Looks Cool but Ruins the Franchise

Rating: 5/10 (31 October 2018)

Aliens, the first sequel to the excellent "Alien" is considered to be one of the best action films ever made, and certainly one of James Cameron's best films. It made the cover of 'Time" magazine. It would be hard to top that film with the next sequel. I always imagined the storyline for the Alien franchise would have the creatures slowly getting toward Earth. Once that happens, then quoting Ripley in "Aliens" - "You can kiss all this goodbye". Perhaps the next sequel the aliens infect a space station orbiting Earth, with the last moments of the film revealing the creature has finally found it's way to the Mother planet. In fact, about 30 years later, a film called "Life" does a good job of following that storyline.
But back in the 1980s, it was decided to not even try to follow the storyline where "Aliens" left off. With scary scenes happening one after the other, the audience by the end of "Aliens" felt exhausted but relieved that the protagonists were safely on their way home. We the audience invested our time and emotions into the survival of Ripley, Newt, and Hicks. For Alien 3, all that investment is thrown away. For this sequel, the filmmakers were searching for something unconventional in location, culture, and atmosphere, a prison planet was chosen. Rewrites undoubtedly were needed to justify having only 25 men residing on a entire planet that is a prison. Perhaps one version of the script had the planet as the home of a monastery, populated by monks all with shaved heads. Perhaps an idea was that some heavy industry was going on, to justify the large factory sets.
Eventually what was decided to go on the screen pleased no one. Not the director, not the film company, and certainly not audiences. One could see the potential for another good scary alien movie, but instead see it become a jumbled mess. When I saw the movie the week it opened in the theater, I was keeping my hopes up despite the dismal reviews. But it was the trashing of the ending of "Aliens" that immediately turned me off with this film. Ripley is the sole survivor now, and the alien has gotten loose on the prison planet. The film looks unique with the industrial sets and gothic lighting. The supporting cast is a little too much, with many of the inmates showing their crazy side, as is required if your are criminal. The alien for the first time can be seen in other forms other than the humanoid version seen in the first two films. Ripley is no fun to watch here after her character survives one hell in the last film, only to land in another hell in this one. An extended autopsy scene of Newt left me further depressed. Gore effects look fine. I wouldn't I say I felt scared all that much. One unique aspect to this story is that when it is discovered the alien is killing the crew, it isn't all about evacuating. Instead we get the bad guy from corporate to the save the day. This was an auspicious debut on the big screen for director David Fincher. He bathes everything in a greenish hue, something he still does for his later films.
After giving the special edition a try many years later, there still is just no momentum to the plot. I still only consider the first two Alien films as 'authentic', and the other attempts (not counting the new prequels) as Fox trying to cash in on a franchise.