Alien-Ate

The Alien series is one of my favourite series of all time but unfortunately Resurrection was only ever an ok movie to me. I'm such a fan of the rest of them and I know just how good they can be so I had to check out your edit, you have finally given me a version of Alien 4 that I can enjoy and that is now a worthy addition to the Alien series. You cut out all the unnecessary scenes and dialogue which helps speed up the pace of the movie, also the color correction, toned-down music and the SFX work is excellent and wouldn't be noticeable to anyone that hasn't seen the original. I also found the change of direction at the finale to feel completely natural and again wouldn't be a noticeable edit to a first time viewer. So thank you Jerick for making Alien 4 into how it should have been and a worthy addition to the Alien series.

By only looking at the other reviews have I only found out that Ripley was the Alien Hybrid creature, so unfortunately I don't think the narrative at the end was clear enough. But that was my own honest experience, as watching Call shouting for Ripley left me completely confused.

Otherwise the edit is brilliant as the cuts and audio are flawless and by watching it (apart from the end) you would think it was the proper cut of the film. I think removing some snippets of the film was a good idea such as removing the scene where Call originally opens the door from the other side as in the original film it feels a bit dull because we hardly sympathise with the character at all throughout...if anything, Call is a bit of a brat and gets in the way, so I'm glad you trimmed her down throughout. Another part I seem to remember being removed was when the general looked at a piece of his brain when he's been killed by the Alien, yeah, that definitely had to go. I think you may have shortened the swimming scenes, which helped with the suspense.

Personally I think you could have removed the Alien Hybrid altogether....yes, it would have been slightly anti-climatic, but it would have shortened and improved the film somewhat. I think we all hate that stupid Hybrid and for the Alien Queen to be so soft and go unguarded just didn't make sense for me in the original film. Perhaps that could be a future edit for someone to do?

[SPOILERS]

Resurrection is a horrible film. Each time I've seen it I've gone in with a vague memory of it being bad, but thinking "it can't really be as bad as I remember it, can it?". Yup. It's a really bad film. From the opening scene with that horrible CGI insect, to that overblown and abysmally acted chest-burster scene, to the finale where we see the most disgusting thing you can think of (crossed with the second most disgusting thing you can think of, turned inside out) sucked through a space vacuum as its entrails float into the eternal void like vomit, this film is a true horror film. It's just nasty.

So, well done to TMBTM. He's taken a horrible, overblown mockery and transformed it into what it is now: a watchable, but distinctly average and unnecessary Alien sequel. Normally when I watch Alien Resurrection I want to rush to the bathroom and throw up, but this time I actually thought parts of it were okay. Most of the setup was decent and, bar some really stupid scenes (like Christie overreacting and attempting to bash Ripley's head in with a large metal object), I actually found myself being optimistic and thinking "hey, maybe he's made this half decent". Well... Not quite half decent... but, better.

Video/audio quality was as good as I'd expect a DVD to be.

Editing was top-notch all round. No noticeable cuts, and the various subtle effects throughout are well done. They don't feel out of place and they serve the edit. Started watching the featurette included on the DVD, but haven't finished it yet. Enjoyed what I saw!

Narrative is generally fine. Some characters were underdeveloped, but I can't remember what they were like in the original film. The new twist I wasn't so sure about, although it probably makes more sense than what the film did before. Rather than just randomly having this Alien/human hybrid get introduced right at the end of the film, TMBTM has made it so that Ripley IS the hybrid, and many of the added special effects serve to develop this plot element. I'm not sure if I like it, but it's done well. Personally, I think the Alien/human hybrid is the very worst thing about the film and I can't stand the sight of it. I'd much rather it just be completely cut out. Job Willins does this very well in his "Ripley" edit, which combines Alien 3 and Resurrection, but I don't know if this would work as well without the material from Alien 3.

Enjoyment is low because I hate this film. But this edit does make it much more watchable. The theatrical is 1/10. No redeeming elements. TMBTM has bumped it up to 4. Although I consider the actual film a 4, the enjoyment of the release as a whole is a 6, mostly due to it being an interesting and educational ride. The featurette also helps to bump this up.

It's still bad, but it's better than it was before. Would I watch it again? Not if you put a gun to my head. Would I recommend it? Yes… Sort of. If you haven't seen Resurrection and you feel the need to watch it as a fan, then this is the version you should watch. Stay the hell away from the theatrical.

As with all TMBTM films the visual and audio editing are flawless. Unless you know what has been cut you'll never notice something is missing. Picture quality is what's to be expected from DVD quality.

As for the narrative and enjoyment I'm a little torn. I'm not a fan of the original by any means, and anything that helps strengthen the story is a win. But, as TM2YC pointed out, by cutting out the more ridiculous things only highlights how nonsensical it all is. There were also a few instances where the pacing felt just a tad rushed.

The big change was the ending. While I see what TMBTM was going for it just didn't work for me. Maybe it was fine for others, but I just couldn't buy what happened to Ripley. I don't want to spoil it for others so I'll leave it at that.

Is the edit worth your time? Definitely. While not perfect it is better than the original. I think that this is just one of those films that is impossible to fix in a satisfactory way due to the how the original film was put together.

TMBTM, I could kiss you flat on the mouth for this! Alien is my favorite movie of all time, and the whole original trilogy means a lot to me, but Resurrection is a blight on this series. Because I'm such a fan of the rest of them, though, I keep compulsively watching it, and it gets worse every time. With your edit, you have finally given me a version of Alien 4 that I can enjoy. You cut every single thing I was hoping you would. EVERY. SINGLE. THING. God bless you. The basketball scene, while still in the movie, plays like the small character-building scene that it should be instead of a forced set-piece. The aliens no longer have an argument among themselves before breaking out of their cell (My understanding is that they have a hive mind, so this never made any sense and made them feel more like the velociraptors from Jurassic Park). Poor, miscast Dan Hedaya is barely in the thing! The color correction, toned-down music, and less frenetic cutting amps the tension significantly. The SFX work is terrific and subtle (when it needs to be). Everything was just spot-on.

And that ending! WOW! Kudos for going with this bold choice. It works so much better that the theatrical ending that I really feel like the way you re-worked it should have been the way it played in the first place. You nailed it.