Alien-Ate

Like the Star Wars prequels I had the luck of watching Alien: Resurrection when I was pretty young so I never had this feeling of someone destroying the legacy of Alien with this movie – since I bought the VHS box in order to watch Alien: Resurrection because I had heard so much of it (i.e. coolest movie evar) I watched the series in order always in foresight of a fourth movie

But yes, there was something wrong with it – i liked it but despite me having not much experience with movies I found Aliens way more intriguing but I couldn’t place my finger on it.

So hearing that TMTBM would tackle this specific movie got me very curious and it was worth the anticipation. At this point it is pretty superfluous to point out that from a technical standpoint it is top-notch although we should never be too content to not appreciate the fact that there are faneditors who really make sure that everything fits.

Alien: Resurrection is the alien film with the least alien-action and whereas Aliens also has a lot of non-alien time their presence is always felt. Not so much in Resurrection where it feels more like titanic in space which happens to feature some aliens as well. Basically there is one encounter with them and the sub-water scene since I don’t count the human-alien-thingy at the end as an alien.
By inserting footage from alien vs. predator at least the aliens get more screen presence. Note that this still makes not much for the atmosphere but at least with those scene we know that there is an alien danger.

A lot of over the top action is removed in favor of tight action (see the fight after they escape the water) and while Call’s fate and revelation is handled differently it kinda works. At first I was thrown out of the movie a bit because I remember her falling into the water and opening the door from the other side, but it worked this time as well.

Generally a guideline for this edit should be (as of course it should be for any fanedit but it is so hard sometimes to forget the original) to just think about what happens on screen. Especially towards the ending I found myself wondering “but he has removed this line, so that will not make much sense afterwards” only to find out that TMBTM went to tell a different story and within this story it works.

THE ENDING – SPOILERS

Now at first I wasn’t too fond of the way the ending was handled.
Well as I said at first I thought about what was cut. I felt that removing the idea of the queen adapting human reproduction would be a problem for the consistency of the story only to find out that the human monster is no longer a human monster in this film – it is number 8 herself (btw now works brilliantly with the “beautiful butterfly” line)

But the good stories I guess are sometimes off-throwing at first but as soon as you return you find yourself realizing how much they fit
Making Ripley into the monster adds to the entire bizareness of the film and would have certainly been a bold move back then (although I guess fans would have torn it apart – as they always do with anything that’s different -had the filmmaker done that), but it makes more sense than Ripley hugging that disgusting thing and the whole being held in the alien’s arms stuff.
It is oddly “sad” – well as sad as a movie that you didn’t really care about in the first place can be. It ends the new story, the story of number 8 and the emotional impact is stronger than Ripley crying over a disgusting thing that appeared onscreen 10 minutes ago

SPOILERS END

The effect work is great, same goes for the color correction

Overall 9/10

TMBTM, I just want to say: wow!! You have some major balls doing what you did with the new ending for this edit, it came as a total surprise to me and the impact was quite high… my first reaction was blasphemy and then as the last minutes rolled by I saw the huge way it fits; and well, I believe that this will be my go to version of Alien 4.

The general clean up of crap was stellar as usual, and my only gripe was the second “unwarranted” death that johnnythewolf mentioned earlier – but I certainly have no beef with the first. Your explanation for it makes it clear that it is necessary so… no way around it.

Oh and a nice touch you slipped in with the access code from the Betty

10/10 = this is the shit people…

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

This review is based on my opinions and my viewing experience. Nothing is meant as an attack. Spoiler warning.

AUDIO: Sounded just fine to me, no complaints! 10/10

VIDEO: You know, i think i like what you have done to the look of the picture more than i like the look of the original. It is quite elegant. 10/10

EDITING: Here’s where this edit shines, TMBTM seemed to have an endless bag of tricks, very creative and clever.
The attention to detail really is something to behold. 10/10

ENTERTAINMENT: This edit is put together in such a way that you really do get a new ride, the story is coherent and the new twists are alot of fun. I was not dissapointed. 10/10

10/10 overall!!!

SIDE NOTES: This edit is a must see. It has it all, slick editing, georgeous menu’s, seamless effects and plenty of suprises. Check it out right now!!!