AvPR vs A:R

[SM]

Really? I always felt AR was more humorous and less serious than any Alien film before it.

I could see a case being made for Prometheus taking itself too seriously and being pretentious but not AR.

Indeed.  Resurrection has often been criticised because of the humour.

[Corporal Hicks]

Yeah, that's a very unexpected criticism of the film and one I can't see many people agreeing with. Personally, I think the Resurrection story gains a lot from losing most of its humor, generally visually or through acting. It's the reason I really like the novelization.

[The1PerfectOrganism]

Resurrection is nearly a comedy.

[The Old One]

If you desire a more serious and atmospheric version,
I encourage you to experience the video game or novelisation.

[Kradan]

Video game is great indeed.

[The Old One]

Apart from the controls, yeah it is.
It's as if it's a bizarre precursor to Isolation also,
the HUD, the resource management, the wall-mounted save stations, the invincible Alien chasing you near the ending levels and friendly & enemy A.I survivors.

[Voodoo Magic]

Yeah, that's a very unexpected criticism of the film and one I can't see many people agreeing with. Personally, I think the Resurrection story gains a lot from losing most of its humor, generally visually or through acting. It's the reason I really like the novelization.

I think my point is being missed. Criticsm of AR taking itself too seriously isn't measured by comedic lines. AR actually has more humor than AvPR yet AR still takes itself more seriously than AvPR in tone and weight.

I would argue among the general public, the majority shares my criticsm regarding AR and is why it is lampooned by the majority. Take the most ridiculed scenes for instance, which is not the humor but the scenes featuring the Newborn and all its implications around it. I don't think a consensus would be reached indicating those cringey scenes would play wonderfully if the director had removed the humor that was peppered throughout the script before it. That's where I'm coming from. 

[SiL]

The film doesn't seem to take anything it does terribly seriously. There's always some Whedon quip or jab to highlight the ludicrousness of any given situation, amplified by Jeunet's off-kilter style.

I don't think you'd get a consensus that the problem with the Newborn scene is taking itself too seriously.

[Voodoo Magic]

The film doesn't seem to take anything it does terribly seriously. [There's always some Whedon quip or jab to highlight the ludicrousness of any given situation, amplified by Jeunet's off-kilter style.

I don't think you'd get a consensus that the problem with the Newborn scene is taking itself too seriously.

No, lol, not using those words, no.

I think the Newborn consensus would be "it's stupid." You follow up asking if the Newborn is stupid because of the humor earlier and they would reply "No, it's just stupid."  You follow that up asking if the childlike looks and tenderness between Ripley and the Newborn was a big part of the "stupid" and we'd hear "Oh yeah! For sure!"

So if you have to keep the eyeroll enducing Newborn in the movie, you make it work by cutting all the serious weighty mother & child cringe out of it. Make the Newborn a deadly, smart hybrid threat monstrosity that will rip everyone to shreads. That's it. No loving painful meaningful gazes. None of that. For this ridiculous premise to work, you make it less weighty, less seriously and it will play better in my opinion.

I think they should have also capitalized more on Alien Sensing Super Soldier Ripley's abilities too. If you're going there, really go there, but I digress. 

[[cancerblack]]

I really think most of it's self-aware melodrama rather than taking itself at all seriously.

[Voodoo Magic]

I really think most of it's self-aware melodrama rather than taking itself at all seriously.

I'm not certain I follow. Isn't being melodramatic someone who treats a situation much more serious than it really is? So you think the actors are taking it way too serious in AR while the director is winking at the audience saying isn't this funny how serious they are?  I'm not trying to give you a hard time, I'm just trying to understand your point of view.

[[cancerblack]]

I really think most of it's self-aware melodrama rather than taking itself at all seriously.

I'm not certain I follow. Isn't being melodramatic someone who treats a situation much more serious than it really is? So you think the actors are taking it way too serious in AR while the director is winking at the audience saying isn't this funny how serious they are?  I'm not trying to give you a hard time, I'm just trying to understand your point of view.

I think the "twelve" scene is a good example. They keep repeating the same word, around the group, seemingly deadly serious... to the point of overt self-parody. Everyone knew how ridiculous it was, and played it straight (ish, with extra ham) anyway.

[Voodoo Magic]

So in a way you see it as Spaceballs. Hmm, maybe that's too much. Ice Pirates perhaps!

Yeah, to me it all feels unintended. I wish I could feel that way. 

[[cancerblack]]

So in a way you see it as Spaceballs. Hmm, maybe that's too much. Ice Pirates perhaps!

Yeah, to me it all feels unintended. I wish I could feel that way. 

I'm not sure Whedon was in on the joke despite writing most of them, but the finished result comes off as affectionate parody more frequently than it wants to be taken at face value, for me. 

I don't think choosing a director known for his surrealist comedy and romance films was a coincidence.

[Huggs]

Resurrection is like the old Hellboy movies.

Violence wrapped in humor and garnished with Ron Perlman.