My First Time - Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection
07-23-99 | 09:08 PM
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From: Owings,MD,USA
Well, I'm 30 years old and consider myself a big fan of the Alien series, but in fact I had seen only the first and second until today. So here are my brief reviews of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection as a first time viewer of these flicks. Beware - both reviews contain spoilers.
I'll also post a "My First Time" for Heat when I get that next week. And I personally am very interested in your reviews of movies that most people have seen but you haven't until DVD. Anyway...
Alien 3: As a stand-alone flick, this might be pretty good. But it suffers when compared to the first two Alien movies. I should add that I'm a big fan of Se7en and The Game, both from David Fincher, and that might be biasing my views. The story was pretty good, and I thought the alien incubating in the dog was really cool - I only wish we could have seen the dog a little better in its chest-bursting scene. The effects were also pretty good, although in some scenes, mostly the final chase when it was on the ceiling, the alien looked like bad CGI even though I think this flick predates CGI effects like this. But I never really felt drawn into the story; I never cared that much about the characters, not even Ripley, especially after the doctor was killed. That surprised me, like it was supposed to, but it also got rid of the one character whom we knew better than any other besides Ripley and whom we really cared about. Charles Dutton's character tried to fill the void left by Charles Dance's death, but it didn't work for me. There really may have been too many characters for an Alien flick, but killing a bunch off like in the first firefight in Aliens would've probably been too derivative. The suicide scene was too drawn out - it would've worked better if it was a surprise, if Ripley hadn't asked to be killed earlier, IMO. Finally, the musical scores of Alien and Aliens were both outstanding, and really helped to create tension and excitement, and I just didn't feel that from the Alien 3 score. Bottom line: pretty good, but could've been better. The DVD presentation was outstanding, though, both in picture and sound. The 20-minute featurette was good too.
Alien Resurrection: A lot like Alien 3 - should've been better. Since I just mentioned Alien 3's score, the score for AR was similar - it was more geared for a Bruce Willis-type action pic than a sci-fi action pic, although I did like how they hinted back to Alien with the flutes. Anyway, enough about the score...the story had real potential - I loved the premise and the first scenes with Ripley. But too much of the movie was one long chase scene, and there was too much exposition - it was obvious that the queen was pregnant, and if it wasn't, it soon would be when she gave birth, so we didn't need that idiotic scientist telling us all about it. Some of the effects were good (the failed clones were outstanding), but others (e.g., Earth reentry) looked poor. I liked the pairing of Ryder and Weaver, and thought Ryder did pretty well in a new genre for her. At first I thought the wheelchair guy was too PC, but he actually was alright. Finally, I was bizarrely touched by the death scene of Ripley's "child" - I mean, I honestly teared up knowing that this thing actually had some feeling for its mom, despite its alien tendencies, and couldn't understand why its mom would kill it. It seemed like something out of 30's Universal horror flicks, and I think if the whole film had taken more lessons from those flicks, it would've been better. Not too bad, though - not as bad as the reviews and box office would indicate. And like Alien3, the DVD had awesome picture and sound, although it's the lightest on the extras out of all the Alien discs.
Any comments on my first-time viewing of these flicks? --Jim
------------------
My DVD list
I'll also post a "My First Time" for Heat when I get that next week. And I personally am very interested in your reviews of movies that most people have seen but you haven't until DVD. Anyway...
Alien 3: As a stand-alone flick, this might be pretty good. But it suffers when compared to the first two Alien movies. I should add that I'm a big fan of Se7en and The Game, both from David Fincher, and that might be biasing my views. The story was pretty good, and I thought the alien incubating in the dog was really cool - I only wish we could have seen the dog a little better in its chest-bursting scene. The effects were also pretty good, although in some scenes, mostly the final chase when it was on the ceiling, the alien looked like bad CGI even though I think this flick predates CGI effects like this. But I never really felt drawn into the story; I never cared that much about the characters, not even Ripley, especially after the doctor was killed. That surprised me, like it was supposed to, but it also got rid of the one character whom we knew better than any other besides Ripley and whom we really cared about. Charles Dutton's character tried to fill the void left by Charles Dance's death, but it didn't work for me. There really may have been too many characters for an Alien flick, but killing a bunch off like in the first firefight in Aliens would've probably been too derivative. The suicide scene was too drawn out - it would've worked better if it was a surprise, if Ripley hadn't asked to be killed earlier, IMO. Finally, the musical scores of Alien and Aliens were both outstanding, and really helped to create tension and excitement, and I just didn't feel that from the Alien 3 score. Bottom line: pretty good, but could've been better. The DVD presentation was outstanding, though, both in picture and sound. The 20-minute featurette was good too.
