Review Detail
8.8 33 10
(Updated: July 19, 2012)
Enjoyment
8.0
To start with a brief rundown of where I’m coming from with this edit, I started it with a little bit of trepidation. I think like a lot of people I was a fan of the Alien trilogy before this movie came out and while I had had my issues with Alien3 overall I enjoyed it and thought that it worked as an end to the series, but then this movie came out. It looked drastically different; a lot of it was very goofy, Ripley – though understandable to some extent as it wasn’t really the Ripley we knew – was very out of character, and just over all the film just felt like it didn’t quite fit the series. All of that was capped off by an ending that was just too strange, hokey, and utterly goofy. So to say that I was curious to see what TMBTM had done with this is very much an understatement.
Before I get into any of the actual content I just want to talk about the technical for a minute. The presentation here is excellent. Menus, bonus features, etc. all look great and feel like the kind of thing you would have gotten from an official studio released DVD from just a couple of years ago. The sound quality is excellent. As has come to be expected from TMBTM the edit work itself is masterfully done. Often I found the cutting to be completely invisible, and never once did I ever catch the editor at work with any hard cuts or choppy work of any kind. Beyond that the new F/X work is done brilliantly. One added bit towards the end with a newly created reveal (the footage taken from Alien VS Predator as mentioned in the cut list) works perfectly and feels as though it’s a part of the original film. Had I not known that it wasn’t I would not have questioned it. On the other hand, there is a moment with the Queen Alien, where we see it walking, that I do find looks a little bit wonky. However, I can’t determine if that’s because of the effect itself or just because I know so clearly that it’s not from the film.
Now, moving to the content. Unfortunately much of what I don’t like about the film is so ingrained into the film that a lot of my problems couldn’t be fixed by any edit. So while I truly appreciate the work done here, unfortunately I’ll never find the movie to be anything beyond average. That being said what I would have originally considered to be a 5 or 6 out of 10 is turned, here, into an easy 7 and turned into a much more enjoyable and entertaining experience. Bad or goofy dialogue is removed, which goes a long way towards helping the film, and the overall odd tone of the film is stripped away as much as possible, and a very subtle recoloring helps to get the picture more in line with Ridley Scott’s original film.
As for Ripley’s acting out of character a dramatic, bold, and inspired change to the ending actually manages to justify this far more than anything the original edit/narrative ever accomplished. If there is one thing about this version of the picture that absolutely makes it a watch it’s the ending. The editing, F/X work, and general concept and execution turns a silly, somewhat stupid and soulless climax into a controversial, fresh, and truly emotional cap to the series.
For me this, despite not being able to excise all of the things I have issue with, is a brilliant piece of work and I’m happy to give it an 8/10
Before I get into any of the actual content I just want to talk about the technical for a minute. The presentation here is excellent. Menus, bonus features, etc. all look great and feel like the kind of thing you would have gotten from an official studio released DVD from just a couple of years ago. The sound quality is excellent. As has come to be expected from TMBTM the edit work itself is masterfully done. Often I found the cutting to be completely invisible, and never once did I ever catch the editor at work with any hard cuts or choppy work of any kind. Beyond that the new F/X work is done brilliantly. One added bit towards the end with a newly created reveal (the footage taken from Alien VS Predator as mentioned in the cut list) works perfectly and feels as though it’s a part of the original film. Had I not known that it wasn’t I would not have questioned it. On the other hand, there is a moment with the Queen Alien, where we see it walking, that I do find looks a little bit wonky. However, I can’t determine if that’s because of the effect itself or just because I know so clearly that it’s not from the film.
Now, moving to the content. Unfortunately much of what I don’t like about the film is so ingrained into the film that a lot of my problems couldn’t be fixed by any edit. So while I truly appreciate the work done here, unfortunately I’ll never find the movie to be anything beyond average. That being said what I would have originally considered to be a 5 or 6 out of 10 is turned, here, into an easy 7 and turned into a much more enjoyable and entertaining experience. Bad or goofy dialogue is removed, which goes a long way towards helping the film, and the overall odd tone of the film is stripped away as much as possible, and a very subtle recoloring helps to get the picture more in line with Ridley Scott’s original film.
As for Ripley’s acting out of character a dramatic, bold, and inspired change to the ending actually manages to justify this far more than anything the original edit/narrative ever accomplished. If there is one thing about this version of the picture that absolutely makes it a watch it’s the ending. The editing, F/X work, and general concept and execution turns a silly, somewhat stupid and soulless climax into a controversial, fresh, and truly emotional cap to the series.
For me this, despite not being able to excise all of the things I have issue with, is a brilliant piece of work and I’m happy to give it an 8/10
W