Problematic production leads to a problematic film - the worst in the franchise

Rating: 5/10 (8 April 2012)

Let me begin by congratulating David Fincher, director of this third instalment in the Alien franchise, for enduring what he did during this production. Alien 3 was his directorial debut, and he was given a massive $50 million budget to play with, in addition to having to live up to fans' expectations after the previous two marvellous films, Alien and Aliens, directed by Ridley Scott and the unsinkable James Cameron respectively. He had to start shooting without a script, and 20th Century Fox stuck their noses in the production so many times that I'm surprised he finished the film. But he did. And after all of that, the film turned out just as one would expect with all that going on – messy.
While the first Alien film finishes with Ripley shooting off into space as the lone survivor, with an unknown future ahead of her, the second film shows Ripley accompanied by two other characters (and a damaged robot). Alien 3 had so much potential to capitalise on this, and utilise Hicks and Newt to a great extent, giving Ripley a family of companions to accompany her through her battle with the creatures and The Company. But no. They are callously killed off in the opening titles, with seldom time to mourn them. This is the film's first big mistake, and is guaranteed to leave Aliens fans a little peeved.
The prison story is interesting enough, as Ripley is the lone woman on a barren prison planet full of deadly convicts. Moving on to Alien 3's next big mistake: the creature itself. Quite radically re-designed, this creature seems much less deadly than in previous films, exacerbated further by the tacky special effects. Having spent much of the first two films seeing very little of the creature, which builds fear and tension superbly, this film shows you a little too much, and one realises that the little Xenomorph isn't actually all that scary.
Nonetheless, the film isn't an entire disaster. Sigourney Weaver gives a naturally excellent performance, along with the rest of the cast doing a fine job as well. Furthermore, the musical score in the film is, in my opinion, the best in the Alien franchise. (This is understandable, as composer Elliot Goldenthal was given an entire year alongside David Fincher to finish the score, as opposed to the six or so weeks given to James Horner for Aliens.) And, last but not least, the film's emotional final scene is very well written, with great performances all round. The scene could (and probably should) have given a satisfying conclusion to the franchise, before the nightmarish Alien: Resurrection.
Overall, while the film makes the best out of a bad situation, the problems shine through, and there are far too many flaws in the film to consider it a classic. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Alien 3 and its sequel ruin the franchise, but they most certainly put a downer on it. Alien 3 is probably the worst film of the four. But it's alright, I guess.