"Alien" + "Aliens" = A Disjointed Mess

Rating: Null/10 (26 October 2000)

"Alien 3" combines the major elements of the first two entries in the popular series to make a disjointed mess that feels forced and rushed. This time Sigourney Weaver crash-lands her space ship from the last installment on a planet of jailed murderers and rapists. Everyone else on the ship dies and she believes that the alien has hitched a ride with her to this new planet. Of course it has and soon she, and everyone else on the planet, is trying to kill the alien and save themselves. "Alien 3" has the eerie feel of the first film and the in-your-face action of the second. These two elements make the film disjointed. At some points the audience is bored stiff and at other moments they are confused by the outlandish action sequences. The direction is never clear and there is no real screenplay here at all. Weaver tries to carry the film by herself, but she lacks the support that she had for the first two entries. Lance Henriksen only makes a token appearance. Charles Dutton is pretty good, but his character lacks the development to really make him interesting. Everyone else is just present and ultimately the alien proves to be little more than a jack-in-the-box monster that hops out at the most predictable moments. Overall a disappointment that is not very impressive at all. 2 stars out of 5.