Customer Reviews

Alien 3

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(55)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(46)

 

 

After reading the enormous amount of negativity at this third entry in the Alien series, I feel highly compelled to step in here and defend this marvelous 1992 sequel to the 1986 predecessor "Aliens" entitled simply "Alien 3" and as I write this, I have to say that while this movie definitely has some troubling flaws, this is a very strong and amazing movie and one of my favorite science-fiction movies of all time.

Ellen Ripley, who is now in cryogenic suspension on board the spaceship that she got on to escape the colonized planet after saving Newt from the alien that hitched a ride on board. Unaware of it though, the alien that she defeated was in fact a queen and laid a small egg in a hidden compartment onboard the ship. The alien on board causes an acid spill which causes an electrical fire and the resulting fire causes the escape pod where the survivors of the previous movie to be separated from the mother ship. After crashing into the ocean on a desolate planet, Ripley finds herself once again the only survivor on a totally unknown world. After being revived in a high-security prison called Fury 161, Ripley finds herself being the only woman in a prison with a religious cult comprised of convicted criminals. Now being imprisoned on the planet, she learns her greatest nightmare of all and how much of a big sacrifice must be made in order to destroy the aliens once and for all. However, Ripley has no idea that the alien isn't her only enemy anymore.

While this is a great movie, this tends to suffer from some problems which likely has caused a lot of fans of the previous two to really shun this movie. While I can't blame them for killing off two important characters from the previous movie, my biggest problems are different. The greatest flaw with this movie is not it's storyline but it's excessive used of dropping F-Bombs right and left. Swearing doesn't bother me necessarily but the F-Bomb is WAY overused here and it really tends to detract from the films enjoyability. I also wasn't too thrilled at the whole prospect of the prisoners being nothing more than just 'live bait' for the alien to kill off one by one.

The "Collector's Edition" is fantastic in many ways. The deeply flawed theatrical release is much better in its remastered form but the "Special Edition" is light years ahead of it's old counterpart. With the film being extended to two hours and thirty-five minutes, with some old footage replaced with previously unreleased footage, along with extended and previously unreleased scenes, "The Special Edition" of "Alien 3" really helps to mend a lot of the problems that plagued the original version and the result is a movie that is almost as great as the first two movies. The only problem I had was the ending which where the ending of the climax scene looked a lot more fake than it did in the original version. Despite this minor quibble, the "Special Edition" of this movie is light years better than the original and the result is a flawed movie that really is lifted much higher in rankings to rank up there with the 1979 original. It'll never top "Aliens" for me but "Alien 3" really benefits from it's revamping. To all of the people who strongly detested this movie to begin with, I would strongly recommend that if you have the time, watch the "Special Edition" because it really helps to correct a lot of the mistakes of the original and it makes the characters a lot more three-dimensional. I have come to appreciate this movie a lot more since seeing it on it's newest form.

The second disc is a real treat. The extras on disc two are really good and along with the first disc, warrant purchasing "Alien 3". I at first found that this was a movie that was not easy to digest especially due to its troubling loss of two of the main characters from the previous movie "Aliens" from 1986. However I have since over time have come to really enjoy this movie and have felt more sorry for the crew after seeing a deep insight into how troubled the movies making really was. You can also see the mixed reactions towards the finished film from the crew members who were involved in it's production. Perhaps the most memorable thing I learned even if it's not from the DVD itself was how much agony David Fincher went through when directing this movie. He was pushed into this movie's directing late into it's production and the result was enormous tension between him and other producers which resulted in agonizing almost non-stop work in directing this movie. Perhaps it's why he hasn't embraced it since it's release but I have to credit him that his work on this is fantastic and the result was worth it to me.

To me while it isn't the best of the series by any means, "Alien 3" is a really excellent and satisfying conclusion to the storyline of Ellen Ripley and her war against the predatory alien creatures. Like someone else said about it, I strongly agree that "Alien Resurrection" felt more like some wacky spin-off that had almost nothing to do with the previous three movies and I agree. While I'm not saying that it was terrible, it wouldn't have been a bad idea of they had simply closed the series on the third one.

