In May of 1992, 'Alien 3' was released into theaters to a less than warm reception here in the states, with many critics and audience goers disliking the film's dark and depressing tone and the overall downbeat feeling. It made enough domestically to be considered a success, however it was much less than 20th Century Fox was hoping for. The studio had put a lot of money and expectations for the film, which is strange considering it is an 'R' rated film and despite their significance, the 'Alien' franchise were never on the same level as 'Jurassic Park' or 'The Avengers'. The film was director David Fincher's first feature film and even to this day, he is not fond of it nor of the studio whom he felt mistreated him and ruined his final vision for the picture.
The film is most likely well known for its extremely troubling production history. The film had many screenwriters working on it, whose ideas ranged from having Hicks make his return to the more unusual situations such as a spaceship becoming a living xenomorph being. Eventually, a script seemed in place written by Vincent Ward. The screenplay set the film on a planet made of wood and populated by monks, who have rejected modern technology and see Ripley's crash landing on their world as a sign of impending evil as the xenomorph creature begins to kill them one by one. The script would eventually be re-written into a prison facility rather than the monastery and Fox immediately set a release date for 1992 before the script or pre-production had been finished.
On top of the issues with the rushed atmosphere the production was facing, convincing Sigourney Weaver back as Ellen Ripley would cost them another large paycheck, along with a co-producer credit for the film. It would be the best idea the studio would go with however, as she brings her best as always and we get to see an even deeper look into her personal feelings and personality when everyone she loved in the previous film is taken from her in an instant. On top of that, she is the only woman on a planet of convicted rapists and murderers and a killer alien creature that hatched from a Rottweiler dog, and on top of THAT she has a Queen Alien embryo inside her. Ripley suffers so much in 'Alien 3' that I can completely understand people's initial feelings with the film.
Killing off the characters of Newt and Hicks is still the most hated aspect of 'Alien 3' and I personally have mixed feelings about the subject. For the film that we are presented with, it was an appropriate plot point to further develop the character of Ripley. However, I also felt the anger of other viewers when watching the film for the first time because James Cameron had written these well written and likeable characters that you hoped would continue to be in the franchise in some capacity. Several drafts of the scripts did include the character of Hicks as the main hero of the piece however Fox was adamant that Weaver return despite the bigger paycheck.
The original cut of 'Alien 3' is a big mess, even as a fan of the film I will admit that. The film would get a special edition known as the 'Assembly Cut' in 2003. David Fincher was asked to supervise this new edit, however he turned them down both times and rarely speaks of the film itself to this day. The new cut replaces, deletes, or shuffles sequences around and for the most part it was for the better and it makes for a much more watchable experience. The cut adds to the character development and you get to know some characters better, however because there are so many in the film you still don't see the fates of many or they simply vanish from the film in both cuts which is one of the film's bigger issues. Overall, while the film is still not perfect the 'Assembly Cut' is by far the version you should see if you weren't a fan of the original.
The film's special effects are also much weaker than the previous films, though 'Alien 3' would surprisingly receive an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup. When in close up, the creature is a good as always, with a more vicious and aggressive xenomorph than seen previously and it adds to the overall darker tone. The performer Alec Gillis would go on to help design and play the main alien creature in the future films and he and his team did very good work on the creature itself. However, it's the optical work that feels and looks very outdated even at the time. The creature in many chase sequences was portrayed by a rod puppet against a blue screen effect. This is easily noticeable and for me it really bugs me every time I see it.
The last image in which Ripley sacrifices herself feels extremely rushed as the background has a flicker effect to it and you don't even see an impact into the fire itself. Thankfully, this was changed to a much better version in the 'Assembly Cut' but overall 'Alien 3' has the weakest effects of the franchise due to the rushed nature of the production. I'm sure Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff could have made something truly special here had they more time but sadly that is not the case.
The film looks amazing as with all of David Fincher's work and it has his usual cinematic style. I would say this is the best aspect of 'Alien 3' and it's the thing I love about the series as a whole. Every film, even the 'AVP' franchise manages to look distinctly different with each film. The film uses a dark and dull color scheme with a bright rusty red smeared throughout which helps to give the film a hellish atmosphere. Almost purgatory in nature, I feel that Fincher wanted to go for this overly religious tone, with themes of prayer, God, hell, and redemption for one's sins. It's just disappointing that many of these strong themes are not shown through the characters or the overall script.
I don't think 'Alien 3' is a bad film and in fact it was the first in the series I saw so I will always have some kind of fondness for it I suppose. However, I will not let that nostalgia get in the way of my criticisms of which I have many towards it. 'Alien 3' suffers from a film studio more interested in their bottom line rather than making a competent film. I understand that movie studios are there to make money, however when you make a well made film you stand to succeed at making money much more than rushing it out quickly to make a fast buck. This is especially true when it comes to a film series with a large fanbase and it's just as important to make the audience happy if you wish for them to put their butts in the seats. The film overall received negative reviews in the US, however the film has fared much better in the U.K. and Japan where it has gained a rather large cult following.
I still recommend 'Alien 3' despite its many issues because it does add to the overall mythology of the series and has its own unique style and tone to it. I do recommend the 'Assembly Cut' on the blu-ray set instead of the Theatrical as it improves the story significantly but I don't want one to expect something on the level of the first two films. It's a serviceable addition and it's one of my biggest guilty pleasures, right beside 'Predator 2' and 'Alien Vs. Predator'. We can only hope that some film studios learned from 'Alien 3' and take their time with 'Alien: Covenant'.
ALIEN3: C
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