• Rating:
• Genre: Science Fiction
• Movie Type: Sci-Fi Horror, Sci-Fi Action
• Themes: Evil Aliens, Robots and Androids, Technology Run Amok
• Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• Main Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Michael Wincott
• Release Year: 1997
• Country: US
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• MPAA Rating: R

Plot

The fourth film in the Alien series, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children) at a cost of 70 million dollars, takes place aboard an immense ship, the Auriga, where General Perez (Dan Hedaya) heads a staff of seven science officers and 42 enlisted, all employed by United Systems Military (replacing the Company of the earlier films). The time is 200 years after the events of Alien 3. Scientists researching the aliens need hosts, and they rely on space mercenaries who make spacecraft raids to acquire bodies. The research requires an Alien Queen specimen, so Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has been cloned from preserved blood samples. The scientific team then removes the baby Alien Queen from Ripley's chest. Since the Ripley clone has alien DNA mixed into her genetic structure, she is not totally human. Later, a commercial freighter, the Betty, arrives with a crew of mercenaries -- Elgyn (Michael Wincott), pilot Hillard (Kim Flowers), paralyzed mechanic Vriess (Dominique Pinon), space jock Johner (Ron Perlman), and junior mechanic Annalee Call (Winona Ryder) -- who deliver a load of human hosts with alien eggs. Problems begin when the mercenaries take over the Auriga, and aliens escape to massacre humans. As the aliens attack, Ripley and the mercenaries try to reach the Betty in order to escape. Cinematography by Darius Khondji features the same ENR process he used on Seven, adding silver to the printing process to heighten contrasts, making the dark colors richer. An electric-blue tint was employed during the underwater firefight between the mercenaries and the aliens. For the more physical aspects of her role, Ryder got in shape with six hours of daily workouts. Although all previous films in the series were shot at London's Pinewood Studios, filming of Alien Resurrection took place West Los Angeles soundstages with special effects in California and Paris. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Sigourney Weaver - Ellen Ripley
• Winona Ryder - Annalee Call
• Ron Perlman - Johner
• Dominique Pinon - Vriess
• Michael Wincott - Elgyn

Dan Hedaya - Gen. Perez; J.E. Freeman - Dr. Wren; Brad Dourif - Gediman; Raymond Cruz - Distephano; Kim Flowers - Hillard; Gary Dourdan - Christie; Leland Orser - Purvis; David St. James - Surgeon

Credit

Sigourney Weaver - Co-producer; Gordon Carroll - Producer; John M. Dwyer - Set Designer; David Giler - Producer; Walter Hill - Producer; Darius Khondji - Cinematographer; Andrew Neskoromny - Art Director; Nigel Phelps - Production Designer; Bob Ringwood - Costume Designer; Herve Schneid - Editor; Richard Bryce Goodman - Sound/Sound Designer; Michel Cheyko - First Assistant Director; Joss Whedon - Screenwriter; Rick Pagano - Casting; Leslie Shatz - Sound/Sound Designer; Jean-Pierre Jeunet - Director; John Frizzell - Composer (Music Score); Pitof - Special Effects Supervisor; Ernie Orsatti - Stunts Coordinator; Bill Badalato - Producer; Erik Henry - Special Effects Supervisor; Stephen Cooper - Supervising Art Director; Mark Oppenheimer - First Assistant Director

Similar Movies

Starship Troopers; Deep Blue Sea; Pitch Black; Red Planet

Game Description

Ellen Ripley has been through a lot in the course of her encounters with the mysterious xenomorphs she and her Nostromo crew discovered nearly three centuries ago. She's battled soldiers, queens, mutant varieties, and even experienced her own death, but now she's been brought back by a team of scientists hungry to gain access to the alien queen hosted in her body at the time of her demise. Yet something during the cloning process changed her. She now has aspects of the aliens she has so long despised. Acid blood, super strength, adept senses ... is she still even human? But is no time for philosophical debate, because the aliens bred by the queen extracted from her are loose on the research ship USM Auriga, and it's up to Ripley to protect the crew and the whole of Earth from being infested. Once again, it's up to Ellen Ripley to save the day.

Take on the role of Ripley and three other characters in Alien Resurrection for the PlayStation, a first-person shooter from Fox Interactive. Based on the 1997 film, you'll take on a whole host of alien opponents as you make your way through the dim corridors of the military research vessel on which you've been involuntarily trapped.

The game will take you throughout the Auriga, both above and below water, and you'll have to battle aliens in their various forms of gestation as well as military personnel who've been ordered to silence you permanently. Many familiar items will be available to you during the course of the game, including the familiar motion tracker that sounds a telltale beep when danger is at hand. Along the way you'll pick up 11 weapons of various strength, from pistols and shotguns all the way to rocket launchers, lasers and electric guns. The plot will reveal some sudden allies for Ripley, and at certain points of the game, you'll even control them in their own levels. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

While the fear factor is there, the fun factor most certainly not, with painful controls and cut-and-dry gameplay that ruin the entire experience. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

