Can't state this emphatically enough... see the Special Edition

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2006)

The producers of Alien3 should be ashamed of themselves and they owe David Fincher a serious apology and compensation. They caused so much hassle and stuck their noses in places they didn't belong that the theatrical release(TR) of Alien3 was watered down compared to the masterpiece David Fincher produced in the Special Edition(SE). The theatrical version deserves the lowish rating it has received, but the Director's cut is outstanding and in my opinion is the best of all the Alien movies in the franchise to date!!! In this day and age of much longer movies, it doesn't make sense to see in hindsight the editorial debauchery David Fincher's Alien3 was witness too. The TR was bad. Large sections of the plot were stripped, they replaced the pivotal alien host, and in general the sections that set the scene were all missing. One Simple and essential must... SEE THE SPECIAL EDITION !!!!
The characters are disturbingly great and portray a very credible motley band of backwater planet prisoners. Charles Dance is brilliant but unfortunately isn't on screen for as long as I wished. Maybe that in itself is a testament to the brilliance and another reason why some people scored Alien3 lowly- their sensibilities were hurt with a fantastic character killed quickly!!. Charles Dutton is a mean and believable 'top dog' and the contribution of the reliable Pete Postlethwaite was a treat. The interaction between prisoners, authorities and visitors was always evident and very well handled. Alien3 further highlighted the expendability of human life for corporate greed.
The Alien is one nasty critter. Different to the other Alien movies, the camera angles of the alien's sight and movement are well executed. It is clear the creators wished to return to that claustrophobic and technological defunct world of the first Alien movie, and while it is very different, I believe it worked extremely well.
Alien3 has an incredibly beautiful and stirring musical score. It is haunting in parts and from all the 'Alien' movies, I believe most people would have this tune in their head. In the scheme of the Alien saga, I believe Alien3 -Special Edition to be the best. Without giving away serious spoilers, the SE reinstates massive sections that transcend Alien3 from a lowly rated movie to a thoroughly deserved masterpiece. It is a pity David Fincher wasn't more experienced and time under his belt to tell and force the producers to 'My way or the highway'.
SPECIAL EDITION ONLY TO BE SEEN!!!!!!