There was a time when a Trilogy was enough, a beginning, a middle and end was always the format. But then if the money men see the dollar signs, who is to stand in their way? It's hard to find when this has actually produced a good film, I mean let's face it have there actually been any that are any good? Batman & Robin, Hannibal Rising, Jaws the Revenge, The Next Karate Kid, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and these are just the ones that struck me when researching fourth movie in franchises. Not one of them, would I say, added anything to the overall tale or was actually anything other than a money grabbing exercise.
That's the downside of Hollywood I guess, the lack of care for an art form and the lack of respect for a piece of work that people will love and respect; when you choose money over quality you risk ruining something great. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a prime example of ruining a franchise, I can't even bring myself to even refer to it as an Indiana Jones movie, the trilogy was one of my favourites of all time. Whilst they are still great films from my childhood, that will always have a special place in my heart, they will forever be tainted by the crazy decision to make money rather than leave a true piece of art alone.
So yeah, there's an insight into my views, but that's not to say all fourth films are terrible to the point of hatred. So when you have another Alien film almost 20 years after the first and 5 years after the third, a third that wasn't quite up to scratch and gave quite a clean conclusion to the overall tale, it's gonna make you wonder about the reasoning behind it. Sure, if you have a great script then of course make the movie, it should always be based around quality, but art should never be solely based around money.
'Security! There is a serious problem in the mess hall!' - Dr. Gediman (Brad Dourif)
Written by Joss Whedon, off the back of Buffy the Vampire Slayer film and Toy Story, it must have been an unenviable task to create an idea/script that would be any good and at the same time do justice to the preceding films. After all Ripley is dead and the last of the Xenomorph's (that we know of) have been eradicated so unless there is a reboot, how do you come back from that? Since this film, Whedon has proven himself to be a great writer and creator of sci-fi so I guess it comes down to whether you see this as the first of many great stories or a dud that he has since learnt from.
Set 200 years after we left Ripley falling into the iron forge, Weyland-Yutani is no more and military science has entered a new phase of research, the film opens aboard the USM Auriga (United Systems Military) flying in undesignated space. Within the opening montage scientists are performing surgery on Ripley. How can this be I hear you cry, ah the age of genetic re-engineering and cloning is the response. Scientists managed to create a clone from a blood sample taken whilst in the penal colony on Fury in Alien3. If you re-watch you will see Clemens (Charles Dance) doing his checks and taking samples. It clearly has not been an easy process, the Ripley we see is number 8, and we are witness to the removal of a gestated Xenomorph from the chest cavity of Ripley 8. Not just a Xenomorph but an egg laying Queen. Once again the greedy power hungry organisations have taken control and made weaponisation more important than human lives.
'You're a thing, a construct. They grew you in a fucking lab' - Call (Winona Ryder)
Along with the new Queen there is evidently an added element to Ripley, with fast healing, rapid learning, increased acuity and, you guessed it, acidity in her blood. There has been a crossover in the genetic cloning of the Xeno Queen and Ripley 8.
Of course there needs to be an outside element at play, something that tips the balance, and in this instance we have a group of human traffickers, who arrive on the transport ship 'Betty', delivering cargo to the military. The cargo that clearly will become the hosts for the recently laid eggs. A quick passage of time takes place and we have three contained Xenomorphs, the scientists are under the illusion that they can train them, that they demonstrate quick learning from a process of carrot and stick, or should I say just stick.
What follows is the first meeting between the crew of the Betty and the new, genetically advanced Ripley. To be honest this is very much a filler scene merely to introduce you to the new advancements of Ripley 8, a demonstration with a basketball adequately shows the increased speed, strength and awareness. There is a very clumsy segway into the introduction of the new synthetic and cause of the inevitable mayhem that comes with every Alien film. The escape of the Xenomorphs is actually one of the good points of Joss Whedon's story, in a very Veloceraptor Jurassic Park homage, two of the Xenomorph's turn on the other utilising the acid blood to disintegrate the cell they are captive in. It does beg a few questions surrounding the effects of the acid in past films but I'll leave that, as it may just be one of those things that bug me and no one else.
'Kill you! Does that compute?' - Johner (Ron Perlman)
It is clear by this point that Sigourney Weaver knows the character of Ripley so well it must just come as second nature to her to play. Each incarnation of the character has a new emotional development, the effects of the previous films take their toll, change her personality, sometimes subtly and in some aspects quite drastically. Obviously this genetic reincarnation is a drastic change that gives Weaver the freedom to change Ripley into a more emotionless but stronger personality. Joining this time, in a step back to big Hollywood names, is Winona Ryder who plays Call, the idealistic synthetic activist who is hellbent on ending the threat of the Xenomorphs forever. This is far from Ryder's best performance, she is extremely over the top and you just want to find the off switch so that you don't have to endure the pain of her acting.
'You did it, you saved the Earth' - Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)
Other than the two main actors there isn't anyone of note, I'm not saying they are badly cast, nor am I saying the acting itself is bad, it's just that there are no real performances that stand out or are at all memorable.
Let's be honest here, this was never going to be a great film, it was never going to be the best instalment in the saga, but other than the quirky revival and the intelligent play on genetic cross contamination I wasn't expecting something so flat and so mundane. The set designs are completely different but then it makes sense given that it is no longer Weyland Corp and now the USM. Where they haven't tried to take any crazy leaps in technology there is one piece of amazing tech, when entering secure zones of the ship the access is granted after a DNA breath test at the door. Whether this is put in for comic effect or is actually something the writers thought would be a security measure for the future, I'm not sure but it is far from a technological advance.
With the genetic transfer there is the clever element of being able to make the Xenomorphs more human in characteristics, there are a number of scenes where this is shown including a swimming scene demonstrating the advancement in the computer graphics that were used. In true fashion there is a game of cat and mouse to escape onto the 'Betty' and blow up the USM Auriga, or as it transpires be crashed into the middle of a desert on Earth. That's right, the ship is on an autopilot course to Earth as a matter of protocol.
'I'm the monster's mother' - Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)
However, rather than a flourish of exciting action keeping you on the edge of your seat, the pace just meanders on, with some action here and there. The twist in the genetic mutation is ridiculous, to the point I can't understand why the screenwriter or anyone connected to the film would think it something that should ever have been included. I really have nothing good to say about the last 20 minutes, the double bluff alien death is awkwardly telegraphed, there is no suspense at all and the finale action scene, well all I can say is, it's just beyond words.
'This piece of shit is older than I am' - Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)
You may not think it's that bad but considering, there was no real need for it to be made, it's so poor to be considered part of the Alien Saga, the ending leaves everything open for another film that seems further and further away from ever being made. So we have effectively traded a nice closed ending on a below average third instalment for an open one on an awful fourth instalment.
Farquaad's Score: 2 stars or 4/10
IMDB: 6.2/10 (215,632)
Metascore: 63 (21 Critic Reviews)
Comments