A fitting end to the best Trilogy of all time.

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2014)

WARNING: SOME SPOILERS
It is no secret that Alien 3 had an extremely troubled production, with many writers and directors being hired and then cast aside. However they settled on David Fincher, who at the time had never directed a movie, this was a good choice as he had the right ideas for the movie. It is worth noting that throughout this review I am referring to the 2004 special edition release.
The movie itself is relatively well paced and has the best characters in the trilogy. Which consists of 22 prisoners, (only about 14 of them get any good screen time), 2 guards and a medical officer and of course Ripley. My personal favourite character is Morse played by Danny Webb, as he is a smart-ass dick for most of the film, but becomes more humbled by the end. Other characters include Clemens, the doctor, and Dillon the de-facto priest of the prison. People complain that they are all bald English guys, but still, English guys are awesome. Also there are a few Americans anyway.
The Alien is as deadly as ever because it can now run like a cheetah and is quadrupedal, the effects used for the most part are spot on with suit effects being the effect used; however when the Alien is running, a rod puppet is used which looks like crap in some shots. Ellen Ripley is at her wits end in this film as she has lost everything and is now stuck with the scum of the earth on a distant planet with another Alien, Sigourney Weaver plays Ripley as good as ever and does not falter.
A common criticism of the film is the fact that all the survivors of the previous film,(Aliens), are immediately killed off and there is a particularly gruesome autopsy on Newt, this is difficult to watch and really shouldn't have been included. I view this as the saddest and the funniest of the Alien films as some scenes are genuinely funny and other have me at tears. FYI this is the only film that makes me cry.
The set design is spot on and the sculptors really captured the run down look of this prison facility very well, it certainly suits the trend with the other 2 Alien films. I've never seen a film make the colour brown look so appealing as it does in this movie, as everything is lit in the latter colour. The use of low angles is also a welcomed addition, plus we also get to see some Alien POV shots which increase the tension.
To conclude, this film may not be as good as the first 2 Alien films, but it is a damn good film anyway and it does come close to being as good as them. If you can get over character deaths and a slightly downbeat film (which actually has a hopeful end) give this film a watch, you won't regret it.
8/10