I don’t know if it was just mostly forgetting this from the first time I saw it probably damn near 25 years ago (and not really caring for it), or the Special Edition edit which I don’t think really changed much, but after watching this after Fincher’s debaculous take on the series, I actually mostly enjoyed this. Mostly. The blatant thorn of shititude is still wedged in here, though. Unfortunate. Maybe at one point they can replace that with CGI and make this a slightly better movie. But the real question is, Is there a chest-bursting sequence that rivals all other chest-bursting sequences? Yeah! There kinda is!
Space ship USM Auriga with a bunch of soldiers and scientists. We find out real quick it’s a science experiment kind of vessel. Ripley v8 is human. Kind of. Genetic hybrid fuckeries are readily apparent. Considering like another 200 years have passed, technology is a little better. But apparently somebody lost the video and logs of the shitshows that took place previous. Because here they are again, trying to train their new pets. Plus, a space-pirate crew. An odd but satisfying mix.
French director Jeunet, of oddball movies like Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children, and Amélie actually does a decent job here, returning it more action-based Aliens territory but occasionally injecting his own subtle humor and interesting camera work. Dominic Pinion is obviously present, and Perlman does his schtick here too. Nice turn by Brad Dourif. Written by Joss “Firefly/Buffy” Whedon, it has some actual characters and dialogue that don’t all suck. Given the plot, it’s definitely a different chapter of the series. Whedon and his strong female character stuff is readily apparent, with a motherhood aspect that’s also amped up. Not subtle, but Functional. Still a good ride though as it progresses.
