Given what happened with the production of the film it is amazing that a coherent story came out at all, much less a pretty good one. Following one classic is difficult enough, but following two is nigh on impossible. The furore over the opening that abruptly resolved the fate of certain characters from the previous film is understandable, but the bleak narrative provides a satisfying conclusion to Ripley's character arc, notwithstanding the film that followed. Equally, the religious overtones form an interesting backbone, even more so in the improved workprint release. It is not particularly scary, a standoff between the Alien and Ripley in the midpoint of the film providing the only real moment of tension, and most of the secondary characters are forgettable alien fodder, an accusation that could never be levelled at the previous films. Unsurprisingly, Charles Dance stands out here as the one new character worth exploring and his relationship with Ripley in the film is the most interesting one - it is unfortunate the film dispenses with this once the Alien makes its presence known. The decision to shoot the final action scene from the Alien's POV provides the film with a unique sequence as both prisoners and creature attempt to stalk and lure each other, though this does rob the film of some much needed tension. Not a classic then, but still an interesting entry into the Alien series.
It was an OK film but didn't hit like the first two.
would recommend investing in a hearing aid for ripley's dialogue
My rating(8,"Great") is for the "Assembly Cut"
If the studio bosses would have backed off and thought of making a great movie instead of all the money it would bring in, I think David Fincher would have made a masterpiece.
James Cameron proved both could be achieved.
Did Gordon Ramsay direct this? F-bombs galore!
Sigourney Weaver remains a joy to watch, while Charles S. Dutton and Charles Dance are strong additions; Dutton especially. As for other positives, I enjoyed the score and the fact that we (seemed to) get way more of the alien itself; which is what I wanted from the first two, personally.
The plot isn't the greatest but is very watchable, the ending is pretty good. One criticism I do have is the dialogue, as alluded to at the top of my review. I've nothing against the use of swear words whatsoever, but man does this film overuse the f-word; it feels like every other word across the conclusion.
Overall, it's a definite drop down from the two very good predecessors, though I still got the required entertainment from 'Alien³'. A noteworthy directorial film debut for David Fincher.
A classic case of too many cooks spoiling the stew, Alien³ isn't necessarily a bad movie, nor is it devoid of potential direction. If anything, it tries to do too much: when Ripley crash lands on a sparsely-populated prison planet, she stumbles into no less than a dozen unique plot points and divergent storylines. Paired with the natural hide-and-seek drama surrounding the alien itself, a closer look at one or two of those may have resulted in a textured, interesting picture. Instead, first-time director David Fincher tries to delve into the lot of them, which often shuffles the alien to the backburner and discovers - after the fact - that they each didn't deserve such a microscopic analysis.
That leads to a film with neither a distinct personality nor a purpose which is, often, inconceivably dull. By the time it gets around to wrapping things up, in an admittedly sharp, ballsy climax, the moment is already tarnished and wasted. Even the alien effects, which were so convincing and outstanding in the first two pictures, seem like a watered down afterthought in this chapter.
There was a lot more potential than this after the amazing second film. After the non-stop action and fire power of Aliens. Alien 3 takes a slower and more Horror approach where no one even has a gun to defend themselves.
It kills off everyone left we cared about from Aliens. As well as any interesting new character in Alien 3. We’re just left with someone not very built up at all.
All of the above makes Alien 3 quite frustrating. However it is a well made disappointing film. Alien 3 is tense and well shot. With an at least terrifying alien once again. Sigourney Weaver is quite solid as well.
I watched the assembly cut to see if this was any better and I'm disappointed it's still not good.
Alien 3 could best be described as "the great sequel that never was". Given a more interesting script and more control on the director's part, this film could've been at least as good as it's predecessors. Fortunately, Fox took a step in the right direction with Alien Resurrection by having entertaining characters and a more original story.
I actually love this branch of the franchise!•!•!
What an absolute mess. From start to finish. Starting off by completely trashing the last two movies. Sigourney carried once again, but her character development and role was wasted. I can see why she wanted this to be her last in the Alien franchise. I can also understand why there was a mess behind the scenes, as in front wasn't any better. The dialogue and pace dragged on a loop. The score and visuals were mediorce compared to the last two. The story was boring, and I felt no real emotion, not even horror, and it got a little too creepy, not in an entertaining way.
