Alien 3 (1992), directed by David Fincher, stars Sigourney Weaver, Charles Dance, Charles S. Dutton, Brian Glover, Paul McGann, Lance Henriksen, Ralph Brown, Danny Webb, Christopher John Fields, Holt McCallany, Christopher Fairbank, Carl Chase, Leon Herbert, Vincenzo Nicoli, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Brennen, Clive Mantle, and Peter Guinness. The film once again follows Ripley as she awakes from cryosleep to discover Hicks and Newt (fellow survivors of Aliens) dead after they crash land on a remote planet that acts as a prison for violent criminals. With the help of the prison’s doctor (Dance), its spiritually inclined leader (Dutton), and other various prisoners; Ripley attempts to stop the stray “Xenomorph” that killed her friends from falling into the hands of a soulless corporation that intends to use the alien as a kind of bio-weapon. 

Although this is easily a lesser film than its predecessors, Sigourney Weaver’s performance as Ripley is one of the only aspects that feels consistent in quality. However unsatisfying this movie may be in a lot of ways, at least it fully wraps up her motherhood arc that is explored throughout the trilogy. The thing is, unlike the first two films, the various feminist themes feel unbalanced, underdeveloped, and generally just on the nose. I think this is due to what is clearly a rushed script. The idea of Ripley’s arrival as the only female on a planet of criminals should lead to some interesting commentary on man/woman power dynamics and it just never does. The only thing it achieves is slightly increasing the inherent tension of Ripley’s situation. All this thematic commentary ultimately boils down to groan-worthy sexual imagery such as an unforgettable scene where it clearly looks as if the Xenomorph is humping a corpse (it’s just eating him, no worries). 

The film features even more characters than Aliens (1986) yet unfortunately develops very few of them. Even the few that are slightly developed have arcs that end with confusing or just plain stupid decisions. This, along with some awful CGI takes away any tension that might have existed in the climax. Fan favorites Newt and Hicks from the previous film are also brutally killed off in the opening credits, this being one of many fans’ bigger gripes. I, for one, didn’t think the two characters were ever that interesting, but it nonetheless feels like a lazy and head-scratching way to begin a sequel. The script also continuously reminds the audience of their brutal deaths throughout the first act, so again, I can see how this would be tough for many fans to stomach. As for the characters/characterization in general, the script continuously makes baffling decisions and the dialogue is just plain laughable. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of the film’s issues. 

Excluding the fresh setting that succeeds in emulating the claustrophobia of the first two films, almost nothing here is an improvement on a technical level. From the opening scene, it’s clear that the editing is choppy and sometimes nonsensical. There’s also the strange use of constant yellow lighting/filters. This would be fine if it achieved something, I suppose, but it doesn’t do anything interesting visually or thematically. It’s just ugly, to be honest. This extends to the CGI, which is jaw-droppingly awful. There are scenes where the entire alien is just the color of a greenscreen. As mentioned before, it takes away any power from what should be tension-fueled sequences. In close-ups, the film still uses practical effects for the Xenomorph, and guess what? It looks 1000x better! 

Although this has some of the more creative/entertaining kills up to this point in the franchise, it’s not very effective as either a horror or action film. There are even a few laughable attempts at jump scares which only help to signal how much of a step back this feels like in terms of quality, scale, and tension. That being said, it still mostly delivers the goods on a basic level in terms of what a person expects from an Alien movie. There are a few well-sustained sequences as well as some genuine surprises. Also, although for the most part not very satisfying, I appreciate that the film has the bravery to definitively wrap up Ripley’s arc/story. 

Overall, this is a disappointing follow-up to the first two films and deserves a good portion of the criticisms commonly levied against it. That being said, I don’t think it’s as awful as some people make it out to be. On a guilty pleasure level, I think it can deliver for the right viewer. Ultimately though, I still fall into the camp of fans who would rather just pretend like this movie doesn’t exist. Aliens is the perfect example of how to do a great sequel, so it’s only poetic that Alien 3 is an example of how to do a sequel oh so very wrong. C–