Christie's death : totally avoidable

[BigDaddyJohn]

I just rewatched Resurrection and, man oh man that scene bothered me... Don't get me wrong, i like the way it is executed, i think it's good in terms of directing and intensity, but come on ! The guy had at least two options in order to survive :

1 - He could've given his gun to Vriess who was in a way better position to shoot the Xenomorph below him, instead of shooting half-blindly.

2 - After he got burned and let himself fall in the water, well he could've... take of the Xeno's hand off his foot i guess... I don't think it needs any particular skill to do that... Just take a deep breath and give your best.

I quite liked Christie in the movie, shame he had to go like that, it totally felt somewhat gratuitous, motivated only by the need to kill a character in an emotional way. I think he could've had a better ending, just as emotional, but better. Anyway what do you guys think about that ?

[SM]

Christie would've fallen, taking Vriess with him, had he not cut himself loose.

What could've improved the scene was if a) Johner or Distephano had made an effort to help them and/ or b) there was another Alien coming after them, increasing the urgency.

[BigDaddyJohn]

Christie would've fallen, taking Vriess with him, had he not cut himself loose.

What could've improved the scene was if a) Johner or Distephano had made an effort to help them and/ or b) there was another Alien coming after them, increasing the urgency.

Yes i know he would've bring Vriess with him 

I said after he fell in the water when he cut himself loose, what prevented him to remove the Xeno hand off his foot ? I mean, in the movie, just with the music, Christie's depressed face, and the whole tone of the scene, they made it feel like it was a totally impossible operation.

[SM]

Even if had been able to remove the Alien from his foot - he didn't have the strength to climb up after them.  Or possibly even swim to save himself.  It doesn't take much acid to effectively cripple someone as evidenced by Vasquez and Hicks, and Christie copped a fair old gob in the face, unadulterated by body armour or combat boots.

[OpenMaw]

And who knows what's in the acid-spit. Predator creatures with that kind of an ability usually cause some kind of a reaction in the prey. Paralyzes, blindness, seizures, heart failure.  All kinds of things.

[Scorpio]

He suicided.  Understandably, massive pain and all that.

[Wweyland]

I take consolation in the fact that he is a playable character in the best level of the Alien Resurrection PSX game and is supposedly voiced by the same actor (although he doesn't really say anything, only grunts). He doesn't specifically die in the game but he doesn't get off the Auriga either.

[BigDaddyJohn]

I guess it's true they wanted us to think he was ready to give up, exhausted and badly wounded, i just think they could have showed it in a better way.

But yes overall i think there's not much of another explanation to this besides what stands above.

[Whiskeybrewer]

I swear in the script its a lot more serious, which makes why he does it clearer. Its lost a bit on screen

[BigDaddyJohn]

I would love to read it actually.

[Kailem]

The way it's presented in the movie is just flat-out bad. The intent is clear - that he kills himself to save Vriess - but you don't get any sense that he actually needs to do that, so his death just comes off as pointless.

First off the Alien is barely even hanging off his foot and looks like it's about to slide off at any second. If Christie had just moved his leg or foot in any way whatsoever it would have fallen. That alone kills any sense of "their combined weight is just too much for Vriess to hold for much longer." It would have been far better if its hand was actually wrapped around his ankle, but it comes across as a case of 'that's the best they were able to do on the day.'

But on top of that, I just never got the sense that he was so badly injured by the acid that he knew he was just dead weight and that that was his only option. The injury was unpleasant sure, but not debilitating to that extent. It would no doubt have hurt and messed up his vision, but that would be about it. He was still able to unclip himself and then unsheathe and use a knife to cut through the rest of the straps, so clearly he could still move. Sure you could say "well maybe the acid was slowly paralysing him or something", but I feel like any time you have to be that speculative about something that should be clear it's usually a sign that the movie has done a bad job of portraying it.

Not to mention neither the fall nor the water would have killed him either. Having another Alien coming after him definitely would have improved it a lot. It would have made it a situation of "I could save myself, but there just isn't enough time, so I'm going to sacrifice myself to save my friend" rather than "well, I guess this is the part in the script where it says I die. Best fall in the water then, I guess."

[SM]

I would love to read it actually.

One draft, he shoots an Alien that's too close and it sprays blood on him.  Vriess keeps climbing, but Christie dies and Hillard cuts him free.  A later draft, he cuts himself loose and takes the Alien - apparently still alive despite being shot a couple of times - with him.

Not to mention neither the fall nor the water would have killed him either.

Other than the fact he would've sunk like a stone.

[Kailem]

I guess it makes sense that he would put about as much effort into trying not to drown as he did in trying to shake the Alien off his leg or grab the ladder, at least.

[whiterabbit]

Christie died like a boss. Saving he's comrade though a noble sacrifice. Also let's think about this from an emotional side, perhaps Christie really loved his face and just couldn't live with knowing it was toasted. Although more likely the burns were causing his nervous system to shut down which happens in acidic burns. Especially in acids with fluoride. His last act was to spare Vriess by cutting the strap. Also that is no easy fall and he may have already been unconscious or dead. The reason no one went after him? They have no reason to believe there weren't other aliens down there. In fact the very act of cutting the strap was probably enough to let his comrades know that he was done for. Otherwise he would have kept going.

[SM]

The man did have an exquisite jawline, and he knew all Johner got with his ugly mug was bot-sex.

Death was preferable.