A return to the sensibilities of Alien

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 2011)

Alien3 attempts to undo much of the damage caused by action/special effects-fest Aliens and return the franchise more to its horror roots. The atmosphere is darker, the setting has a far more confined feel than the previous entry, and once again we have a small group trying to fend off a sole xenomorph.
Although many have gawked at how this film departed from the previous title (going so far as to kill most of the previous movie's survivors offscreen), at the same time most of them ignore the fact that Aliens was a complete departure from the original film and turned the series into more of a light-hearted action romp than anything else (and although great in its own right, it should never have been called an Alien movie and would have been better off with a new alien species). Not so in the case of Alien3, as it brings the franchise straight back to its roots: A small group overwhelmed by a strange alien creature where they have to team up and improvise a way to overcome it (as opposed to having a well-equipped small army fight off enemy hordes).
And while this sequel could be seen as somewhat unambitious, all the same it was well-made, well-acted, and stayed well within the theme of the franchise.