A grim return

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2013)

Aliens left the series on a high note, and it was a difficult task to follow up to it. This film doesn't really even try -- instead it just wipes the board clean and does its own thing. It follows the mood of the first film rather closely, completely ignoring what James Cameron's sequel brought to the franchise. The beginning of Alien 3 is rather rage-inducing, but if you try not to think about the previous film and just enjoy Alien 3 as what it is, you'll enjoy a dark and harsh action/horror experience.
Interestingly, this is David Fincher's debut film and it shows his familiar style. There is strong characterization, a surprising twist halfway through and a joyless ending. In this film life comes cheap and violence is shocking and always present. The visuals are bleak and colorless. The CGI has aged rather poorly, making the xenomorph monster scariest in the scenes where they used animatronics.
The ending leaves no possible room for a sequel, yet there is one.