There isn't many people who like this film. Honestly, when I first saw it: I was like, "What the eff?!" But upon subsequent viewings, I became somewhat enamored with director David Fincher's style; he has since gone to notable films, SEVEN and THE GAME.

In a nutshell, ALIEN3 more or less negates everything Jim Cameron had established in ALIENS, and if you view this movie as a sequel you're gearing yourself up for disappointment. However, if you view this film as a science fiction piece with none-too-subtle religious undertones then you might be surprised to find yourself in for quite a ride.

The look of the film, the trademarked beautiful Aliens grunge, in pulled off quite well. The characters (mostly bald White guys with Brit accents) are a little hard to decipher to the passive viewer, but are quite earnest in their acting. Charles Dance and Charles S. Dutton provide some pretty cool roles (if a little heavy-handed in the latter case).

The religious undertones are there; and they may offend some ardent Bible-thumpers (I'm talking about the Christ-like death sequence)--but it's a nice change of pace for the ALIEN films. The first was horror. Second, war. Why not have the third be 'bout religion?

I think it works; but, hey, different squids for different kids (thanks, Steve, for that phrase). All in all: great cinematography, passable performances with a few gems, laughable story, 'bout two hours of late night or Sunday afternoon stoner entertainment.

The Directors cut of this movies is SO much better then the theatrical version! I originally hated Alien 3, but the directors cut is a very good film.

Alien 3, while still a very good movie,does not quite meet the standard
of Alien and Aliens.there are some good things about this movie.one is
the setting.the movie takes place on Fiorina 161 ,a remote prison
planet which is host to all male convicts...until Ripley
arrives.obviously there is tension right from the start.this movie is
very action oriented,not a lot of suspense,and lots of blood for this
series.the alien has evolved,both the look of it,and also its
characteristics and capabilities.there is also another danger to
contend with,something unexpected(or maybe expected.)Anyway,this movie
is more of an action,gore film,which is much lighter in tone than the
1st 2 films.the feeling of imminent danger or peril is lacking
here.there is very little buildup to the killing.so,while still an
entertaining movie,it doesn't quite reach the lofty heights it could
have. 3.5/5

Alien 3, while still a very good movie,does not quite meet the standard
of Alien and Aliens.there are some good things about this movie.one is
the setting.the movie takes place on Fiorina 161 ,a remote prison
planet which is host to all male convicts...until Ripley
arrives.obviously there is tension right from the start.Ripley must
contend with men who have not seen woman in a long
time.Naturally,although unknown at first, an alien has also arrived
with Ripley.this movie is very action oriented,not a lot of
suspense,and lots of blood for this series.the alien has evolved,both
the look of it,and also its characteristics and capabilities.there is
also another danger to contend with,something unexpected(or maybe
expected.)Anyway,this movie is more of an action,gore film,which is
much lighter in tone than the 1st 2 films.the feeling of imminent
danger or peril is lacking here.there is very little buildup to the
killing.so,while still an entertaining movie,it doesn't quite reach the
lofty heights it could have. 3.5/5

I absolutely adore this third Alien movie!! It's my favorite of the bunch and was a brilliant follow-up to the "Aliens" movie and brings the story to a glorious end which I wish was true but was completely ruined by the stupidity of "Alien Resurrection" which should never have been made or at least in the way it did. Ripley's character is heartbreaking and the action sequences are awesome. The ending is really depressing but really good!! Forget the negative reviews and get this DVD TODAY!! Peace out!!

Horrible film... where it may turn on the Goths, it disgusts me. Here, we have two very awesome character - who, despite what some cynics say, people cared about; Newt, and Hicks...and look what they do with them. They could've expanded those characters into some real cool character, but NOOooo. Don't watch this movie, if you're a fan Aliens and Alien. It's a BIG let down.

