Two hundred years after Ellen Ripley sacrifices herself for the sake of humanity, some clever scientists manage to clone a new Ripley—this time with a little alien inside her. However, the cloning isn’t perfect, and Ripley’s and the alien’s DNA become somewhat mixed. As a result, Ripley gains some alien traits, while the alien inherits a bit of Ripley’s humanity. The scientists’ goal is to breed a new generation of aliens—something that, of course, goes terribly wrong. Once again, super-Ripley must save humankind from these vile extraterrestrial creatures.
The Alien trilogy becomes a quadrilogy with this fourth instalment featuring Ripley and her otherworldly companion.
This chapter is noticeably different from the first three films, with a much more exaggerated tone and a healthy dose of dark comedy woven into the plot. Realism is set aside in favour of a more fantastical take on the Alien saga. This might actually work in the film’s favour, as the very premise of cloning Ripley two centuries into the future is far-fetched to begin with. Visually, the film is quite unusual for an Alien movie and has much in common with the excellent French film The City of Lost Children, which director Jean-Pierre Jeunet made prior to this.
Despite many elements feeling somewhat out of place for an Alien film, it’s undeniably stylish and visually striking. Jeunet is without a doubt a highly skilled director and an odd choice for this kind of film, given his usual, more whimsical storytelling style. In fact, Jeunet himself questioned the decision to hire him—but the producers wanted something different. In a way, it borders on sacrilege, but fortunately, it’s done with such flair and elegance that the film ends up having charm and quality.
Had it been a standalone film and not part of the Alien series, it might have been seen as a gem—but that’s not the case. On the plus side, it’s refreshing that the film doesn’t attempt to copy the earlier entries, as so many sequels tend to do. It’s a good film that doesn’t entirely fit the Alien mould, but one that can still be enjoyed—if you set your expectations aside.
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