Today I'll be talking about one of my least favorite sequels ever, Alien 3! Yup, it's gonna be a struggle to come up with many positives about this film, as I hate it. HATE. IT. But I wouldn't be telling the truth if I failed to talk about its good qualities. Directed by the great David Fincher, Alien 3 is a stylish, exceedingly bleak sequel to the mega-popular thrill ride that was James Cameron's Aliens. Picking up where that film left off, Alien 3 finds Ripley stranded on a penal planet populated by the worst criminals in the galaxy, when a stray alien breaks loose and starts butchering people by the dozen. Ripley and the others must find a way, sans weapons, to kill the alien before a Weylan-Yutani supply ship arrives to bring the specimen back to Earth. And, well, that's about it. Nothing terribly complicated about this story, and the film was such a troubled production for the first-time director that Fincher long ago disowned the movie. The studio began shooting without a completed script and questioned Fincher on nearly every creative idea, to the point that his intended cut was very different from the theatrical version (The "Assembly Cut" as it's called is widely considered superior to the latter, but I still don't like it).
But before I begin shredding this movie, let's take a look at what did work.....
The Awesome
Acting
Sigourney Weaver is back as Ellen Ripley of course, and she once again brings a sense of both empowerment and vulnerability to the role that made her famous. She doesn't have quite the emotional arc here as she did in Aliens, but considering what she's given to work with she excels as always. This film has a number of strong supporting performances as well, the two biggest standouts being the dignified and understated Charles Dance as Dr. Clemens, and Charles S. Dutton as the reformed murderer and spiritual leader of the prison, Dillon. Add accomplished character actors such as Pete Postlethwaite and Brian Glover, and there's no shortage of convincing work on the acting front.
There are some fine thespians in this tripe movie. |
Visuals
As with all of his films, Fincher lent Alien 3 a distintive, stylish look, with filthy, gothic sets and a muted color pallette of yellows and browns. The one area where this film surpasses Aliens for me is its unique visual style. This is a gorgeously photographed movie from a young director already demonstrating his superior skill. 'Tis a shame the story didn't have more going on, as it's akin to a beautifully painted but mostly empty landscape.
There are also some fine visuals. |
Effects (mostly)
Most of the special effects in Alien 3 still hold up, from the grotesquely sloppy chestburster scene to the amazingly lifelike Bishop head/torso, to the frightening closeups of the full-size alien. The blood n' guts look first-rate, and aside from terrible compositing of the rod puppet used in wide shots (The puppet looks great, the blue screening looks like garbage), any xenophile should be satisfied with the effects.
And a boss-looking alien. |