Meh... aliens vs prisoner cell block H

Rating: 6/10 (12 February 2020)

In a vain and desperate attempt to further extend the "Aliens" cinematic universe, this third film feels a little rushed and under developed. In a true reflection of the 90's it's a lot of style over substance which unfortunately counts against the film, when held up against its excellent predecessors.
Crash landing on planet Fiorina 161, Ripley is once again the sole survivor to escape from an Alien encounter - nee the last film. She finds that this planet is a male penitentiary/ mining colonized world so instantly she doesn't fit in, the lack of a penis being one of the main issues. While being held and supervised within the colony until a rescue ship is sent to collect her, strange things start to happen, mysterious deaths and random faults. It seems that an alien managed to get on-board the escape vessels that brought Ripley to the planet that Alien is slowly gaining size and strength as it works its way through the colony. Being part penitentiary there are no weapons on the planet yet survival is the aim at Ripley and the colony do their best to hold out until rescuers arrive.
So why does this film not rate as highly as the first two films? That's a strange conundrum. The acting in the film is great, with so many gritty (and British) actors on display the only person that occasionally comes across as cheesy is at time Sigourney Weaver herself - but that's not because it's a bad performance, its more just a case that she stands out at an occasionally witty and upbeat American surrounded by so many hard faced and gritty male performances. The visuals likewise don't bring the film down, there are still moments of shock and horror, there are definitely scares, and nothing really looks out of place anywhere. Maybe the thing that brings the film down is actually the grittiness; it feels like a bleakness is been forced onto the audience. If the first two films gave the excitement of a chase with the potential to survive, this film tells you that there is nowhere to run and not a great deal you can do - almost like you have lost before you have started, and the only thing you can do is to prepare for the eventual doom. The pace and flow of the film also made enjoyment difficult - with director duties given to David Fincher this film relies on dialogue, but it seems that in attempt to deliver good dialogue action is sacrificed - which was a solidifying factor for the first two films. It's probably fair to say, if it wasn't for the first two films, this film as a stand-alone film would probably be received better - as it was though the expectation that was created after the first two films was let down in this film. Some bad decisions and bad ideas made the film a little sloppy - killing off fellow survivor at the very start of the film, the editing choices which cut up action when it needs to be explored further, a soundtrack that troughs and peaks at wrong times. Having enjoyed other Fincher films I find it difficult to put the blame onto him, he was working with a script and concept that wasn't his, you can see his input with the way the film feels bleak and gritty. Unfortunately you can also see the studio influence in the way that certain things need to be formulaically copied in order for audiences to like this, and that makes it feel like it isn't entirely an auteur driven ship - which could be part of the reason why it's choppy, editing isn't on tee, and the feel of the situation varies more than it should.
I'd still give this a 6, but it is a massive drop in the franchise of Alien films and rather than add something to the cannon, it seems to weaken it's magnitude a little bit.