Critique: Film> Reviews.

(This review contains spoilers. You have been warned.)

Few films have had as much troubled production as Alien 3. Director David Fincher was brought into the project late into its development: Apparently, there were numerous creative differences in scriptwriting, not to mention all the pressure of living up to the successes of the two near-perfect blockbusters that preceded it. Fincher reportably disowned the film before editing even began (not a good sign, eh?)

So, the plot: Deep in hyper sleep, Ripley, Newt and Hicks crash land in their escape pod after an onboard fire on the Sulaco spaceship. Ripley is the only survivor, and when she finally regains consciousness she is suspicious as to what actually started the fire in the first place. Unluckily for her (and everyone else), it is soon discovered that an alien somehow had gotten on board her ship, which has now escaped and started wrecking havoc inside the planet's maximum security prison. With no weapons or functional technology, Ripley's pessimism is understandable when she states "we're fucked" to the warden.

Alien 3's problems sprung mainly from poor writing. Fans, for example, were immediately disgruntled when they discovered Hicks was killed off in the first scene, considering that he had been such an influential character in Aliens. Also, with the absence of weaponry, it became just too much of a bitter pill to swallow, especially when the film resorted to repetitive chase scenes between the inmates and alien towards the finale. Furthermore, the alien was created via CGI in most places and looked absolutely horrible (and not in a frightening way).

It was messy, and at times cringeworthy, but this third instalment did have its moments. The art direction, in particular, introduced us to a grimy, out-of-touch prison environment entitled "Fury 161", made up of religious, all male inmates, which was a great setting for establishing a dreary, dark and eerily quiet atmosphere that was similar to that in the first two films. Ripley, of course, was a joy to watch as well: Sporting a shaved head, with a desire to confront the alien head on, she further cemented her position as the definitive female action hero of all time.

To fully appreciate the potential of Alien 3 I'd definitely recommend watching the Special Edition, though, which contains thirty minutes extra footage. Not all of it is beneficial to the story, but there are some interesting incidences of character development, such as a rendezvous between Ripley and Clemens (played by Charles Dance, who is killed off way too early for my liking), and Dillon, the spiritual leader of the inmates, who does give some inspirational speeches. The film's introduction is also much better paced and visually stimulating.

Still, with two versions of the film, either one is far from perfect. Plot holes still exist: Like how did the alien get on board the ship in the first place? (this is never really explained), and how is it able to impregnate Ripley and then a dog/ox when in the previous two movies the facehugger falls off and dies after the first host? Such plot holes have been part of a long debate between fans for years.

(Other notable extras on the 2004 DVD release include: Audio commentary, a Pre-production Featurette, Multi-angle Segment, Photo Archives, Storyboard and Photo Galleries, Workshops, and "Xeno-erotic: A H.R. Giger Redesign Featurette".)

(C) Andy Carrington, 2008.