History YMMV / AlienResurrection

* ContestedSequel: Some view it as the worst film in the series, though ''Resurrection'' still has its fans, thanks primarily to Jeunet's unique visual style, the added humor of Joss Whedon's script, and the presence of cult actors such as Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinion and Michael Wincott. Some even find it to be [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel an improvement over]] ''Alien 3''.

* SoBadItsGood: If you look at the film as a horror film in the vein of the previous franchise entries, then it isn't very good. However, if you take it as a hilarious, over-the-top, comedy spoof send up of the ''Alien'' franchise, then it is a riot. The film also features Creator/BradDourif hamming it up, with his character having goofy obsession over Xenomorphs.

* SoBadItsGood: If you look at the film as a horror film in the vein of the previous franchise entries, then it isn't very good. However, if you take it as a hilarious, over-the-top, comedy spoof send up of the ''Alien'' franchise, then it is a riot.

** Also whether the film's set up counts as an IdiotPlot. Keeping the aliens in the same cages for one, the military enforcers on board fleeing when they attack, and an emergency protocol that sees the ship autopilot back to Earth in the event of trouble, counts for some. On the other hand, neither the scientists nor the marines have worked with the aliens before. Them simply not thinking that the aliens would kill one of their own kind to escape, and the military not wanting to go trigger happy on creatures with acid for blood inside a spaceship is enough justification for some.

* UncannyValley: The Newborn, again.

* {{Narm}}:
** The film in general is an odd mishmash of Creator/JossWhedon's witty postmodern script and Creator/JeanPierreJeunet's French arthouse direction, resulting in a film that's written with too much cheeky camp to be enjoyed seriously, yet directed with too much portentious seriousness to be enjoyed as camp. One gets the feeling something was lost in translation, as Whedon is known for dialogue-based humor and wit, whereas Jeunet didn't speak English well.
** Gediman's line "you are a beautiful butterfly" would have been justifiably ridiculous anyway, but the fact that Creator/BradDourif says it so slowly just adds to the silliness.
** Gediman mirroring the alien's movements as he studies it in the cell and simulating to want to make out with the creature.
** The Newborn's death scene is so ludicrously over the top in how disgusting it is, that you'd half expect the film to stop mid frame for the creature to [[BreakingTheFourthWall mug to the camera]] and say [[WesternAnimation/BugsBunnyGetsTheBoid "Gruesome, isn't it?"]] The mediocre special effects don't help, either.
** "WHAT'S IN-FUCKING-SIDE ME?!"

** Averted in the Special Edition, which adds dialogue that makes clear Call chose an unhabited area of the Earth to crash the Auriga.

** Whether this film is better or worse than ''Film/Alien3''. The latter was reviled upon its release but has since found more fans as time went on, while this was met with a SoOkayItsAverage response. The whole argument is [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment contentious]].
** Also whether the film's set up counts as an IdiotPlot. Keeping the aliens in the same cages for one, the military enforcers on board fleeing when they attack, and an emergency protocol that sees the ship autopilot back to Earth in the event of trouble, counts for some. On the other hand, neither the scientists nor the marines have worked with the aliens before. Them simply not thinking that the aliens would kill one of their own kind to escape, and the military not wanting to go trigger happy on creatures with acid for blood inside a spaceship is enough justification for some. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment You might be picking up the impression that this film is divisive.]]

* TooBleakStopedCaring: Not as bad as the previous film, but many people find this film to be dim and hopeless, populated by unsympathetic characters.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Not as bad as the previous film, but many people find this film to be dim and hopeless, populated by unsympathetic characters.

** It's now quite easy to see the Betty crew as a dry run for ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. The latter may even be Whedon's attempt to show what he really wanted them to be like before the ExecutiveMeddling he's complained so much about.

** Not in the final film but the original script would have TheTeam discovering weed growing on the Auriga. Which would have been hilarious, since one of them is played by a [[Series/BreakingBad future drug dealer]].

* HoYay:
** Ripley and Call. After spending the previous three movies interacting exclusively with males and a surrogate child, Ripley wastes no time in becoming very chummy and touchy ''very'' quickly with the cute little [[spoiler:android]] girl whom she first meets when Call attempts to kill her, while Call goes from wanting her as dead as the rest of the aliens to letting Ripley stick her fingers inside of her (not like ''that'', perverts) and confiding her deepest feelings and fears [[spoiler:about not being human.]]
** There's also some Ho Yay between Johner and Vriess, which goes from subtext to text when Johner kisses Vriess at the end of the film because they both lived through all of it.

** The film in general is an odd mishmash of Whedon's witty postmodern script and Jeunet's French arthouse direction, resulting in a film that's written with too much cheeky camp to be enjoyed seriously, yet directed with too much portentious seriousness to be enjoyed as camp. One gets the feeling something was lost in translation, as Whedon is known for dialogue-based humor and wit, whereas Jeunet didn't speak English well.
** Gediman's line "you are a beautiful butterfly" would have been justifiably ridiculous anyway, but the fact that Brad Dourif says it so slowly just adds to the silliness.

