Alien-Ate

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Going the extra mile… every now and then you experience a fanedit which reminds you how much you can actually alter a film and keep a coherent storyline intact. Such is the case for TMBTM’s Alien-Ate.

I’ve been a fan of his edits ever since I saw his infamous take on Spielberg’s Jaws and my respect grew further still with his quite excellent Harmonica, which for me is still one of the best fanedits out there. Turning his hand to the Alien franchise therefore certainly had me intrigued and excited to see what magic he could come up with this time around.

The fourth Alien movie has always fascinated me. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s somewhat avant-garde visual style feels at odds with the Hollywood system which surrounds the picture. It certainly does not feel like a normal Hollywood movie and Joss Whedon’s quirky, if uneven script only contributes to this odd, but effective atmosphere. Sigourney Weaver is excellent as the Ripley clone, and there’s a fine support cast with notable turns from Ron Perlman, Michael Wincott and Brad Dourif, amongst others. And then there’s um, Winona Ryder… ah yes, well you can’t have everything.

Despite the positives outweighing the negatives however, Alien Resurrection still has enough problems to prevent it from being anywhere near as impressive as Ridley Scott’s Alien or James Cameron’s Aliens. Whedon’s script can’t seem to focus the action enough to engage the emotions of the viewer, the underwater scene almost kills the movie due to how long they are able to stay underwater with no oxygen, and Winona Ryder really is quite awful in a pretty key role. TMBTM, by trimming certain scenes and in particular by changing the ending of the film, attempts to lessen these problems as much as possible and in doing so he’s created a film which certainly outclasses the theatrical cut and leaves one almost applauding at the screen with the work which has obviously been put into the final product.

Video: Some impressive if subtle colour grading makes this appear more in tone with Ridley Scott’s Alien, which can only be a good thing in my book. 9/10

Audio: As is usually the case with TMBTM, there are no drop outs, varying volume level problems or anything like that. A nice punchy mix. 10/10

Editing: Excellent choices which get rid of some of Whedon’s more annoying dialogue moments, and the finale which involved a ton of work to change the way the story concludes is quite superbly handled and will have everyone wishing they had access to After Effects! However, I personally would have liked to have seen some trimming of the underwater scene. Making it shorter would have improved the plausibility no-end. Also, some of Winona Ryder’s annoying lines are still there for all to hear, but then there’s no way she could be successfully removed from the film entirely so I can’t really criticise too much for this. At the end of the day, these are personal annoyances to me, so I would still class this as a very strong 9/10.

In conclusion, Alien-Ate is another reminder if one were needed, that TMBTM is one of the very best fan editors out there. Any fan of the Alien franchise needs to see this as it totally revolutionizes the fourth Alien film for the better.

I’m already looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next. No pressure mind

Overall I would give Alien-Ate 9/10, whereas the theatrical cut I would give 7/10.

This is a creative fanedit. The material has been re-edited in a masterly fashion to create an alternative experience, and the effects work is first-rate. Overall, the color work was extremely well done. This, combined with numerous trims to dialogue and events, gave the film a new feel, closer to that of the original Alien. The result is one of the few edits than almost feels like a different film.

Entertainment: 9 out of 10 (theatrical 8 out of 10; extended 8 out of 10)
Editing: 10 out of 10
Video: 9 out of 10
Audio 10 out of 10
Presentation: 10 out of 10

Overall: 9 out of 10 — TMBTM delivers another unmissable edit.

I always look forward to editor TMBTM work, his imagative editing and use of FX are most excellent, and in some cases the endings are a total surpise.

Anyway moving on to the edit…..The clean up and use of extra scenes and edit cuts are seamless and I had no sound issues all very clear. Did i enjoy yes … the editing colouring change worked well because the original is so dark looking and slow, this has been tranformed in to a clearer viewing with a faster pace. Ok you can tell that some scenes are from elsewhere but it works. And the ending works also.

Thanks.

9/10…..