Alien Resurrection: A lot like Alien 3 - should've been better. Since I just mentioned Alien 3's score, the score for AR was similar - it was more geared for a Bruce Willis-type action pic than a sci-fi action pic, although I did like how they hinted back to Alien with the flutes. Anyway, enough about the score...the story had real potential - I loved the premise and the first scenes with Ripley. But too much of the movie was one long chase scene, and there was too much exposition - it was obvious that the queen was pregnant, and if it wasn't, it soon would be when she gave birth, so we didn't need that idiotic scientist telling us all about it. Some of the effects were good (the failed clones were outstanding), but others (e.g., Earth reentry) looked poor. I liked the pairing of Ryder and Weaver, and thought Ryder did pretty well in a new genre for her. At first I thought the wheelchair guy was too PC, but he actually was alright. Finally, I was bizarrely touched by the death scene of Ripley's "child" - I mean, I honestly teared up knowing that this thing actually had some feeling for its mom, despite its alien tendencies, and couldn't understand why its mom would kill it. It seemed like something out of 30's Universal horror flicks, and I think if the whole film had taken more lessons from those flicks, it would've been better. Not too bad, though - not as bad as the reviews and box office would indicate. And like Alien3, the DVD had awesome picture and sound, although it's the lightest on the extras out of all the Alien discs.
Any comments on my first-time viewing of these flicks? --Jim
------------------
My DVD list
07-23-99 | 10:29 PM
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Thanks Jim . . .
For presenting a theme I concur with. I too am a First Timer with Alien 2, 3, and 4.
I bought the Box Set, sat down one Saturday, and commenced to watch them marathon style. I'm a miniseries lover at heart . . . and this method (like watching all of the Rocky's) proved my optimism . . . that I ENJOYED the "complete" story of all 4 together.
Now I hear an Alien 5 is in the works. Believe me, if I had watched 3 and 4 out of order . . . my review would have been harsh. 1 and 2 help carry 3 and 4 as the story evolves.
Anyone else watch Legacy in marathon?
Jeremy
(Will they reinvent our heroine again?)
</font
Hollywood, California
Circa 1982</font
For presenting a theme I concur with. I too am a First Timer with Alien 2, 3, and 4.
I bought the Box Set, sat down one Saturday, and commenced to watch them marathon style. I'm a miniseries lover at heart . . . and this method (like watching all of the Rocky's) proved my optimism . . . that I ENJOYED the "complete" story of all 4 together.
Now I hear an Alien 5 is in the works. Believe me, if I had watched 3 and 4 out of order . . . my review would have been harsh. 1 and 2 help carry 3 and 4 as the story evolves.
Anyone else watch Legacy in marathon?
Jeremy
(Will they reinvent our heroine again?)
</font
Hollywood, California
Circa 1982</font
07-24-99 | 04:43 AM
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Although inferior to the first 2, I recently completed a trade to obtain the last 2. I feel good to have completed the set. 
When I watch "Alien 3" this time, I will convince myself to not think of this as a sequel to the first 2 and try to appreciate what David Fincher accomplished. It's a bit disturbing going from "Aliens" to this because of the way they get rid of the characters from "Aliens" at the beginning of "Alien 3" It's been awhile since the last time I saw this . . . at the theater . . . so I'm sure I'll find a new appreciation for it.
As for "Alien: Resurrection" it's decent, but not equal to the first 2. However, some of the action sequences are the best.
The main reason I wanted these 2 DVDs, other than completing my set, is because the quality is superior. I hear the sound/picture is much sharper and louder than "Alien" & "Aliens".
Anyways, can't wait for #5 . . . bring back the marines!!!
When I watch "Alien 3" this time, I will convince myself to not think of this as a sequel to the first 2 and try to appreciate what David Fincher accomplished. It's a bit disturbing going from "Aliens" to this because of the way they get rid of the characters from "Aliens" at the beginning of "Alien 3" It's been awhile since the last time I saw this . . . at the theater . . . so I'm sure I'll find a new appreciation for it.