Production Credits

FOX INTERACTIVE

Producer: Gary Sheinwald

Associate Producers: Erik Larson, Pete Cesario

Lead Tester: Eic Asevo

Assistant Lead Tester: Jeremy Luyties

Testers: Ken Anderson, Geoff Bent, Ben Borth, James Carone, Francis Choi, Kristian Davila, Matt Dell, Ryan Dowling, Danile Du, Mike Dunn, Corey Evett, David Farkas, Mike Graham, Tim Harrison, Shaun Kennedy, Igo Krinitskiy, Roni Kwang, Javier Lagos, Duc Lai, Joe Lamas, Frantz Latten, Cris Lee, Donald Lewis, Red Magpantay, Kery Marshall, Jonathan Masterson, Adam Orth, Young Park, Denis Pater, Ralph Paz, Alvaro Silva, Nathan Sutter, Jeff Tatman, Tim Tran, Daan Wisehart, Hal Zabie, Brian Zenns

ARGONAUT GAMES

Lead Programmer: Simon Hargrave

Programmers: Jon Raymond, Steve Mortimer, Martin Piper, Dan Laufer, Phil Wilkins

Audio Programmer: Richard Griffiths

Lead Designer: Paul Crocker

Sound Design: Jason Bringans

Level Design: Paul Crocker, Jason Bringans, Chris Tudor-Smith

Lead Artist: Michael Wilson

Artists: Kim Tran, Vanessa Pouillard, Karyn Mchale, Masoor Naim, Adam Hill, Guillaume Camus, Duncan Brown, Saurav Sarkar

Testers: Neall Campbell, Dan Mcneill, Carl Ross, Richard Pareja, Sebastian Canniff, Mete Djemal

Head of Sound Department: Justin Scharvona

Sound: Adam Fothergill, Karin Griffin

Producer: Ben Tuszynski

FEATURING AUDIO PRODUCTION

Sound Design: Leslie Shatz

VOICE TALENT

Father: Steven Gilborn

Ripley: Lani Minella

Call: Theresa Rizzo

Destephano: Raymond Cruz

Christie: Gary Dourdan

Special Thanks: Bill Badalato, Priscilla Bourbannail, Clive Burdon, Fracie Brown, James Cameron, Charlie Davis, Gary Dourdan, Emily Ferry, Kim Flowers, J.E. Freeman, H.R. Giger, Alec Gillis, Brett Gollin, Matthew Gratzner, Simon Grell, Kimberly Harris, Nik Hemmings, Maria Hernandez, Ian Hunter, Sabrina Ironside, Brooks Jewel, Penny Juday, Lisa Knaggs, Tina Kowalewski, John Larsen, Cos Lazouras, Louis Leteriere, Luke Letizia, F. Cameron Macrae, David Moss, Jim Mummery, Marty November, Elaine Oliver, Leland Orser, Ron Perlman, Christine Pernin, Nigl Phelps, Dominique Pinon, Steve Price, Jerry Righmer, Keith Robinson, Lynne Robinson, Nancy Rushlow, Jez San, Dave Stalker, Angela Sutherland, Rozita Tolouey, Paul Urmson, Jack Van Leer, Mark Vitello, Tom Woodruff, Jr., Ian Wright, Karly Young ~ Keith Adams, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Alien Resurrection was a potentially interesting game that spent a long time in development and shifted genres completely during the course of its creation. Now that it has been released, Alien Resurrection is a disappointment. When it comes to atmosphere, the developers at Argonaut know how to manipulate our senses. It's just as shame that we aren't allowed to manipulate the controls with the same finesse.

On its surface, the game is a straightforward first-person shooter where you trudge through levels while collecting key cards, shooting enemies, and generally playing a technologically advanced game of Berserk. There are no Half-Life trappings here. The plot is given to you via cut-scenes, and these are extremely limited and of poor quality. But what sets this game apart is its atmosphere. It is stronger at developing a palpable sense of dread than many of the other Alien titles previously released.

Dark corridors billow with steam, scratching noises and strange clanks are heard in the distance -- your heart beats quickly as you're battle-weary body presses on into the darkened room. The tracker registers a life form ... you know something is there, but you see nothing. Suddenly, from the ceiling or through the wall, out pops the alien, usually with great effect. This part of the game, the waiting, is outstanding.

The rest of the game falls apart, with the chief offender being the control. Controls are too loose, whether you're using digital or analog, so you'll more often than not find yourself staring at the floor or the ceiling when you try to turn around, instead of at the enemy currently attacking you. In fact, with no auto-aiming feature and enemies that come at you from all directions, the control makes this game extremely difficult if not impossible to complete.

Although the atmosphere is excellent, the actual game is so dark that it hides most of the graphics. Upon closer examination, everything from the textures and models to the animation of the Aliens is substandard. The Aliens, who should be crafty and nimble like in the movies, run at you awkwardly. Of course, if they ever moved with any sense of purpose, the controls would keep you from hitting them.

With Alien Resurrection, we're left with a title that offers scares but not much else, giving us repetitive gameplay that boils down to a keycard hunt, murky visuals that contribute to the atmosphere but are difficult to navigate, and a control scheme so horrible that it kills any enjoyment you'll have while playing. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

While the atmosphere is suitable, the actual graphics and animation are not, if you can actually see them through the murk. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

The sound is certainly the best part of the game, with ambient noises and a subtle soundtrack that fuels the frightening atmosphere. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

The replay value is undermined by the poor control and unoriginal gameplay. Yet the atmosphere is scary enough to make you play for an hour or so. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

The manual explains a quite a bit about the items, objects, weapons, and enemies that you will encounter. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

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