People are resistant to change...

Rating: 7/10 (23 February 2001)

Well done David Fincher for having the courage to rip up some of what was established by the film's two predecessors and instead work from a template that allowed him to bring his own unique vision to the screen.
(SPOILERS)
Having Ripley sacrifice herself at the end would have been a masterstroke had she not been brought back for a fourth outing, and the restriction of weapons on the prison planet provided a nice contrast to James Cameron's more gung-ho installment. As for Hicks and Newt, these were characters introduced and developed by another director in a totally different context. The thing I've always liked about the franchise is that each film is markedly different by virtue of having a new director. Usually people are the first to complain if a sequel offers the audience nothing different from what has been seen before. You can't have it both ways...
I'm not trying to claim that this is the best of the series, far from it, but I think that this film gets unfairly slated because Fincher had the guts to try and do something different with it. I can picture the dismay on the faces of the studio chiefs when they learned about Ripley's fate. It's kinda sad that they felt the need to concoct a fourth installment because it probably wasn't due to artistic inspiration, but rather an excuse to squeeze another few drops from such a lucrative cash-cow.
Much of what is on display here is good, the shaving of Ripley's hair robs her of any femininity she may have had, which is kinda ironic since some would say that the ultimate symbol of femininity is childbirth, and she has something growing inside her, but it ain't human! The prison planet is a beautifully constructed oppressive environment which gives Fincher the dark and gloomy motif he's since proved he's au fait with, and the supporting cast was nicely chosen, providing plenty of opportunity for exploiting the tense dramatic situation, rather than resorting to the standard stalk'n' slash scenario all the time, (which the film still doesn't skimp on, for the more gore-hungry amongst you)
IMHO, fans of the franchise should accept its continual evolving nature and concentrate instead on praising Fincher's film for what it is, a bold, worthy addition to an almost classic pantheon.