As for "Alien: Resurrection" it's decent, but not equal to the first 2. However, some of the action sequences are the best.
The main reason I wanted these 2 DVDs, other than completing my set, is because the quality is superior. I hear the sound/picture is much sharper and louder than "Alien" & "Aliens".
Anyways, can't wait for #5 . . . bring back the marines!!!
07-24-99 | 06:15 PM
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Thanks for the review Stats. I do concur with your summarization of the latter 2 Alien flicks. I actually saw both 3 and 4 in the theater. Originally I hated Alien 3. I thought the ending was poor and the setting was too dreary and dreadful. However when I recently watched Alien 3 on DVD with my new DD/DTS system and 32" Sony monitor (not the best setup I'll admit, but better than I've ever had in home video) I was able to appreciate David Fincher's work a lot more. First of all, the dreary setting was his successful attempt at making the audience uncomfortable. As you and Needlz observed, the sound and picture quality are quite good, and I do feel that makes the movie worth owning. As far as 4 is concerned, again the picture and sound are outstanding because its a new film. I think 4 also has some cool hi-tech sets, several interesting characters (the Betty crew), multiple alien creatures, and some great alien effects. The best alien scenes are where 2 creatures attack a third one to gain their escape, and the underwater swimming scenes. Alien 4's ending definitely does leave room for a sequel. Unfortunately, it will make our Alien Legacy set obsolete!
07-26-99 | 01:47 AM
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I'm very pleased to see that the reactions to 3 & 4 have been fairly positive - that these films are really being rediscovered thanks to their DVD release. I have to agree that the second half of the quartet are not as good as the first half - but they are hardly the trash that many reviewers have claimed. Since there was a great deal of time between each chapter, I think fans had great expectations, and when these two movies were not the masterpieces the first two were, we judged them too harshly. When I first saw 3 at the theatre (the only one of the four I saw that way), I hated it. Passionately hated it. If you'd have asked my what the worst movie I had ever seen at a theatre was, I'd have said "Alien 3" (or "Alien Cubed" as the title suggests for no apparent reason). But after reading about the "delevopment hell" this movie, I think we should be thankful that it was filmed at all. If the director's cut ever appears on DVD, I think we may discover than many of the failings mentioned, particularly the problem with character devolopment, was the fault of the studio's cut, and not the fault of the director. Although I'm not a fan of Fincher's other movies, I can see that he has talent.
The fourth movie did suffer a bit from the "Die Hard" syndrome. It seemed for years we had "Die Hard on a boat", "Die Hard on a plane", "Die Hard on a train" - I guess "Die Hard on a space ship" was inevitable. (It's a wonder we never got "Die Hard in a Mini-van". I guess "Speed" came close".) Anyway, I went into it not expecting much, so I guess since it was better than expected, I have to count that as a win.
My suggestions for A5? Clone Hicks, Hudson and Vasquez, then go kick some Alien butt. (Do Aliens have butts? They don't actually eat, so perhaps not.) Show the Alien homeworld. Reveal the race that owned the alien ship from the first movie. Let Ridley Scott direct - from his DVD commentary, he seems willing. And most of all - save all the bits that don't make final cut for the DVD!! And when the DVD is released, include a special offer for a free box to hold all 5 movies, plus include an alpha case and space in the box for the Alien Legacy documentary.
The fourth movie did suffer a bit from the "Die Hard" syndrome. It seemed for years we had "Die Hard on a boat", "Die Hard on a plane", "Die Hard on a train" - I guess "Die Hard on a space ship" was inevitable. (It's a wonder we never got "Die Hard in a Mini-van". I guess "Speed" came close".) Anyway, I went into it not expecting much, so I guess since it was better than expected, I have to count that as a win.
My suggestions for A5? Clone Hicks, Hudson and Vasquez, then go kick some Alien butt. (Do Aliens have butts? They don't actually eat, so perhaps not.) Show the Alien homeworld. Reveal the race that owned the alien ship from the first movie. Let Ridley Scott direct - from his DVD commentary, he seems willing. And most of all - save all the bits that don't make final cut for the DVD!! And when the DVD is released, include a special offer for a free box to hold all 5 movies, plus include an alpha case and space in the box for the Alien Legacy documentary.
