Give it a plobbing chance.

Rating: 8/10 (30 January 2012)

Rather than being an uninspired "OMG they killed people" or "It's so boring" review, how about we get a fresh perspective?
Yes they killed off Newt, Hicks and Bishop, so what? Is this an adventure series where people are saved and surrounded by rainbows? NO! This a movie about murderous aliens! And this movie in itself is about letting go and fighting the beast within. And if they didn't die, what would've this movie turned into? Hicks the unstoppable marine, Bishop the faithful and technical friend, Newt the little girl who never gets killed and always needs rescuing.
The movie is dark and moody. Exactly, it was the logical step. You can paraphrase "We got tactical smart missiles, phase plasma pulse rifles, RPGs. We got sonic, electronic ball breakers! We got nukes, we got knives, we got sharp sticks." from Aliens with " we ain't got no entertainment center, no climate control, no video system, no surveillance, no freezers, no f*cking ice cream, no rubbers, no women, no guns." The setting and theme are well done although the alien is not, the cgi falling flat quite a bit. When it wasn't, however, it was the usual standard of fear inducing black monster that it is.
Bringing it back down to one alien with no weaponry is a smart move. Aliens aren't as scary when you're surrounded by marines with guns rather than a single alien surrounded by rapists and thugs.
The religious setting is interesting, with Dillion delivering a eulogy that was awe surprising at the funeral. The characters suit their environment, and the British influence was a nice change to generic 20 yr old Americans.
The plot also brought the series to a logical and beautiful conclusion (If you don't count 4...), instead of a mech suit and giant alien fight Ripley confronts the company that was just as bad as the Alien at times. She fights the Alien within as well as the one running around the murky tunnels.
Not as good as 1 and 2, but it is not the reincarnated version of Hitler which everyone seems to think it is.