Flawed but underrated third installment in the Alien saga

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 2007)

Following the success of Alien, any sequel had a LOT to live up to. With Aliens, James Cameron's second installment in the franchise, being every bit as flawless as Ridley Scott's original creature feature, to say David Fincher, the director of Alien 3, was under a great deal of pressure is probably an understatement. In fact, continuous interference from the studio made the first-timer so nervous and frustrated he eventually left during post-production, refused to make any kind of contribution to the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set (where his directorial debut was shown in two versions, the theatrical cut and the so called Assembly Cut, which was meant to be closer to Fincher's vision) and even turned down Mission: Impossible III because he claimed to have "already f*cked up one movie with a "3" in the title". His feelings may be justified, but as flawed as it may be (and it is in certain parts), Alien 3 is actually a quite respectable picture.
Just like Cameron did in 1986, Fincher decides to sever all ties with the previous film by having Hicks (Michael Biehn) and Newt (Carrie Henn), the only two people, besides Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who survived the attack of the Alien queen, die during the opening credits (an effective intro, but it does sort of make the conclusion of Aliens pointless), thus leaving the series' heroine all by herself when she reaches a bizarre planet known as Fiorina 161. Here the Weyland-Butani company, the same that financed the missions in the first two films, has had a maximum security prison built to keep dangerous criminals under surveillance. At first, Ripley's only problem is getting along with these people, who are mostly religious fanatics. Later, when a few mysterious deaths occur, she realizes she didn't reach Fiorina 161 alone, and the nightmare that has haunted her for years is far from over.
For a first-time director, Fincher shows a confidence which is rare when tackling projects this huge: while he can't be compared to Scott or Cameron, he has managed to take the claustrophobia that permeated the first Alien and enhance it, making Alien 3 exactly as chilling as its predecessors and successfully anticipating his later work (especially Se7en and Panic Room). Also skillful is Weaver who, having already played the character twice, knows what can be done with Ripley and takes her to new levels, both physical (she has no hair for most of the film) and emotional (her "relationship" with the aliens). Sadly, none of the other characters are as appealing, despite some of them being played by quite talented people (Pete Postlethwaite and Charles S. Dutton among them). The only possible exception is Lance Henriksen "returning" as Bishop, only his appearance is too brief and too late into the movie to really make a difference. The real problem of this film, however, is the alien itself: what was a menacing presence in the hands of Scott and Cameron is reduced to an ugly example of early CGI, which actually looks WORSE as the movie progresses. While it is kept in the shadows, it can get away with its awfulness; once exposed, though, it is almost too pitiful to watch.
Overall, this is neither the masterpiece some had expected nor the total trash Fincher erroneously thinks he made. In fact, whatever defects the film has, he completely redeems himself with the climax, one of the bleakest, most audacious in cinema history (another Fincher trademark), so brilliant it will make one wish Fox had never even thought of an Alien 4. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. But that should not affect the viewers' feelings towards number 3: on its own, it is a pretty damn good sci-fi flick.