Just couldn't have been any worse

Rating: 1/10 (2 August 2008)

*************This review may contain spoilers************** There is a rule with sequels and that is generally that they are never as good as the original. However, every once in a while a sequel comes along that is every bit as good as the original, hell, some even blow the original out of the water. This is what we got with Aliens. So, when you're making a sequel to a sequel, nay, one of the best ever sequels, it is a fairly good idea to try and keep in tone with the first two, to respect what they did.
This is where Alien 3 puts its first step wrong. Aliens gave us several lovable, well developed characters who had chances of a real future in the Alien universe, particularly the protagonists surrogate daughter Newt. Now instead of continuing their story, as seems logical, Alien 3 simply kills all these lovable characters, with the exception of Ellen Ripley, within the first five minutes. This is a real kick in the teeth for any audience so to get them back on the movies ground the film is going to have to give us some really amazing characters with TOP acting. Only it doesn't. What we get is a lot of British convicts whose excuse for depth is that they have 'found God'. Now I am all for religious undertones but these are so forced down your throat that they do not feel at all natural, they are just there as an attempt at depth to these frankly unlikeable characters. On top of this, there are just too many people. What Alien and Aliens managed was to give us just enough characters so that we are able to remember who everybody is. ALien 3 gives us far too many people and this just adds to their lack of likability meaning that by the end, as a huge chase involving just one alien begins we just do not know who is still alive and, frankly, nobody cares. Even Sigourney Weaver, normally a very accomplished actress, struggles to bring Ripley, previously a likable protagonist, any sympathetic elements. She is just not the same character any more, and this is not a good thing. There are far too many petty attempts to give her character an arc that fail miserably in the face of everything that has come before. There is nothing here which touches the audience in the way the mother daughter relationship with Newt did in the last film. There are many attempts to throw in new things by the director but this is very much a case of throwing everything at the screen and seeing what sticks and, honestly, that doesn't work this time around. If I were to give this film any points I will say this. The score fits the scenes it has been designed for very well and is up to par with the previous scores in the series, perhaps even superior. The scenery also fits the tone of the film rather well. It's bleak, drab and depressing and, whilst this is one of the films main failing points, the scenery does at least fit the films overall feel. However these are minor good points in what is otherwise an awful film with poor, poor acting, too many characters and an unsympathetic protagonist. Watch the first two films for fine examples of what real, quality sci-fi can be like but ignore this turgid drag. 1/10