Criminally Under-appreciated

Rating: Null/10 (2 February 2002)

Where does one begin to defend a movie so loathed by the general populace? Even I initially despised this film for reasons i now consider somewhat ignorant and close-minded. For starters, Many viewed this film coming down from the non-stop adrenaline rush that was Jim Cameron's Aliens, a film very far removed from the original '79 classic. The biggest problem i had with Aliens was Cameron all but threw out the original ideas Ridley Scott and his crew had concieved, even turning H.R Gieger's elegant and terrifying creature into an armored war - machine, good only for quick scares and cannon fodder. On the other hand Cameron introduced some great supporting characters in the form of Hicks and Newt. Before Alien 3 was announced, an independant Comic Book publisher named Dark Horse Comics published a sequel to Cameron's "Aliens" in comic book form. In this story Hicks and Newt become the central characters, and the tone becomes much closer to that of the original film. Ripley's presence is felt in the form of a metaphorical ghost, while not directly appearing, the mystery of her whereabouts and circumstances of her dissapearence following the events of the film Aliens lend purpose to the characters of the book, which brings us at last to Alien 3. Fincher took the road least expected, bringing the series back to its roots following the success of the second film, this move alone damned the film as far as i'm concerned. The explosion and saturation of the second film into popular culture ensured that it would go down as a classic, while the first film remained a cult-status masterpiece, and thus the vast majority of film-goers were watching the third outing from the James Cameron perspective rather than the Ridley Scott one.
Where Fincher succeeds is in the bleak, desolate imagining of Fury 151, a male penal colony located on a planet about as pleasant as hell on earth. The pacing, mood, atmosphere and even simple things like Fincher's use of sound in the film add to the frightening nature, the opening alone, with it's dead quiet-sudden rush of flame-dead quiet-sudden alarm etc. sets a frightening note to start on, leaving us in bewilderment as to what's actually going on, quick little glimpses and the voice of a computer are used so effectively in evoking panic. This tactic works well throughout the film, even in it's slow moments, oftentimes tricking or manipulating the viewer, sometimes with false alarms, sometimes not. Fincher also digs a little deeper than even Ridley Scott did into the drama inherent in the Ripley character, the tradgedy surrounding her, and how she and the alien share a bond in a sense, much to her dismay. The tension and drama all add up to an incredible sequence near the end when the inmates struggle to lure the Alien into a lead press. The frenetic pacing, after such a slow build up, works very effectively.
Where Fincher et al go wrong, is in their use of characters, for reasons i figure had more to do with executive politics and the availability of certain actors than with plot or storyline, Hicks and Newt are mercilessly killed off during the opening sequence. This reeks to me of "Michael Bihen is unavailable." or "'fill in the blank' doesnt want Michael or Carrie back again... lets off 'em" rather than "Lets make it even more tragic, lets have Ripley lose those she cares most for". To be fair, Lance Henrikson does make an appearance as the ruined android Bishop, as well as a poorly concieved and poorly handled appearance as the company scientist on whom "Bishop" was based. If George Lucas ever went ahead and did Star Wars 7, and un-ceremoniuosly killed off Han and Leia in the opening sequence, you get the equivalent of Alien 3. I think it's this 'detachment' from the second film which really ruins it for many and not so much the return to a darker, moodier setting. This series was not about Ripley at one point, sure she was a survivor and all, but she was a piece of the whole, and this film strips away some of her charm by elevating her to 'sole character' status, which also kills a lot of her likeability as far as i'm concerned. Alien: Ressurection proved this even further in my opinion, completely destroying the character created by Scott, and expanded upon by Cameron and even Fincher. The other inmates of the prison should have been given a tighter focus, and the most interesting of the lot (the doctor) should not have been one of the first to be killed off.
In all Fincher assembles a noble film every bit as good as its predecessors, however it is a film which must be viewed on it's own merits, one must put Cameron's Aliens as far back into his mind as possible. I would wonder how much better recieved this film would have been if only Ripley and Bishop had made it onto the Sulaco at the end of Aliens.