstrated that just because there?s more than one monster doesn?t mean you have to constantly show it on camera. Resurrection disregards both precedents, showing so much of the aliens so early on that by the time we get to the big showdown, they?re no more scary than the sharks in the Jaws sequels.

    In the moments when it wants to be taken seriously, Resurrection attempts to explore issues surrounding cloning and the possibility of creating human-animal hybrids. It?s tempting to think that this was topical, given that the film was released around the time that Dolly the Sheep was created. But in fact the film is much closer to H. G. Wells? The Island of Dr. Moreau, in which a mad scientist creates such hybrids through secret vivisection. Brad Dourif?s character is clearly standing in for Moreau, being fascinated by the prospect of indestructible hybrids of humans and aliens.

    There are two good scenes in Resurrection which touch on this very area. The first is that of Ripley coming across the previous attempts to clone her; the version Weaver plays is the eighth time the scientists tried it. Most of the attempts are kept suspended behind glass, like the face-huggers in Aliens, but then she comes across a grotesque version of herself being kept on life support. ?It? begs Ripley to kill it, and Ripley torches the whole room through tears, just as she torches Dallas? cocoon in the extended version of Alien.

    The second good scene (relatively speaking) is the birth and death of Ripley?s ?son?, which conveys the blurring between human and alien and makes all that has gone before seem dryly ironic. Alien 3 explored the idea of the aliens not wanting Ripley to die, but now she is treated as one of their kind. As she slips into the queen?s clutches, their relationship is almost symbiotic, as if one species cannot live without the other. We even feel sorry for the creature as it gets sucked out into space: its death screams almost move us to tears as we feel that twisted maternal bond, and when Ripley says ?I?m sorry? we know she means it.

    But while these scenes make sense as self-contained sections, they are not part of a well thought-out story. In Alien, we are given a creature with a comprehensive alternative ecosystem, with acid for blood and a strong exoskeleton made of silicon. In order for the Dr. Moreau plot to work, there has to be some level of explanation as to how the hybrids can survive and where the systems cross over. Since there isn?t, we are left wondering just how Ripley can have acid for blood without it eating her from the inside out. Or for that matter, how the alien queen managed to acquire a womb but not mammary glands needed to suckle her young.

    More irritatingly, all the best moments in the film cover ground which has been explored before, so much so that the film should have been called Alien Regurgitation. Even the good moments essentially take all that was scary or interesting about the first three films and reproduce them in a manner which is neither scary nor interesting. A textbook example is the introduction of Leland Orser?s character who has an alien inside of him. He fulfils the John Hurt role from the first film, but without any of the magnetic screen presence of John Hurt, and when the chest-burster scene is restaged, it?s played for goofy laughs rather than deep-seated shocks.

    As far as the performances go, it?s a fairly even keel of mediocrity. Sigourney Weaver remains a solid screen presence, but she has very little work with and her performance is largely phoned in. Ron Perlman, who worked with Jeunet on The City of Lost Children, is completely wasted, and Winona Ryder has her moments but little more. Most bizarre of all is Brad Dourif, who delivers a performance every bit as ripe and hammy as his turn in Dune, and with an equally ridiculous haircut.

    Alien Resurrection is not totally rubbish: even without its two good scenes, it is a damn sight more coherent and enjoyable than the Alien vs. Predator series. But one cannot help feeling that the series deserved to end in a more dignified way than this. It dwarfs in comparison to Event Horizon or even Mimic, has very little to say that is original or interesting, and is executed in a deeply unsatisfying manner. In all it?s a dull and forgettable last instalment, which will leave even Alien completists out in the cold.
  • theylovealexis
    September 13, 2010
    theylovealexis
    The best one of the whole collection. Jean-Pierre Jeunet just worked it. Tons of action. Scarier alien. More gore and goop everywhere. Winona is adorable and who doesn't like Ron Perlman?! This one is just more of everything and super fun Sci-Fi.
  • cosmo313
    August 19, 2010
    cosmo313
    This film has some issues, and it's not really a good movie, but it's not really terrible, either. I give it some bonus points (part of the rating) because I find it oddly humorous that this is directed byt the same guy that later made Amelie.
    I like that Joss whedon wrote this... read more, but i have an unfortunate feeling that his wokr got tinkered with, because the stroy sees a little muddled and shakey, and I'm not really sure why it was deemed necessary to clone Ripley.

    I do like te look of things though, and the effects are pretty damn good. This is more violent and gory than some of the others, and it sometimes feels like that takes priority over everything else, but it is entertaining, even if it may seem kinda pointless.

    Weaver looks a bit bored here, but still does a good job. Ryder actually does a pretty good job, and I thought she had an interesting character. A lot of the "That Guys" in this movie, such as J.E. Freeman, Michael Wincott, Dan Hedaya, Brad Dourif, and Ron Perlman are all not bad in their respective performances.

    As I said, this isn't really that great, but it's not awful, so it's an okay way to kill some time without feeling guilty for not doing something else instead.

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Critic Reviews

Stephen Hunter
January 22, 2002
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

It brings a mordant, crackerjack wit to the world of chest-busting, head-ripping creepazoids from beyond. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 22, 2002
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

It satisfactorily recycles the great surprises that made the first movie so powerful. And most significantly, it makes a big hoot of the whole business. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
February 21, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

If you need to read a review to decide if you want to see "Alien Resurrection," you absolutely shouldn't be going. Full Review

January 1, 2000
USA Today

The movie never develops consistent momentum, despite sporadically notable passages.

Peter Stack
January 1, 2000
Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

This film should be an amazing thrill ride, but it has the emotional impact of a bowling ball at rest. Full Review

John Hartl
January 1, 2000
John Hartl, Film.com

So campy that it almost plays like a sendup of the series. It is to 'Alien' what 'The Bride of Frankenstein' was to other 1930s Frankenstein movies, and it even shares some of the same themes.

Richard Schickel
January 1, 2000
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

Less frightening, but as much fun as ever.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

There is not a single shot in the movie to fill one with wonder. Full Review

Susan Stark
January 1, 2000
Susan Stark, Detroit News

In mood, tone and imagery, this fourth installment in the esteemed horror series is a fascinating film under director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. But it's virtually impossible to follow. Full Review

Louis B. Parks
January 1, 2000
Louis B. Parks, Houston Chronicle

The film is a marvel, a well-photographed feast of visual imagery.

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Facts

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    • Ellen Ripley: My mommy always said there were no monsters. No real ones. But there are.
    • Johner: What's the big deal, man? Fuckin' waste of ammo.
    • Christie: Let's go.
    • Johner: Must be a chick thing.
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Alien Resurrection Trivia

  • If you watch all of the Alien movies very closely, you'll notice that only one of the films has Sigourney Weaver wearing nail polish. Which one?  Answer »
  • Winona Ryder almost drowned in the underwater scene in ALien Resurrection ?   Answer »
  • In which movie is Winona Ryder a humanoid robot but has everyone believing she is an actual human?  Answer »
  • Which of the following movies did not have Lance Henriksen in the cast?  Answer »
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