Though it's good to see Ripley again, what the hell were they thinking with this plot?
Killing all but Ripley in the first few moments, then killing her off in the end anyway. Abandoning the practical effects for some crazy green computer generated rubbish. Creating some bizarre YY mutation that seems to affect behaviour.
I felt like there was a lot of potential here, but it was so underwhelming and kind of empty of decent characters
Aliens might be the objectively better movie. It knew exactly what it wanted to be- a dramatic and thrilling but ultimately straightforward and crowdpleasing action flick- and was given the freedom achieve it without much issue. But for my money, Alien 3 is the more interesting movie, and my preferred one out of the two. It’s a return to the roots of the first- one alien instead of many, a dark and oppressive atmosphere, quiet moments with the characters. There’s some fantastic and iconic shots here. The alien inches away from Ripley’s face as Weaver recoils in fear, Paul Mcgann’s face cast in darkness and grime and his blue eyes illuminated in divine light as he searches for his mythical dragon. I honestly can’t think of any from Aliens that stick with me the same way.
And the characters in Aliens are archetypes. Fun archetypes acted to excellence, but still archetypes. Dillion alone is a deeper character than the lot of them, and Dutton is captivating in the role. The man could’ve honestly carried this film alone as the character, but Weaver is on point as ever, at this point a tired woman who’s lost everything and for whom death is a release, maybe even if she wasn’t carrying the Queen. Charles Dance holds the first half of the film in the palm of his hand, and honestly it disposing of him so early, while indeed a shock, was not worth the trade off when the character could’ve done a lot more for the story.
And oh, Hendrickson. The nuances he gives each Bishop is just perfect. In Allen’s, we’re not supposed to trust Bishop at first because he’s a synthetic like Ash. He’s robotic, serene, professional, too good to be true. But then the subversion is he really is just that, he’s genuine and just a nice guy who, by not shying away from his roboticism and trying to act ‘human’ like Ash or even Burke (all smiles and no soul), actually feels more real and human.
And then Bishop II is all soothing charm, trying to sell Ripley on him caring about her, and he is charismatic but there’s something off. He’s a friendly face, like he said, but it’s the eyes that give him away, that you can look at and see him trying so hard to get Ripley to buy him as a Human Being Who Cares, her Bishop but Human, and therefore better, therefore more trustworthy. It doesn’t make a difference whether this Bishop really is the original human or is another model. It’s not what he’s physically made of but what he’s morally and spiritually made of that makes him hollow, and it’s that makes his snapping at Ripley of “I’m not a droid!” so good. Because either way it’s a petty, entitled outburst of trying to make Ripley obey him and failing when an android just being himself and genuinely wanting to help her earned her trust. If he is a droid, it’s the desperate cry of trying to prove he’s not when a droid was one of the kindest characters in the franchise. And if he’s not, it’s a disbelieving, furious outburst that Ripley would trust in a droid but not the real thing, failing to see that in the end Bishop I was more of a person than he could hope to be.
And that’s just one actor! One actor with two characters and two performances, and it makes me think more than all of Aliens did. There’s flaws. Again, I think killing Clemens so early was a mistake, the attempted rape scene doesn’t feel particularly needed, and you can feel the constraints of the executives and the struggles of the creatives. But that almost makes it more interesting. If I had seen Aliens sooner, or first, or had the same emotional attachment it, maybe I’d be infuriated about Hicks and Newt. Maybe the action flavor would be my definitive Alien interpretation. But for me, this and the original Alien are what this franchise should be.
Original series
Alien (1979) https://trakt.tv/movies/alien-1979
Aliens (1986) https://trakt.tv/movies/aliens-1986
Alien 3 (1992) https://trakt.tv/movies/alien-1992
Alien Resurrection (1997) https://trakt.tv/movies/alien-resurrection-1997
Prequel series
Prometheus (2012) https://trakt.tv/movies/prometheus-2012
Alien: Covenant (2017) https://trakt.tv/movies/alien-covenant-2017
While I absolutely love the first two movies in the "Alien" series, "Alien 3" is not as impressive. However, it still has plenty of moments and I do like it more each time I see it. Sigourney Weaver as Ripley is still tough as nails and an appealing hero. Charles Dance and Charles Dutton play characters with dark sides but also redeeming qualities.
