Deserves a second look

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2010)

I originally reacted strongly against this film, and I think it's for the same reason that many fans of the series did at the time. Alien was a landmark film and was a certain type of genre. Then Aliens was released and proved to be a faster-paced and exciting thrill of a film. I enjoyed Aliens so much as an action-horror film that I must have watched it well over fifty times. So, you can imagine my surprise when I went to see Alien 3 in the theater, only to find out that the characters that everyone loved from Aliens were dead or dying.
After re-watching Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 again and taking a good close look at the details, I realized that Alien 3 is actually a return to the tone, mood, and nightmarish terror of the first film. If fact, technically speaking, Alien 3 is more true to the series than Aliens is. I'll give Cameron credit for closely following the plot points set by Alien (awaken from sleep, discovery of organism, first encounter, outmatched by organism, hunter becomes the hunted through conduit system, seemingly kill organism, creature returns for an encore, finally kill creature, return to sleep, roll credits). Great, I get that. However, Aliens is an action film that takes a few liberties with the Aliens (introduces a queen and bulks up the formerly sleek alien design). It also initially leaves off the creature design credit for H.R. Giger. Now, we move forward to Alien 3. This film is dark, filled with suspense, features vast sets, and a creature that is more like the one in the first film than the one in the second. Characters are once again stripped of sophisticated weaponry and put into a situation where human must truly struggle against xenomorph. It's the sense of helplessness and hopelessness that is a hallmark of Alien films. Ripley's defiance in such situations is what defines Ripley's character. And it is this that show up in spades in the first and third films. As for the cartoonish fourth film, I barely acknowledge it (for a variety of reasons).
So, those who were disappointed in Alien 3, I recommend that you at least give it one more look. First though, re-watch Alien and note the elements that make it what it is. Then keep in mind that -- in real life -- bad things happen to good people. Alien should be the stuff of nightmares.