Not Really That Bad, Just Very Mediocre

Rating: 7/10 (9 May 2016)

Alien 3 is directed by David Fincher and is a direct continuation of Aliens (1986). In this installment, Ripley, Newt, and Hicks have crash landed on Fiorina 161, a planet with nothing but prisoners on it. However, things take a dark twist when they find that an alien was aboard their ship when they landed, and it's now on the planet with them.
Most people hate Alien 3, but I actually enjoyed it overall. It had issues, yes, but they weren't completely abundant, and it had a lot of good aspects to it as well. Alien 3 isn't as good as it's previous installments, but it isn't bad either. The script and acting were both really good, and most characters were likable. Even the ones that weren't likable were written that way, so it didn't affect the film negatively.
The acting all throughout Alien 3 was actually really good. Sigourney Weaver once again kills it as Ellen Ripley, the awesome alien survivor. Charles S. Dutton was actually really good as Dillon, the preacher with a bad past. His character was very well rounded, and the script portrayed him as a peacekeeper, which Dutton played very nicely. Charles Dance was pretty good as Clemens, the nice guy out of all of the prisoners. He was the only character with a soft side to him, and Dance showed this very well through his acting abilities.
The direction, by David Fincher, is good, but also bad in a sense. Although no quick cuts or shaky cam is present, and the overall direction is good, the film is very dark, and depressing, much like most Fincher films. Although Alien 3's direction isn't necessarily bad, the overall tone of the film was more of a David Fincher feel than an Alien feel. At times, I would use the word boring to describe the tone of the movie. The entire planet is dark, and disgusting, and I just wanted out of it.
The script is very well written. All of the dialogue was written and performed very nicely, and brought a great aspect to Alien 3. All of the actors performed their lines very well, and no bad acting was to be found. The pacing of Alien 3 is also pretty strong. Although the grimness of the film is slightly boring, once the story picks up, it really picks up. There were moments when I was on the edge of my seat, and was afraid for the characters' lives, which is a great job on the flimmakers' parts. The eerie direction may have taken away from this feel a little bit, but not enough to ruin an overall good film.
Now, my main problem with Alien 3 is the special effects. When practical effects are used, it's mostly just up close, and it looks great, just like the prior two Alien films. The grotesque alien faces are well crafted, and look perfectly fine. However, the CGI is awful. Alien 3 honestly contains some of the worst CGI I've ever seen in a movie. Every shot of a CG alien crawling along the walls, or on the ceiling, looks horrible, and almost as if a middle schooler used a cheap camera and editing software to create the effects.
Overall, Alien 3 is a pretty good movie. The characters are likable with good actors behind them, and the script is great as well. Gloomy direction and terrible CGI definitely weren't enough to drag this pretty good film down.