There are moments when the alien itself is frightening, and the practical effects are very good. The early CGI of the xenomorph in motion is shoddy.
The atmosphere and look of the maximum security prison in space was very neat and there were some inspired camera shots. The opening credits sequence was done well and was a cool way to tell the story of what happened since the previous film. The final shot of the movie was a fitting way to end the tale of Ripley.
Cut, sound, effects, story are worse than before. It feels like a drastically lowered budget production or an unfinished one, at least technically.
The Assembly cut is so much better than the Theatrical version. Give it a shot, you won't regret it.
After watching the first 2 movies, I was really into the series but was afraid that they would mess this one up.
The movie starts with a great clash making you the viewer ask a lot of question, each one being answered to you when needed.
The plot was great and the acting was amazing, again Sigourney Weaver did a great job as Lt. Ripley (I'm kinda used to it by now).
Oh boy the end had me second guessing Ripley's character altogether.
HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY to ALIEN 3
Hell yeah, as of today, Alien 3 was unleashed onto the world exactly 25 years ago. Now unfortunately, audiences were not treated to the amazing assembly cut, which I've already strongly recommended, but nonetheless, David Fincher's first film was released into theaters with a largely mixed reaction. It wouldn't be until 2001 that a proper fully recut version of the movie would be released, which is now available on the Alien Anthology Blu-ray box set.
I'm not going to write a super long review for this one, as I'm burnt out after that Alien: Covenant four page angry rant, but I'll write just a little on why this is one of my favorite movies of all time.
A lot of people are very quick to dismiss this movie, as one the surface, they judge the critical plot point that happens in the first 5 minutes of the movie, in which Hicks and Newt from James Cameron's Aliens are unceremoniously killed off-screen with a word of dialogue or screen-time. I wonder if audience members just tuned out after that scene and refused to accept and enjoy the movie with such a "FUCK YOU!" moment like that so early on. I personally don't mind it, as it perfectly sets the depressing tone the movie goes for. Put those characters to rest, as they're not the focus of the Alien universe. Ripley is the focus of the franchise.
Just a brief synopsis, Ripley is the soul survivor of an escape pod crash as she lands on a distant prison planet, Fiorina "Fury" 161. She's rescued and put with the other prisoners, where they must soon join forces as they face off an alien loose in the lead refinery prison plant, which stoad aboard the crashed escape pod.
I love the thematic elements Fincher tries to go for, mostly stuff that only appears in the assembly cut. A lot of people have pointed out all the religious symbolism that vapors over the entire movie, in it's imagery and storyline. Ripley comes to the planet almost like a Jesus figure. In this bleak and terrible environment, a group of people who are criminals and rapists, the prison inmates have converted to a kind of Christian religion, but are thrown off when a temptation figure, a woman, arrives on the planet. They question their own religion and existence even further with the presence of an evil figure, the xenomorph. By the person Ripley is, she forgives and atones for their sins, and ultimate sacrifices herself at the end for the good of mankind, destroying the last alien and even forming the crucifix at the end as she throws herself in the lava.
But besides it's rather heavy use of themes, it's a perfect sequel to the masterpiece Alien. Because it's not an action movie, it has the chance to recapture the close encounters claustrophobic and chaotic attitude the finale the first movie originally had. It's an incredibly nightmarish experience, in mood and events. Ripley has had to witness everyone she's ever known be killed and hasn't gotten a break since the first film. Even at the end of Alien 3, when human Bishop lies to Ripley that he'll kill the xenomorph chestburster and she can go live a normal, she can tell through his words his dishonesty, and decides she's had enough with the horror and "bullshit" she's had to endure. It's not a pleasant movie by any means, but the dark and terrible nature of the story and atmosphere makes it a true horror movie. The music by Elliot Goldenthal is on the same level as James Horner's score for Aliens. It's hopeless attitude and Alien-like sound makes it a true work of art for a movie soundtrack.