"Alien 3" is an exciting, scary, sci-fi film with fantastic, gothic art direction and, dare-I-say, beautiful photography. As such, it's a great film in its own right, on par with its visionary predecessors, "Alien" and "Aliens."

Oddly, "Alien 3" only suffers criticism due to its relationship to those earlier films. Here's how: In "Alien 3," director David Fincher tries to unencumber the saga from the baggage of the first two films, where the story arcs of favorite characters Ripley, Hicks, Bishop, and Newt had already come to complete resolution, with each character saved. By dismissing (read that: killing off) all but Ripley so as to get on with a new story, Fincher, to fans, had negated the victory that was "Aliens." Most of the criticism of "Alien 3" stems from this.

Taken on its own, however, "Alien 3" is an entertaining film with impeccable production value, a tight storyline, great performances, plenty of scares, and more replay value that any other film in the franchise.

...and yes I say trilogy, resurrection is a movie unto itself as Ripley DIES in this one, and the whole cloning thing is a spin off. This movie is a brilliant piece of artwork combining ,in my opinion, theories of nature/society, hunter and hunted, concepts of weapon use, and good vs evil in the form of prison religion.

First off, the thought of a female entering a maximum offenders prison full of rapists, murders and women haters in general has a tense feeling to it. This theme presents a very primal look at the violent aggression of the male side of domination and power structures. Add to this a confined space (prison) in an isoloated environment (planet) and this theme has great potential. Ripley's intuition is brilliant here, shaving her head as to not draw attention to herself, showing no fear from intimidation and placing no singular as the victim, rather everyone as the victim of the lone Alien.

The hunter/hunted theme is a recurring one in the Alien Legacy and is shown in its strongest element in this installment. Both the group of humans and the Alien are both the hunter and the hunted, the Alien needing to kill and the humans using its killer instinct to trap the beast. The dilemma of Ripley having an Alien in her spirals off a completely unique and welcome twist of not being quite human and having to see things through the eyes of her most feared and hated nightmare. Perhaps what the director was going for here was a semi-rape theme with the result being an unwanted offspring, without the violent overtones or emotional destruction that would ensue with humans.

The thought of having weapons taken away from something as lethal as an Alien adds even more to the terror as the theme goes into that of vulnerablity/helplessness/defenseless. the power structure is reversed and the frustration is evident, and seeing how a group of prisoners, who's crimes are based on those of assumed power, deals with it is a very strong concept.

Prison and religion is nothing new, but the theme of repentance in such a wicked place ties in as a powerful point in the movie. In almost an acceptance of denial, religion is fanatical within the prisoners, and although appears strong, it is proven incredibly fragile with the presence of tempation and chaos. The strong prove themselves (dillon) to the end, and the characteristics of everyone in the movie is shown through this theme.

All in all, this movie is a masterpiece and easily one of the best movies I've ever seen. Its my personal favorite in the series due to the multiple themes and concepts presented. Brilliantly acted and directed, and the prison/gothic industrial setting is haunting and eerily beautiful. Highly recommended, this is a stand out movie that can be bought separately, but with all series movies, its best to see them in order.

Sure, I never liked the theatrical version of Alien 3 very much. Not because they radically changed the feel or killed of Hicks and Newt. More because it seemed quite disjointed and you never felt too connected with the convicts and they just became a buch of running, screaming bald Englishmen.

Well after watching the extended version I think this movie absolutely shines. You get so much more charcter development in the convicts and a lot more of a sense of what kind of a little society they have made for themselves and it makes their attempts at dealing with the Alien much more poignant and meaningful. There are parts that are radically different which I can't believe they cut out.

This is well worth owning to get the extended version but at least rent it, as for all Alien fans who felt let down by this movie, this is a great showing of redemption for an unfulfilled chapter in a faltering franchise.

....I wish Alien Ressurection could have been saved the same way but that patient was flatline straight from the field.......