Alien³ Review
“FACK!”
You know what’s pretty good? Alien³, yes I quite like Alien³. It might be a depressing, ugly and full of bald people but I think going back to basics with a single Alien and making that Alien interesting by using a new animal to take characteristics from was a pretty good move. There’s more good things to talk about so let’s go into more detail here.
We once again follow Ripley as she crash lands on Fury 161 while in hyper sleep. Newt and Hicks die in the process but it’s possible it was all a Xenomorphs fault in the first place since there was an egg in the pod the whole time. The planet is a prison planet filled with all male convicted rapists, murderers and other harsh criminals. Even though the prisoners have an issue with a female on the premises they decided to work together to fight the threat of a brand new Xenomorph, this time bursting from a Rottweiler. Or if you’re going off the extended cut, an ox. As if the Xeno wasn’t enough, it turns out Ripley was impregnated with a queen chest buster and that means Weyland-Yutani can’t be far behind. I actually quite like this story, going back to one Xeno like I mentioned before is interesting and a prison planet filled with crazy, women hating men is a funny setting, even if it is the bleakest place in the Aliens series yet. The movie is a very dark and depressing one but there is some dry humour that helps you through and this is Alien, so there’s no reason I should be against a really dark tone. Although many people have issues with the drowning of a 12-year-old and then the cracking open of her naked chest on screen, which is understandable, it’s super heavy.
Sigourney Weaver is as good as always, maybe her character isn’t as well handled in this movie as the previous ones but it’s not too far away that it’s a problem. There’s not many other characters worth mentioning, there’s a couple of nutty guys who don’t go much further than being nutty. The doctor is nice enough but isn’t really around enough for me to care about him. There’s a character called Dillon played by Charles S. Dutton that I quite like but I think it’s because of the way he’s played. He’s the preacher character who comes across more badass than annoying like that bitch in The Mist, so I was a fan of him but there’s not a big cast of great characters like in Alien or Aliens but the performances were all pretty good considering the low prep time. Lance Henriksen is back in this movie too, also playing the real Bishop the android was based on, he’s pretty cool but once again, he’s not in for too long.
This movie is directed by David Fincher (Gone Girl, Se7en) and it was actually the first big production he directed. Although he had a lot of pressure and not the best support I think he did a pretty good job. He said he knew what he was getting into but he jumped into this movie with a lot of mess surrounding it and many of the problem were not getting fixed, the studio had some things they wanted changed and some of those things Fincher really didn’t want to do, like the changes to the last big scene in the film. The ending was changed but I think it’s better for it. It’s also important to mention that an entire subplot was removed with big character development and religious themes going out the door with it. This cut 30 whole minutes from the movie, I do want to review the extended cut separately though.
The suit for the dog alien is really cool and I love the design and it really suits the style of the movie. The special effects are pretty naff though. We don’t get CGI but we get a superimposed suit pasted onto the screen and it feel weightless and a little obviously but it’s not the worse for an early 90’s movie and the scenes with the actual suit in camera are pretty good. The sets are filled with shitty colour and depressing tones but it suits the setting and the plot. The film really isn’t adding much to the tech of Alien or Aliens and it feels almost modern and very industrial, so it’s not really showing anything off. Well maybe the gore, this film is pretty gory and shows off some of the most violent kills in the series. There’s a good amount of blood and some pretty cool moments come out of it.
The idea of an animal based Xeno was going to happen eventually and a dog was pretty good choice, the crawlier posture and the faster running speed is great and is just what we needed for the next Alien film. I mentioned the design was awesome but unfortunately not a lot of H.R. Giger stuff made it in at all really. Nether the less, I really enjoyed this Xeno and the design of the queen chest burster is cute in the weirdest way.
Most people might consider Alien³ dull, bleak or life draining and they’re right but I think it has a lot going for it and it’s really harshly criticized undeservingly, the production really didn’t go that smoothly and the film came out pretty good considering. We have a strong Xeno, a darker turn in the story and a great ending, an ending that should have been the ending, but more on the when we visit Alien Resurrection next…god help us.
Rating: ***½
Better than > Predators Worse than > Aliens
Main pros
-Xenomorph
-Performances (Considering production)
-Direction (Considering production)
-Interesting themes
-Ending
Main cons
-Characters
-Soul crushing
-Superimposed Xeno
-Lack of colour
I have a good time with this movie and I think it’s normal to hate on it without a fair chance. I recommend you watch or re-watch it and tell me if I’m an idiot or not.
