Alien Resurrection

I watched this the other day. I have seen it before, of course, but I haven't paid close attention while viewing it in... several years, maybe more than ten. Yikes.

Now that I've watched it without being distracted, I can't stop thinking about why it isn't better than it is. I can't figure it out. It seems like it should be a major horror/sci-fi classic, just for the scenes with Brad Dourif and Sigourney Weaver talking to each other. Just stop and think about that, for a sec. What a great thing to have on film!!! They are both iconic as hell, and they were both arguably still in their prime(s) when AR was filmed. That alone should guarantee the movie an amazing reputation. And, of course, Ron Perlman adds a lot, Winona Ryder does her thing, so her fans should be on board with the movie. But, somehow it doesn't all really hold up... it's just not THAT great of a movie.

I think it's probably because of the action scenes, at least partly. It seemed like the director didn't really know what he was doing, when it came to guns, fights, etc. Like, he would show people aiming their guns, with a fierce expression on their faces, but it just looks stupid a lot of the time. He (the director) did some things well... he had a good eye, and had some really cool-looking settings. The technology of making movies had come a long way since the first Alien in 1979, obviously, and he took advatnge of that. I really do think some of the shots look quite cool. But, he just blew it with most of the fight scenes. Shame.

Anyway... I don't know, I have just been mulling this over. It had so much potential, and there are some decent parts, but in some ways it just feels like it falls a bit flat. Argh.

Anybody have any thoughts on this??