Watch the Director's Cut
Beyonce from from Leeds,
1st September, 2008
The Assembly Cut (Director's Cut) of this film is the Alien sequel we all deserve. The edited version is fine, but butchered. However, the shorter version does have an increased pace the unedited version doesn't. To address some issues: 1. Hicks & Newt - These two had to die. The story isn't about families or supporting actors. It's about Ripley and the beast. Ripley had to be alone. She also had to be the only woman, the alien, because she and the beast are two sides of the same coin. Where there's an alien, there's a Ripley (at least, until those terrible AvP films!). Here we have the most poignant battle, because there really does seem to be no hope, and Ripley understands the irony of being an alien herself. When she understands that the only way to overcome the alien is to accept she is the alien and destroy herself, she can finally save the world. The alien is the darkness, the loneliness and the otherness within herself, the alienation created by an uncaring and unjust society, which she defeats only by accepting her monstrous side. 2. The convicts - Okay, so most Americans think bald Brits all look and sound the same. But they don't. And there are quite a few famous British actors in there, so we do recognise and distinguish between them, even if you don't. 3. The alien - Maybe it is seen too much, but most of its appearances are brief and elliptical, which always makes its actions unclear and mysterious. Its body might be familiar to us by now, but its behaviour is still alien. So yes, go see it. It isn't as depressing as people make out. The end is one of hope--even when a woman has nothing, and is confronted by men who want to control her and her body on all sides, she can still take control of her own life and her own body. Ripley is the winner, and when she dives into the furnace, she knows it.
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