Alien Resurrection: Where’s the Laugh Track?

“Why do you go on living? How can you stand being what you are?”
“Not much choice.”

[Spoilers Ahead] There is a conversation late in Alien Resurrection between a clone that is part Ripley, part alien queen (at least psychologically) and a second generation android. They are sitting in a chapel, making a last effort to save themselves and the whole earth from the latest alien menace. The android character hates herself because she is a thing. This view has driven her to be the “most humane” character in the story. When she asks the Ripley clone how she can go on living, knowing what she is, the clone is stoic. However, she also shows a lot of hope throughout the story. Both characters are examples of people overcoming their imperfections and shortcoming to do what is right in spite of great personal risk.

That is about as deep as you can go into the last true installment in the Alien franchise. This fourth film is about as messy as the last entry, but it is slightly more entertaining albeit grotesque tongue in cheek. At least that was how it was written to be played, but most of the filmmakers seem to have missed that point. Weaver takes the part way to seriously and comes off rather silly. When the alien queen shows up in the end pregnant, it is laugh out loud silly. This could have been the Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein of the series.

(Once again, this film is rated R—more for gore than the last film, and less for language—but only slightly less.)