Well-crafted addition to series

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2002)

What's exciting about watching the quaternary "Alien" films is each one reflects the director's proclivities. "Alien 2," many people's favorite, is typical of the "blast-first-ask-questions-later" mentality of James Cameron. (A director I loathe.) What I appreciate about "Alien 3," and certainly I'm in the minority here, is how it rethinks the genre. Ripley crashes on a penal colony where there are no weapons and all the inmates have "found God." Unfortunately the alien also finds its way there and is ready to begin harvesting. With no weapons at their disposal, the inmates have to pull together and find another way to conquer this "unstoppable" foe. It's so obvious to rely on fire power, the bigger the gun the better, that anymore it's almost boring. So to take on this kind of enemy WITHOUT rounds of ammo is creative thinking at its highest. How this film got made is anyone's guess. While four writers are credited with the script, the story belongs to New Zealander Vincent Ward, a true visionary filmmaker who created "Vigil," "Navigator" and "What Dreams May Come." (I wish he'd work on another project already.) True genius! I also enjoy the atmospherics of this film. It's very claustrophobic, with a pervasive undercurrent of menace. Here's a woman surrounded by rapists and murderers who operate under a thin veneer of civility and she has to rely on them. It creates a very tense situation indeed. Sigourney Weaver shaved her head for the role, very bold in a "you'll get the job if you're a pinup" industry. And here she's got balls of brass. Her costars, most of whom are British, are top notch, particularly the always wonderful Pete Postlethwaithe, Charles Dance and Brian Glover. Charles S. Dutton is also quite good. And the cinematography by Alex Thomson, the man behind "Excalibur," is moody and atmospheric. In my mind, you can never make a film too dark. (It would have been interesting to see how Dharius Khondji, the cinematographer on "Se7en," would have done.) For me, David Fincher is a real hit and miss director, but he's still one of the most visually exciting. He's done some truly brilliant work and I consider "Se7en," "Fight Club" and "Alien 3" some of the most impressive films of all time. (Although "The Game" and "Panic Room" were stylistically fascinating, they are crap when it comes to plot.) Those who seem to admire "Alien 3" are formalists; they appreciate style over function. Those who hate this film belong to the "shoot 'em up" club; if you have to think about your sci-fi, you might as well not bother. I say more of the former, fewer of the latter.