Alien Resurrection saw the triumphant return of the excellent Ellen Ripley following her unfortunate demise in the final act of Alien 3. Obviously, 20th Century Fox had other plans, and Sigourney Weaver was keen to step back into the role that made her such an iconic actress. Although the film received critical panning, it was an excuse to dive back into the universe that Ridley Scott began so many years prior.
Thanks to an interesting script by Joss Whedon that actually made the light of day, Alien Resurrection was loaded with some decent nods to the previous movies as well as a vast collection of clever quotes that still hold up today. Here's a list of the absolute best, in chronological order.
"My Mommy Always Said There Were No Monsters - No Real Ones, But There Are."
Alien Resurrection begins with a direct nod to James Cameron's iconic sequel Aliens, the second in the series. The film establishes early on that Ellen Ripley has been cloned following her death on Fiorina "Fury" 161 and the fall of Weyland-Yutani. This time the culprits are secretive members of the USMC.
As a clone of Ripley is shown maturing in a bio-tube, Ripley's voice can be heard uttering these words which is a direct quote from Newt, the sole survivor of the LV-426 incident. Although Newt died at the beginning of Alien 3, this is a nice nod to connect the two films chronologically.
"Ellen Ripley Died Trying To Wipe This Species Out. For All Intents And Purposes, She Succeeded! I'm Not Anxious To See Her Taking Up Her Old Hobbies!"
General Perez wasn't entirely pleased with his scientific crew keeping the cloned Ripley alive for the purpose of further study. After all, the USMC had the embryonic alien queen as their prize and viewed Ripley largely as an afterthought. That is until Ripley began displaying enhanced abilities thanks to a genetic crossover.
Perez was well aware of Ripley's history up until that point as evidenced by this quote detailing her past run-ins with the xenomorph species. He must also have been intimately aware of the Fury 161 incident and how that turned out - hence his apprehension.
"She'll Breed. You'll Die."
The cloned Ripley retained many of her predecessor's memories even though most were fragmented and chaotic. She had discovered that an alien queen was gestating inside of her during the events of Alien 3 which seemed to have crossed over to her clone, as evidenced by this quote.
Ripley understood the dangers of keeping a queen in lockdown despite the vast technology and safety protocols available to the USMC. She would breed, her xenomorph drones and warriors would find a way to escape, and the foolhardy humans would pay the price.
"You Know I Can't Lay Off The Tall Ones!"
Johner took an instant liking to Ripley after watching her shooting hoops in the gymnasium. For all his machismo and aggressive bravado, Johner seemed to enjoy a challenge, and Ripley's imposing stature and surprisingly good game seemed to clinch the deal for him.
Unfortunately, Johner took things a bit too far when he attempted to gain dominance over Ripley, only to be sent face-first into the floor. When the rest of the crew rushed to his defense, Ripley made short work of them as well before tossing the basketball over head and hitting nothing but net in a real, actual take that would make the best basketball movies blush.
[Call] "What Did You Put In This S***, Battery Acid?" [Johner] "Just For Color."
In an effort to fake out the rest of her crew in order to search for Ripley's cell, the android Call pretended to get hammered by drinking some of Johner's "special recipe." Evidently Call was able to detect a lot of the ingredients Johner used for his hooch, as evidenced by this quote.
When she asked blatantly if Johner indeed put battery acid into the mix, he confirmed it with this most hilarious reply. If nothing else, it did lend credibility to his claim that it was far deadlier than any concealed weapon.
"I Can Feel It Behind My Eyes. I Can Hear It Moving."
When Call finally made her way into Ripley's cell, she hesitated in killing her after noticing that the USMC scientists had already successfully removed the alien queen from her chest. For Call, the murder of Ripley was unnecessary at that point, and she instead offered her a mercy kill in case Ripley could not handle life as a lab rat.
Ripley showed remarkable nonchalance to her situation and began talking about her condition with this quote. It's a creepy and ominous quote that made audiences wonder if the real Ripley was truly that far gone, and how much of the xenomorph DNA had infiltrated her psyche.
"If Those Things Get Loose, It's Gonna' Make The Lacerta Plague Look Like A F***ing Square Dance!"
Winona Ryder is a great actress, but she was given a relatively poor script to work with, and her character of Call suffered greatly because of it. However, she did get a few funny quotes in, including this one where she compared a possible xenomorph outbreak to a deadly viral event.
The Lacerta Plague might be a reference to a cataclysmic event that took place on Earth and helped make it uninhabitable. This would make sense given the deterioration of the planet's atmosphere and ecosystem which made have been a hot-bed for a viral pandemic.
"If They Sent Anyone Out It'll Be...Here - Where The Meat Is!"
After the initial xenomorph attack on the Auriga, most of the crew was left dead with survivors scrambling either for safety or an escape pod. By the time the dust had settled, Ripley and her band of survivors learned some key tactical info about their foes and what they were up against.
Ripley knew full well how the aliens operated when it came to hunting and killing, and her experience was now matched with an understanding of their actual mysterious traits thanks to her DNA crossover. Hearing this quote made the survivors wonder just who's side she was on.
"You're Programmed To Be An A**hole? You're The New A**hole Model They're Putting Out?"
The cloned Ripley started out almost autistic thanks to a mixture of memory gaps and the influence of alien DNA on her psychological wavelength. However, her old personality started coming out as time progressed, and she began exhibiting some signature traits, including a sarcastic sense of humor.
This manifested most clearly when she convinced Call to set the Auriga on a crash course to destroy the alien infestation. Less than impressed by her pious programming, Ripley cracked this joke which ended up making Call smile, and further solidified their bond.
[Distephano] "I Thought You Were Dead!" [Ripley] "Yeah, I Get That A Lot!"
Another example of Ripley's return to form came in the final act of the film when she narrowly escaped the alien hive and made it back on board the Betty before the Auriga was destroyed. Distephano was surprised to see that she made it out alive, not knowing Ripley's penchant for escaping xenomorph jaws on more than one occasion.
She came back with this clever quip that was an obvious nod to her predecessor's death at the end of Alien 3 and the surprise announcement that her clone was continuing her legacy. One thing's for certain in the Alien franchise - never count Ellen Ripley out.