‘Alien Resurrection’ fails to utilize predecessors’ strengths

What happened here?! Why is Ripley back?! Why have we leapt forward two centuries?! I don’t know what’s going on…

Which is how I feel throughout most of “Alien: Resurrection,” the final sequel to the original “Alien” trilogy that began in almost two decades beforehand. There’s the sense that all the numerous pieces were meant to interlock, to make a coherent storyline worthy of the franchise’s name. But in the end, despite bringing together the creator of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” the makers of the French black comedy “Delicatessen” and Sigourney Weaver herself, “Resurrection” should have just stayed dead.

For those who haven’t watched “Alien3,” spoilers ahead: Ripley throws herself into a searing furnace to kill the alien queen growing inside her. This should have been the end of the franchise as we know it, with our fantastic heroine making the ultimate sacrifice to prevent further bloodshed.

However, in “Resurrection,” which takes place 200 years after said events, it seems some human scientists can’t leave well enough alone and decide to recreate her. Using genetic material they more or less scraped together, they clone Ellen Ripley (reprised by Weaver). Well, they really clone the alien queen gestating inside her. Ripley herself? More of an after-product.

The scientists remove the alien from Ripley, intent on “learning” from the creature, and leave her to her own machinations. But this Ripley, while looking familiar to “Alien” fans, is not quite the same as the original. This version has super healing abilities, increased athleticism and metal-eating-acid blood. Sounds familiar, right?

The story from involves our oh-so-shortsighted scientists cultivating human subjects to serve as hosts for the alien queen’s eggs. The crew delivering the bodies on a freighter — comprising Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Gary Dourdan and Dominique Pinon — is a motley bunch, which seems to be a constant theme in this franchise.

The scientists’ goal is to control the aliens through Pavlovian training. Sound logic, I know. What follows next should be of no surprise to anyone.

Visually, “Resurrection” captures the same slimy atmosphere the “Alien” movies have come to represent. Production design reflects sentiments of claustrophobia and flashing lights with steam and hissing noises adding nice touches of ambience. Excellent effects include our new breed of aliens, one of which is Ripley’s half-breed son. The same alien who gives Ripley a strangely erotic tongue bath. Which Ripley follows up with killing everything around her.

For the most part, “Resurrection” maintains a quick pace with lots of action coursing through the film. It’s a rare moment when our heroes aren’t fighting to save their lives.

Still, you can’t help but ask when “Resurrection” was necessary. It does little to advance the plot, and it adds nothing to the story. We end the film feeling as if we’re stuck in statis, unable to forge forward because director Jean-Pierre Jeunet goes for big when what we needed was bold.

In the end, “Alien Resurrection” fails to live up to its predecessors, some of which set the standard for how sci-fi horror should be done. Instead of letting sleeping dogs lie, it seems other motives won out when it came to resurrecting this franchise. A shame, too, because no mother should have to kill her child.

Two acidic stars out of five.

“Alien” review
“Aliens” review
“Alien3” review

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Sigourney Weaver stars in the final installment in the “Alien” movies, “Alien Resurrection.” (Photo credit: 20th Century Fox)