To Ripley or not Ripley that is the question

ok well i felt they milked it after aliens but the 3rd instalment was ok i guess .

It's a complicated issue really.........On the one hand, Ripley (specifically Weaver's harrowing and brilliant performance) in 'Alien' has a great deal to do with it's success. The birth of the female action lead as well as the sudden and surprising situation in which she is the only survivor make for a film that is instantaneously unique. On the other hand, in spite of Weaver's name on the marquee as lead in 'Alien', the fact of that isn't even clear until the opening of the film's third act - immediately after Dallas disappears and Ripley takes command rather commandingly in a confrontation with Parker with Ash, Lambert and the movie going public as audience to THE moment when she becomes the film's focus. On top of that, it can just as easily be argued that Ripley isn't meant to be the star of 'Alien'. She, along with her fellow crew, are bi-standers. 'Alien' is not about Ripley. Rather it concerns man's headlong push into the unknown, his unprepared lack of caution in confronting the alien nature of the universe outside our tiny blue marble and the callous inhumanity man can possess, even against his own in pursuit of progress, greed and zeal. I have no issue with Ripley's inclusion in later installments, but it seems as though the focus shifts to her rather heavily and to an extent that detracts from the elements and concerns of the original. That focus on Ripley dilutes the immediacy of 'Alien' and what it represents for its successors, creating a natural state of inferiority that is regretable.

Its funny listening to david giler,... he on the anthology extras on almost all the films keeps repeating the fact that the sequels had to have ripley and the franchise wouldn't work without her we felt ripley had to be part of this film he says and i'm saying no you have no idea that your average decent sc fi fan just wants a damn good story and doesn't get attached to characters that way. As long as the story evolves, and becomes deeper in scope and ideas, then we can transfer our enthusiasm to a great idea, a good story, and a whole new set of characters. I mean films are not soap operas they exist in their own set of ideas and dimensions a single thread as a continuation is enough to tie in a film to sequels, and prequels. After that breath fresh life into them and keep them alive by letting them take their own creative random paths but keep the quality on a upward momentum, not a downward trend. Every film should be better than the previous generation like children of it parents the idea is to make all subsequent film better and have the gaul to be adamant that is the criteria for anyone attempting to do sequels, or prequels. In most industries this is the model and the quality control for products that come after the original is for it to be better . Even though its not always the case lol.

Perfectly stated alteredstate......HA..look, I made a funny.......but seriously, you nailed it.

Thanks craigamore i needed to get that of my chest and have a good rant and rave in cyberspace lol.

Exactly...I've always had this love/hate relationship with Ripley and I think you and I hashed out all the details as to why it so surely has driven me nuts......

I don't have anything bad to say about ripley in the respect of her character or sigourney weaver who i think is great but the studios insistence that the franchise wouldn't succeed without her .

Neither do I have anything disparaging to say about her....just as you say...it's that insistence that she BE the franchise that drives me nuts...that's what was infering with love/hate remark......

@ craigamore and alteredstate Regarding the franchise, there is no doubt that by Alien 3 Ripley was more of an albatross around its neck. What some appreciate about it was its attempt to kill her off once and for all, while treating the character with some reverence. I say this because there are many who agree with Giler and Hill. Why, I don't know, but they do. I would have preferred a straight jump into something brand new with Alien 3 but if you have to bring her back, killing her was a good idea. It's just too bad the movie was never ready for prime time.

one thing which I very much dislike about Sigourney Weaver was the whole 'anti-guns' phase she was going through...I mean good but please leave your personal politics out of the movie making process..wasn't this the whole reason Alien 3 had no guns? Ironically in the movie she says 'You mean we have no weapons of any kind, we are fucked'...lol

@ the coming I am not sure if she was making a real political statement on guns or more personal preference; along with thinking it more interesting if humans have to fight the xenos without guns. I don't think she was coming at it like Rosie O'Donnell or something with Alien 3 some vehicle to propound some kind of platform. But that is just my take.

@snugs I think Cartwright would have made just as good a Ripley, very different though. I know I am in the minority on this, and I am not taking a thing away from Weaver. I actually think Cartwright would have been surprisingly tough, even tougher than Weaver. That paranoia of Lambert could have been transformed into a nasty toughness. But then she may have been less likeable compared to Weaver. As someone else said, Weaver combined her wits with a girl next door type, although I don't know if that was the phrase I would have used. More just someone a bit steadier.