Alien: Resurrection - What Could Have Been

^ Yeah, visually it's fun. I just have trouble stomaching the horribly uninteresting characters.

I don't think that it is terribly bad, it is just that it is the worst among the Alien movies. Something went wrong but I am not sure what that was.

Cloning Ripley could maybe have worked if the other characters would have been better written. I am not totally against the idea even if it feels a bit unimaginative. What is interesting in this case is that the Alien movies are connected to sci-fi and that there are many possibilities within that genre (it is like: what could have been if? What might be possible within science?) so there are many roads that they can travel and that makes it kind of sad when they don't manage to get it right (Prometheus and AR being examples although I think that Prometheus is better).

The android Call was interesting even though I think that Bishop and Ash (Alien 1979) were better. As far as Call goes they could probably have given her better lines but that goes for all characters.

Facehuggers!: Alien 3 is my favorite movie among them all and yes AR has some interesting things in it but fails in general.

Michelle: I also believe that the assembly cut of Alien 3 is better than the version that they showed in the movie theaters.

Aorta: If he doesn't like Prometheus then it is understandable. They really made a mess of what could have been a much better movie but Prometheus is still alright in general.

I don't think they ever fully realised the dichotomy of Ripley8, but at the same time it's good that there's no real defining event that she picks a side.  It's really just - I want to live, and hanging out with these pirate guys seems to be the best option.

That said, it was a shame that Weaver's best dialogue as Ripley8 in the extended chapel scene got cut from the theatrical version.

"Michelle: I also believe that the assembly cut of Alien 3 is better than the version that they showed in the movie theaters."

So many people say this, but I've never heard an opinion that convinces me that it is, in fact, the case.  I'm interested in being convinced though.

I almost can't believe I'm gonna say this but I actually agree with S.M. With the exception of the "Super Facehugger" the assembly cut doesn't bring anything new to the narrative that was already in the theatrical cut of Alien 3.

Yes, they may successfully catch the alien in the waste storage room but Golic (Paul McGann) just lets it loose again, making its capture moot. I know a lot of people say that the assembly cut is the closest thing we'll get to a David Fincher's vision of an Alien film, but after seeing his take on the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo and especially the truly awesome Girl Gone I feel that Alien 3 is worlds away from what Fincher could have done had he had control of Alien 3. An Alien movie made by today's David Fincher would be a truly terrifying and disturbing movie.

As for Alien Resurrection. Fans give Whedon and Cameron a hard time despite what they tried to achieve. Alien was a collection of the right people at the right time, whereas Alien Resurrection was the polar opposite. Whedon is a good writer action and comedy writer, and when it comes to characterization but he ain't no horror or suspense writer. Jeunet may be a visionary, but science fiction is a million miles from his safety zone. And the cast, while full of familiar favorites were completely miscast in what essentially come across as comedic roles.

"With the exception of the "Super Facehugger" the assembly cut doesn't bring anything new to the narrative that was already in the theatrical cut of Alien 3."

Quite.

I think the Workprint is a bit closer to what Fincher preferred since he didn't like the ox-burster.  The Workprint is a much tighter cut too.

The Assembly, by it's very title, shows how important Editors are.