better than Seven and better than Aliens

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 1999)

I was really disappointed that Fincher went on to make the contrived Seven after this great new direction for the Alien series (don't knock 4 either - it has redeeming features). Seven was his way of saying sorry to Hollywood after the dark depressing action film that you couldn't munch popcorn at the drive-in to.
I've just seen Alien 3 for the third time and I think it wears re-watching best of all the Alien films. The characters grow on you. They are hopeless nobodys but so were the marines in their own gung ho way and these sociopaths have their own brilliant cool. They don't so much die as disappear through the ceiling but then we know they're going to die at some point. Horror replaced with hopelessness (scarier). Betrayal replaced with heroism (not just Ripley's).
It's the only Alien film with a good ending. It's powerful stuff, if you can cope with dark films and always liked the mood and cool of the Alien franchise best then see it.