 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Alien Resurrection
- Review Date: January 26, 2008
- R
- Genre: Science Fiction
- 1997
Common Sense Media says
Grotesque carnage, vile characters; steer clear.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that even with the built-in kid/video game appeal, this monster movie has very harsh elements of bloody killing and cynical inhumanity, as well as explicit swearing and sex talk. Even Ellen Ripley, moral anchor of this series, has here turned into a violent bad-girl parahuman mutant. Human beings in general are vile and treacherous, and when one refers to the Earth of tomorrow as a "s--thole" you don't disbelieve that people like this have made it that way. When one especially monstrous alien mutation dies in a slow, ghastly way, Ripley (and you) feel sorry for it -- rather more so than for the people.
What's the story?
In the nightmarish Alien3, the story seemed over. But ALIEN RESURRECTION opens with the test-tube-rebirth of career alien-fighter Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Military scientists still hoping to exploit the aliens as weapons surgically remove an infant alien and -- rather half-heartedly -- let the clone Ripley live on. She's a different Ripley now, with super strength and a psychic bond with the vicious aliens. When aliens escape and overwhelm the soldiers, Ripley and a ragtag bunch of smugglers try to escape the alien bloodbath. But one of the civilians, a girl called Call (Winona Ryder), belongs to an anti-alien underground, and questions which side Ripley is really on.
Is it any good?
Critics and viewers who mostly disliked this movie upon its release probably would have changed their tunes if it had come along a few years later, when the scriptwriting credit of Joss Whedon would have stood out more. Whedon, a hotshot scriptwriter for comics, movies, and TV, became a brand name by making Buffy the Vampire Slayer a small-screen classic. His works lean toward strong, super-powered female characters fighting the forces of overwhelming darkness. Buffy fans might find this juicy territory indeed, if they can stomach Alien Resurrection's grotesque visuals, carnage, toilet talk, and pessimistic themes. That's a big "if."
Weaver has fun exploring the newfound dark side of her character, and overall the Alien series wouldn't have been half as good without her (check out Alien Vs. Predator, for example). But even with the outsized stunt gun-battles, borrowed Buffy vibe, and comic-book heroics, this is a dark spectacle that seems to conclude that no matter how downright demonic the aliens seem, humans are inherently worse.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the different tones of the various Alien movies, and which ones work for kid viewers, and why. Do you think this clone Ripley makes an effective and complex heroine, on the level of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Do you think the movie makes people seem even worse than the hideous aliens?
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AGE
Pretty Gritty...and Just Downright Gross
ALIEN: RESURRECTION is just a strange movie. Basically it's a completely unnecessary continuation of the Alien franchise, which started out brilliantly strong and unfortunately sunk to low standards before its closure. Maybe the filmmakers sought to redeem the franchise with this next movie. It doesn't work. Resurrection isn't a horrible movie. If you've come to see aliens kill people and Sigourney Weaver fire some massive blowtorches, then you surely won't be disappointed. However, this Alien movie lacks what the first two had a lot of: spirit. These movies have always been gross, don't get me wrong. But while the first one was cinematically brilliant, the second carried strong characters and plot, and the third was (again disappointingly) cynical yet thought-provoking, this one is just plain disgusting. There is absolutely no reason for you to let any kid or teen see this movie. The bloody atrocities committed by aliens and humans alike transcend description. It's almost like we're watching Saw in space. People's heads are crushed, split in two, skulls are pulverized, intestines are eaten, blood is sprayed, aliens are ripped apart inch by inch (with accompanying entrails), and one guy is blown apart (quite gorily) after being frozen in liquid nitrogen. The camera doesn't blink for one second. The previous Alien movies (yes, even the third) used a certain class when approaching violence; yes, it was graphic, but it wasn't just violence for violence's sake. This one is just gore porn. I'm typically not a squeamish person, but it made me want to vomit. Plus, there's pretty much every vulgarity in the book, used in every which way (including in a sexual context). Two words can sum up this movie and its content: completely unnecessary.
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Kid, 12 years old
December 9, 2010
AGE
eep
ok movie VERY VERY GOREY i have saw it when i was 10 very gory
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AGE
Nothing but gore and guts
While I even like the often hated-upon Alien3,I don't really care much for the fourth and last installment in the series, Alien: Resurrection. This time, the one strong character that kept everything from completely going crazy has gone crazy herself. Ripley is now a clone in a long line of previous clones, and is practically nothing but a savage freak of nature (not to flattering for Sigourney Weaver when you think about it). This last installment is also the most disturbing, gruesome and brutal in terms for violence. The profanity is toned down a lot more than the previous installment, but the violence is not. Also, the ending scene where that one last alien is pulled through that one window in the space ship is probably on of the goriest death scenes for a creature that I have ever scene in a movie
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AGE
Violent and gross. The Alien series has never been one that I particularly like and this addition did nothing to help that.
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Kid, 11 years old
November 12, 2011
AGE
gory
this is an amazing movie . its on of my favorites.CAUTION not for yong kinds at all. it has alot of sex,language,and most of all VIOLINCE
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AGE
Not bad at all
Better than part 3. This film was so suspenseful, but it was the story that sucked.
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AGE
Okay but not for kids
This movie has a great story line but is scary for kids so pre-teen plus is fine
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AGE
Overbloody.
I don't know where to start on how gory this is...how about the most disgusting death in the whole movie: The headburster. To this day, I have never understood why that was put in the movie. But it was so insanly bloody, I haven't seen this for years, and the moment still haunts me.
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| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| Director: | Jean-Pierre Jeunet |
| Cast: | Ron Perlman, Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder |
| Genre: | Science Fiction |
| Run time: | 108 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | November 26, 1997 |
| DVD release date: | January 2, 2007 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | strong sci-fi violence and gore, some grotesque images, and for language. |
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