Customer Reviews

Alien(TM): Resurrection

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most novelizations of films are little more than breathless descriptions of what happened on screen. They had more of a place years ago when people did automatically buy videos or DVDs, and once your favorite film left the cineplex, you might not see it again for years...so the novelization would let you "relive" the film. That's not necessary anymore, so the only function they can have is to fill-in information that might have been left on the cutting room floor.

A.C. Crispin makes a sincere effort with "Alien Resurrection", and it doesn't read too badly. It does fall short of a real novel in it's dramatic structure and characterization. She makes a token attempt to fill in backgrounds, even first names, for characters who in the film often are killed off before we get a chance to know them. (Personally, I think this is a flaw in the movie, as we can't possibly care about the death of a character we have barely been introduced to.)

Since the novelization came out at virtually the same time as the film was released, I am guessing that it had to be written before viewing the finished film and that it is largely based on older versions of the script and maybe rough cuts of the movie. There are numerous deviations from the finished film, none of them cosmically important but if you enjoy certain bits of dialogue -- especially some of the very humorous throw-away lines -- it is disconcerting to see them stated differently or clipped or just dropped entirely.

What I was hoping for WAS that the novelization would fill in some of the critical information gaps in the film -- especially Call's motivation in joining the smuggler crew of the Betty and heading out to the Auriga to destroy the alien breeding experiment. This is confusingly told in the film. If Call is so concerned about the Betty crew, why doesn't she do something to prevent them from ever kidnapping the cryo-sleepers BEFORE they reach the Auriga? Why does she allow all the cryo-sleepers to be impregated and killed? Wouldn't it have been simpler for her to have joined the crew of the Auriga and sabotaged the experiement from within the military? Anyways, I will have to live with the ambivalence (or Joss Whedon's slightly wobbly, undercooked script) because the novelization provides no real answers.

Still, most novelizations I have read are complete and utter dreck and this one definitely is not. I think it's a serious attempt to create a companion piece to the film. I just wish the author had stuck with the details a little more clearly.

After seeing the movie, I didn't know if I could bring myself to read this book. All those flawed places, complete with a flawed ending, really left a person wanting. Still, the book was a gift and I really do need my Xeno-Xip, so I decided reading it would be for the best. Yes, I read and read and wondered exactly why this was so good and the movie was so bad. The book filled in most of those huge holes that the movie left open, and it made me wish I would have just jumped here instead of burning money at the movies. That couldn't happen, though, and I'm glad the book was there to pick up those poor, sequel-shattered pieces.

I have to agree with the majority of the people.This is an excellent book.My goodness it tops the movie 100%.To be in the minds of the aliens was chilling.I was so sad when the book ended.It's good to see people enjoying it as much as I did.

Talk about making the best of a bad job! This book is definitely - no offence to the scriptwriter, Joss Whedon - an improvement on the screenplay. In the film there are some gaps you could put the Titanic through, but the book fills them in admirably. Alien3, in my opinion, detracted from the sweep of Aliens, but Alien: Resurrection redeems the series somewhat, and the novelisation is an epic in itself. A.C. Crispin and Kathleen O'Malley, I salute you.

I loved the movie, and the book is even better. It gives us a more indepth view of the characters, by getting into their minds. Perfect!

i have not yet seen this movie but all there movies are verry cool!

If you havent seen the movie..DONT! What you need to do is buy this book. This book is one of the best Ive read, I never got bored of it. The Alien 4 movie was prob. one of the worst movies Ive seen this year, but the book is so damn good. I am a really big alien trilogy fan, but Alien Resurrection movie was the worst, i liked Alien 3 better. This book is indescribebly good, it has more to it than the cheap movie. All im saying is that even if youve seen the movie, buy the book, you wont be dissapointed.

The movie? What can I say? It was O.K.

However, for this latest entry in the Alien series you better read this book before renting the video or you will be confused indeed. I'm surprise the other people on this message board haven't mention this. It's so good to read a novel that explains something that for some reason coouldn't be place on film. I've never heard of A.C. Crispin before, but he obviously knows what he's doing.

This book has finally brought out the alein s way of thinking
In the prevouis 3 movies i.e. novels, we heard the human side
Now we really find out about the alein side
Watching Ripley grow from a single cell to a full grown woman (alein mix) we see how the aleins really think.

The humans that are in this picture (novel) are in for a big suprise
The aleins are smarter, bigger, and more human than we would like to think
This book takes off slow and builds to an incrediable speed. I read it in less than 4 hours
I could not put it down

I am a Ripley and alein fan since the beginning
And now, I can't wait for more
We all know how the aleins outsmarted us in the first three
Did they do it again
Now they could be on earth
Only time will tell

This is one of the best books I have ever read.The way he captured the essence of the movie was amazing hopefully this will spark some incentive into Warner books to put the other three back into print.I found the way he brought Ripley back to life so much better than the movie I couldn't put it down