How the Alien saga was nearly ruined...

Rating: 7/10 (4 July 2016)

David Fincher was clearly overwhelmed by his task as a director (why this music video maker became chief of a doomed non-scripted major film is beyond me) of this overheated, under-written, and overlong entry in the "Alien" film franchise, a series of films that clearly showed itself to be walking upon shaky treads as it squirmed ahead. The picture does look great, however, what with the lighting and design work done by Jordan Cronenweth, A.S.C. (who was in ill health throughout the production) and a crack team of visual specialists (mostly British) who worked tirelessly in their attempts to save the picture. But looking at a bald Ripley is unattractive to me, the alien is too little seen here (and in Fincher's "assembly cut" there is more footage that nervous executives excised for good reasons really, but it is a more complete version of the film if you like the way that it looks). Outstanding camera-work and powerful visual themes are significantly better (and more dramatic) than this film deserved to be, and really it's not an "action" movie in the genuine American sense, but I did enjoy the fact that Biehn's character (and the Newt character) were killed early on because I could see no purpose that they would serve in the movie. Then again, there was no reason for Ripley to come back, or the Alien itself, or... well, you get the idea.
Although, this is my least favorite among the trilogy (I do not consider Resurrection a part of the series), I definitely think that the Runner, or Dog Alien, is probably the best alien in all the movies. Unbelievably vicious and just, to quote superintendent Andrews, 'Generally Unpleasant', the beast has a mean streak and often toys with the prisoners, making this the darkest and most violent of the trilogy. The bad parts about the movie are obvious. After seeing the Colonial marines in action, it is tough to see the events of this movie. You will miss the marines. Another very troubling aspect is the deaths of Hicks and Newt, whom Ripley had strives so very hard to rescue in the last movie, only to have their lives sorrowfully taken from them. Seeing Hicks die, as my favorite character from Aliens, was upsetting. The acting isn't exactly top notch, but you will grow to like a few of the prisoners, namely Morse and Dillon. Not the best in the trilogy, but it definitely brings a good closure to the series.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.