Decent stand-alone effort, but should not be in league with the 1st two.

Rating: 6/10 (20 February 2007)

My Take: Despite the anti-climatic opening, it's somewhat effective, especially under the wing of Weaver's tormented Ripley.
I am completely unbiased with ALIEN 3, the third chapter of one of the most ambitious of science-fiction sagas. I loved ALIEN enough to call it a classic. ALIENS *is* a classic, no doubt about it. Being a big fan of this series, I know I should hate ALIEN 3, arguably the weakest link of this series, and then again why shouldn't I? The film totally ruined the entire second movie with one brief opening sequence that totally betrays the ending of the first movie. The movie hasn't even started and already did it have an anti-climax. I hated this opening sequence (save Elliot Goldenthal's fine score), which is too bad, because everything that follows is rather good, that is, viewing it as a stand-alone feature. ALIEN 3 is no good compared to its superior predecessors, but even with its hated existence, the movie is not as bad as reported.
In this chapter, picking up the last events from "Aliens", Ripley crash lands in Fiorina 161, a high-complex correctional facility, maximum security and home to the universe's toughest crime-lords and rapists. Ripley wasn't the only thing surprising to the prisoners, there's a faster and more terrifying alien, built and ready to kill. But Ripley also discovers a terrifying realization, which she must stop herself.
The film leaves some things unexplained. Like where did the alien egg come from, and how many are the eggs on the ship (if there's only one, what was the one attached on one of the passenger's face.). Worse still is how it's anti-climatic prologue gets into our nerves. But still, you have to admire the film's superiority and creativity. The suspense also builds up to terrifying and action-packed climax. The chase through those dark corridors are well shot and swiftly edited.
Anyway, it's a decent underrated effort considering the fact that it's a sequel, but it still would totally sink if compared to the first two films. I think that if they could have bought a more decent writer (who won't kill the really good characters), it could have been better.
Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.