** The Newborn's death scene is so ludicrously over the top in how disgusting it is, that you'd half expect the film to stop mid frame for the creature to [[BreakingTheFourthWall mug to the camera]] and say [[WesternAnimation/BugsBunnyGetsTheBoid "Gruesome, isn't it?"]] [[SpecialEffectFailure The mediocre special effects don't help, either.]]

* SoBadItsGood: If you look at ''Alien: Resurrection'' as a horror film in the vein of the previous franchise entries, then it isn't very good. However, if you take it as a hilarious, over-the-top, comedy spoof send up of the ''Alien'' franchise, then it is a riot.

* CryForTheDevil: The Newborn. It was a murderous abomination, but unlike the aliens, shows some emotion, and acts as a naive and childlike creature. And its death was [[CruelAndUnusualDeath long and agonizing]]. Even Ripley 8 showed remorse for it - then again, she's kind of its grandmother.

* CompleteMonster: [[MadScientist Dr.]] Mason [[BigBad Wren]] is the head scientist of the covert military operation on the starship USS Auriga, performing illegal experiments to bring back the Xenomorphs. He clones the deceased Ellen Ripley multiple times to extract the Queen hibernating in her. Most of the clones are born mutated and die agonizing deaths, which he stores for further study. He keeps the second-to-last one [[FateWorseThanDeath alive in constant pain and agony]]. He persuades General Perez to hire a bunch of space pirates to kidnap deep space travelers while they are still sleeping inside their stasis pods, and then implants them with facehuggers while looking on with smug satisfaction. He is ready to [[BadBoss execute all of the pirates on the mere suspicion that one of them might be an infiltrator]]. When the Xenomorphs escape and they all try to get off the ship, [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder he betrays the others and leaves everyone else to be killed by the Xenomorphs so he can pilot the ship back to Earth himself]]. He later takes Call hostage and threatens to kill her in a last attempt to win.

** Also whether the film's set up counts as an IdiotPlot. Keeping the aliens in the same cages for one, and the military enforcers on board fleeing when they attack counts for some. On the other hand, neither the scientists nor the marines have worked with the aliens before. Them simply not thinking that the aliens would kill one of their own kind to escape, and the military not wanting to go trigger happy on creatures with acid for blood inside a spaceship is enough justification for some. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment You might be picking up the impression that this film is divisive.]]

* ContestedSequel: Some view it as the worst film in the series, though ''Resurrection'' still has its fans, thanks primarily to Jeunet's unique visual style, the added humor of Joss Whedon's script, and the presence of cult actors such as Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinion and Michael Wincott. Some even find it to be an improvement over ''Alien 3''.

* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The UsefulNotes/PlayStation FirstPersonShooter is considered a lot more enjoyable than the movie, let alone ''VideoGame/AliensColonialMarines''. The game was also notable for being one of the very first console FPS to feature the dual-anlogue scheme that would become the standard over the next decade. [[http://i.imgur.com/dQy45Js.png Look at this quote]] from the [=GameSpot=] review and try not to fall out of your chair laughing.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: The hybrid ''Alien Queen'', of all things. It actually coos sweetly at its offspring and expresses about as much motherly love as a Xenomorph can...[[spoiler: only for the Newborn to reject her and violently kill her in favor of Ripley 8.]] Made even worse because this is the only queen in the franchise that doesn't kill anyone (excpt through its eggs).

* SpecialEffectFailure: The special effects quality takes a major nosedive from the previous three films (the third film already having taken its own nosedive), mostly due to the film's whole-hearted embrace of CGI for nearly all the special effects outside of the individual Xenomorphs. The actual Xenomorph effects ''are'' at least decent for the most part, until the Newborn shows up (granted, most of the problems with that thing were with its very concept. But the execution didn't really help at all). The kicker is the ConspicuousCG hand grenade that rolls down into an escape pod. Dodgy CGI on complex extraterrestrials is one thing, having a close-up on a poorly-rendered rolling grenade is another. Not helping its case are the ships, which look like obvious miniatures, or the Newborn's death scene.

* TheScrappy:
** Call. Of course, that's because she's ''Newt'', only older and a robot.
** To some the Newborn is this, stealing the scene that should be of the xenomorphs and being introduced in the last 30 seconds. Though many fans see it as TheWoobie, others think it utterly fails at being sympathetic: xenomorphs may be more dangerous, but they kill only when they need to, and favor a cold efficency over wanton brutality. The Newborn on the other hand, is [[AxCrazy utterly psychotic]] and kills for the sake of it, and many think that its big puppy dog eyes are simply a facade to [[WoundedGazelleGambit lower its victims's guard]].

* UnintentionallySympathetic: The hybrid ''Alien Queen'', of all things. It actually coos sweetly at its offspring and expresses about as much motherly love as a Xenomorph can...[[spoiler: only for the Newborn to reject her and violently kill her in favor of Ripley 8.]] Made even worse because this is the only queen in the franchise that doesn't kill anyone, not even through its eggs.

* NeverMyFault: A meta example. Joss Wheddon's public comments about the movie take this tone, saying the director and executives ruined his script. Thing is, if you read his screenplay, they ''did'' stick to it. Even if the direction wasn't what he had in mind, the scenes and dialogue play out as he wrote them.