Read Positive User Reviews for Alien 3

7

Cameronius_113Jan 15, 2017

NOTE: I watched the Assembly Cut of the film, the extended version closer to the director's original vision which is supposed to be significantly better than the original version.
Alien 3 was released in 1992 and was directed by DavidNOTE: I watched the Assembly Cut of the film, the extended version closer to the director's original vision which is supposed to be significantly better than the original version.
Alien 3 was released in 1992 and was directed by David Fincher. It is the conclusion to the Alien trilogy and picks up from the events of the previous film Aliens after Ripley wakes up from cryogenic sleep on a prison planet.
This movie is well-known for being hated by many, including those who worked on it. The production of the film was plagued with so many issues, including shooting without a script and with the director having little-to-no creative control. An extended cut nicknamed the 'Assembly Cut' was later released which tried to be closer to the director's original vision which is the cut I watched.
I honestly quite liked this film. It might be because I watched the Assembly Cut which wasn't the supposedly bad original cut but I did think that this was actually a good film. However, it did have flaws which I'll get into later.
I thought that this was a decent final instalment and dealt with many necessary dark themes. The setting of the prison planet also added to those dark themes too and there were many elements in the film which help build up the tone of the film too. I also really liked the tone and thought it fitted the film well.
Just like Aliens, this one was refreshingly different to the others, with the original being a thriller, the second being an action and this one having parts of the others mixed with emotional drama and they all went together in a decent way and it didn't really feel like it was trying to be too many things at once.
All of the cast gave decent performances; Sigourney Weaver gave a great performance as Ripley and something I really like about each film is that you can see how her character changes through each film so you always see a new side to her which makes for an intriguing experience. You see in this film how she is constantly being affected by the events of the previous films and how she feels she doesn't have anything to live for anymore. In one scene it displays perfectly how these events have affected her when she says to the alien, "You've been in my life so long I can't remember anything else". Also, the side-characters of the prisoners helped add to the nihilistic tone of this film and some characters began to get interesting. However, there was something they did with some of these character that I wasn't a fan of which I'll talk about in the spoiler section.
Now I've got the things I liked out of the way, here are the things I didn't like. I personally wasn't a big fan of the editing style. The movie has a weird habit of showing something in a scene, then cutting to somewhere else, then cutting back to where it was before, then cutting back to the other thing and so on. From how they do this, I'm guessing this is to try and build tension but it soon gets tedious and in some scenes there is enough tension as it is anyway. This technique would've been fine in one or two scenes but this was used around four or five times.
The alien itself looks absolutely awful in some scenes. In most close-ups it looks fine but in many shots taken from a distance it looks horrendous. The special effects for it are terrible and you can see some faint green lines around it in some scenes where I suppose they must've overlayed both the alien footage that was against a green screen with the regular footage. I'm thinking that the troubled production probably contributed to this as it looks incredibly rushed.
Despite the flaws, I found this to be a good film and a decent conclusion to the Alien trilogy while also dealing with many necessary themes. While it can't compare in quality to the previous two, I'd still recommend watching it as it completes the trilogy (by the way, DO NOT watch the original cut, watch the Assembly Cut which I guess 'assembles' the mess that the original was).
7.2/10… Expand

4 of 4 users found this helpful40

All this user's reviews

8

DirigiblePulpJul 28, 2017

Confession - I've never seen the theatrical cut of this film, only ever the Assembly Cut and because of that I've never understood the antipathy this film generates in people. It's almost great, and it's mostly really good.

In terms of theConfession - I've never seen the theatrical cut of this film, only ever the Assembly Cut and because of that I've never understood the antipathy this film generates in people. It's almost great, and it's mostly really good.

In terms of the overall storyline it feels like the most logical conclusion to the series. It's deeply, darkly nihilistic, but this is about the ultimate killing machine so it should be. All the characters from the last film had to be killed off because there is no happy ending as long as the Aliens are alive and Ripley knows it. She starts each film fresh, alone, her against the Alien. In order to stop it once and for all she makes the ultimate sacrifice, the martyrdom that the religious subtext and images are getting at. There's nothing left for her anymore, there never was in any film. This is the happy ending she deserves. She's a woman out of time and place that must make a selfless decision. It's a brilliantly fitting conclusion.

Honestly the biggest problems here concern the surrounding setup plot and some of the direction. More explanation behind the Queen Alien laying facehugger (that needed a wiki to explain away). The romantic subplot with the doctor that ends abruptly then Ripley moves on too fast (then again, maybe she's used to it?). Why do all the prisoners look the same?

The last half of the movie is paced poorly, with endless corridor chasing and trapping and running. It's clear based on this cut that Fincher was onto something but he wasn't the great director of precision he is now, at least in terms of suspense and thrills. The film is gorgeous to look at and the atmosphere is a bleak oppressive shroud you can wrap yourself up in.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

All this user's reviews

7

kyle20ellisMar 29, 2022

I have heard and seen a lot of negative reviews on this film, and while I can understand the reviewers' disappointments I think Alien 3 is a much better film than it is given credit for. True, the script is not as strong, being not asI have heard and seen a lot of negative reviews on this film, and while I can understand the reviewers' disappointments I think Alien 3 is a much better film than it is given credit for. True, the script is not as strong, being not as thought-provoking or as clever, the story does have its illogical parts(I can understand why people are upset at two characters being killed off, it was somewhat contradictory) and the characters aren't as well fleshed out as in the predecessors excepting Ripley and even she was better developed before. However, I do disagree it is one of the worst sequels ever, there are much worse I can think of. Yes it is the weakest of the series, but that's not to say it has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The production design is excellent, and the editing is also skilled. David Fincher also does a surprisingly good job directing, by principally developing the maternal themes of Aliens. He has directed better, and he has done better films since, but that is no reason to dismiss his credible directing job on this film. The atmosphere once again is bold, the tone and feel here is more dystopian granted but there are still some good shocks and some unforgettable scenes especially the surgical operating scene and the final showdown, the latter of which is exhilarating. The acting is good enough, Sigourney Weaver is very good, while Lance Henrikssen's brief appearance helps too. Oh, and the tag line is the best of all the Alien movies in my opinion. Overall, Alien 3 is not in the same class as its predecessors, but I personally wouldn't go as far to say it is one of the worst sequels or movies ever. 7/10 Bethany Cox… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

All this user's reviews

10

AngysYoungg321Nov 7, 2020

Undeterred movie and probably my favourite Alien movie. The theatrical cut do has some problems but the Assembly cut fixes all of this.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

All this user's reviews

8

ExodusXXFeb 1, 2020

Не самая худшая часть чужого, единсвенный минус это визуал, но очень мрачная сюжетка и сценарий.