i finally see it now, why the dislike. i've always liked alien 4. first a bit of content though. it's the first alien movie i watched in a theater as opposed to on tv. it was 1997, and i still remember it: the opening credits alone made my heart swell. i was overwhelmed by the awesome. and the music, oh my! i got the sound track on cd. i had waited for a new alien with bated breath and i was not disappointed: everything about it seemed larger than life and amazing. i also thought winona ryder was one of the most beautiful women alive, and she was mind-melting on the big screen. that, however, is not quite why the movie stayed with me for so many years, even on repeat viewings. it was 1997 and i was watching a mainstream movie in a filled-to-the-rafters cinema when ripley grabbed call's face, all dominance and threat as in every scene she had so far, and then nuzzled her and released her without being prompted, something ripley 8 hadn't done yet. it was charged and queer, and their interactions to the end made my head spin. it could be said, undoubtedly, that ripley's instinct was maternal, but i did not see it that way because she is not protective and comforting like we saw her be in this role (the scene in the church, for example), and call is obviously an adult. but the reasons as to why are not important. what was important was that this queer reading prompted by their very first interaction was not contradicted and was not punished: the movie did end with call and ripley surviving together, and neither walked into the sunset alone or with someone else, which at the time seemed pretty much the best one could get. again, this was an alien movie, not a festival circuit one. anyway, i started this by saying i get it now. the thing is, compared to the previous movies, alien 4 is juvenile. it was perfect for young me, and then i was blinded by my passion for it, so it took me awhile to realize this, to accept this for what it is. there is even a gratuitous ass shot, which i'd forgotten about. if it weren't for being part of the franchise, alien 4 would have been an average action movie of its time; on the other hand, it would not have worked as it is without being alien 4, because it relied on ripley's story and on the viewer's knowledge about the alien. i also missed the design from the previous movies; the military ship is too generic and clean. it is true. i was wrong. at least it will never be the worst alien movie. for that, there is now the turgid bag of feces prometheus, which trumps being juvenile by being stupid, and wins the award for most boring design by a landslide. i first wrote "for that, we will always have prometheus", but then remembered that ridley scott's prometheus 2 is already in post-production, so the competition is still open.