Review Detail

The editing in this is just sublime, a whole other level. The way this is put together in itself is worth a great deal of merit and makes for a very enjoyable experience, even if the narrative isn't spot on.

I've always hated Resurrection. Alien 3, on the other hand, I've had a special spot for since I first watched the special edition; always thought it was only a few cuts away from being near brilliant. Combining the 2 films certainly makes for something very unique, and even if the visuals are different, the stories work well together.

The first half of this was excellent, but I think that it begins to fall short a bit as time goes on. This is partly due to the lack of good footage available from Resurrection (so many comically bad scenes...), but also due I think to the characters in that part of the story not being set up quite well enough. It's been a while since I watched Resurrection though, so I'm not sure how much could have been done about that.

Ripleys escape from the alien nest is also a bit sudden, but I imagine that was the best that could be done while avoiding the (ugh) hybrid.
One other qualm I have is that it's not clear how the company were able to clone Ripley, particularly after we end the film with her committing suicide. Again though, I can't remember how well this was communicated in Resurrection.

All that aside, so many things are worth commending in this edit, and the mere 2 hour runtime is impressive. Many great shots of the alien were left out at the beginning of the film, but this created a great sense of suspense akin to the original Alien movie. The black and white filter also worked well in helping to hide some of the less than impressive effects, making them appear somewhat slicker.

Anyway, well done, Job Willins. Taking 2 flawed films such as this and turning them into such a visual treat is beyond creativity, it's a work of art. I look forward to seeing more of your work!