I'll take a religious-heavy, brilliantly written, visually terrifying, and wonderfully executed horror downer any day. I love this kind of shit. The characters are all interesting, especially Morse, who has a wicked dark sense of humor. Ripley's character is brought to a final close, and I consider this movie to be the true finale to the Alien franchise, and it really works. Trying to bring her back in Resurrection just screamed cash-grab. This is a fantastic film. Yes, it's depressing as hell and it's not for everyone, but that's to be expected going into a HORROR movie. PLEASE give it a chance, watch past the opening scene. It's not meant to have a happy ending where it's all smiles. Ridley Scott should've followed this movie for Alien: Covenant.
Very well done movie in regards to scenery and artistic choices. It catches the Alien mood perfectly. Unfortunately, the CGI is crap (forgivable) and the movie is also not as fun to watch by being badly paced. Not completely boring, but inferior to the original in that regard. 3 and 4 are flawed Alien movies, one is intense and enjoyable, yet not a true Alien sequel. This one just has a lot of useless downtime with absolutely nothing happening.
This movie is bad but Ripley looked very lesbian in it.
The worst part of the alien franchise. Even Resurrection is better.
Important. There is is 3 versions of this movie. The original Theatrical Cut (1992), a special edition and the Assembly Cut (2003). These a quite different. I thought the Theatrical Cut was bad when it cam out but when I say the Assembly Cut it showed a much better movie that made a lot more sense. Do yourself a favor and see that version.
I'm a huge Alien fan and I remember being a bit dissapointed after watching this at the cinema as a child. I finally got to watch it again and I realized I apreciate it more now.
The Assembly Cut is highly enjoyable, and the whole movie much better than I remembered it. Good atmosphere, story, cast... Cool addition to the Alien series.
"You've been in my life so long, I can't remember anything else." - Ripley
RIP Ripley
Extremely disappointing movie that came after a great first part and a spectacular second installment ... In my opinion it lacks originality in terms of plot and charachters and to be honest I basically found it boring #wasteoftime
Takes a bit to get going like the first one did. But where as the first one is natural filler that tells us about the characters and has us invested, this is more of the usual uninteresting hollywood filler; not as relatable or involving. Characters simply become baldie 1, 2, 3 etc. You can see they went for a blockbuster yet it's flawed even for that. The plot is structured around events that hardly have an impact on the viewer and are soon forgotten. It may have been saved a little bit if the horror was filmed better. Compared to the first two movies where the camerawork and atmosphere are a big role throughout here we have it in some rare spurts. The finale mostly consists of running and closing doors with an Alien POV that gets tiresome.
It's still is watchable for a viewing if you're a fan of the first two. There are some of the best clear images of the Alien and some of the worst due to the computer effects. A lack of imagination and a poor script hold it back. Maybe it's a case of too many cooks spoil the broth. Lacks logic and passion.
So I don't hate this film, but I certainly have a lot of problems with it too. My main issue is right off the bat with the first scene. I think a lot of people agree with this, namely James Cameron. It is flat out a terrible thing to do as a sequel in the opening credits. If you haven't seen this movie, stop reading now if you care about spoilers.
Ok, if you have seen the movie you know exactly what I'm talking about. Killing off the characters from the last film who she was working her ass off to save is not altogether a bad idea. But you don't do that before the movie really starts. Then, she has a bit of crying, but really she should be freaking out about this the whole movie. Frankly, I don't need it to feel like the first film all over again.
Other than this, I still have some issues like pacing, boring kills, worse effects than the last two films, and redundancy. However, the plus side stuff is great acting by many of the main characters, a few surprises in who dies and who shows up at the end, pretty solid cinematography, and the overall concept of a prison planet. I don't hate this movie, I just don't really love it either. I only bought it because it is sorta packaged with the whole franchise blu ray set.
such a CRAP ! doesn't deserve the Alien-name at all. how did I even manage to watch this till the end
The most anguish-inducing of the franchise and it has nothing to do with the actual alien.
BR Cine Paco. Imagen y sonido 4/5. Edición especial, mejora algo a la del cine, pero la mas floja con diferencia, historia mala
Shout by DRNKMNKYBlockedParent2015-07-09T09:10:12Z
This is the 3rd part of the "Alien" saga and I like it a lot. In my opinion it is better than the second part (contrary to almost everybody else's opinion). Why? Because it brings back the horror of "Alien" and drops the unnecessary action-overdose of "Aliens".