Alien meets its maker

Rating: Null/10 (1 September 2004)

In the continuing saga of the Alien series ALIEN 3 gives the saga a heart, a spirit, and a reason for doubt. A troubled production and many script re-writes gave final director David Fincher a rather difficult task. How do you follow a progression that requires either an alien apocalypse or a radical re-definment of a repulsive villain which has become a de-facto hero?
H.R. Geigers alien is an enduring work of art. Long after these movies have been forgotten
the "alien" will remain. Fincher decided here to give some spiritual dimension to this phenomenon of cinema. We have the "new life" sermon at the furnace, the first scene in the 3 movies where we see Ripley relate to another human being as something more than xenomorph fodder. We see the poor inmates, playing scenes as if the alien were some sort of divine retribution for their sins. And doing it in a morbidly realistic way.
Most Alien Fans hate A3 because it is a stark, dark movie. The human characters have dimension, awareness and believability. Nobody wins. The Alien least of all. The main protagonist dies, and so does the supporting cast. The only people to emerge from the slaughter and befuddled war, are overly-equipped Japanese mercenaries and of course, the head of the "company". This message - no salvation - no victory - is of course anathema to those who cheered on the "grunts" of aliens. And it is because of this that audiences and critics gave this movie the thumbs down when it came out.
In the Alien Pantheon, it is the odd one out. In the David Fincher pantheon it is the touchstone. Alien 3 with it's new take on alien DNA (a dog birth makes it look slightly like a dog) gives the series a credible extension, mired in tragedy.
Don't see it on your own. You won't be frightened - you'll be depressed.
So... do you trust me with a needle?