A flawed masterpiece

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2007)

I first saw Alien 3 when I was 12 years old, and I admit that at the time I was one of many young guys weened on James Cameron's Aliens, and thus incredibly eager to see the continuation of the story. I thought to myself "Man, they had big cool guns, hordes of creepy Aliens, wisecracking marines. This has gotta blow that away surely!". And what I got was not Aliens on steroids as I was expecting (and sorry to admit now, hoping for) but a thoughtful, character-driven drama that not only didn't have lots of guns or Aliens, but had NO GUNS, and ONLY ONE ALIEN WHICH IS HARDLY SEEN FOR MOST OF THE MOVIE. WTF??? I still enjoyed the movie, but through my pubescant eyes couldn't see the real beauty of it. "Why are they just sitting around when there's an alien out there?? THEY KILLED HIX N NOOT!!! WHAAAA!!!"
Now I'm a 26 year-old student of film, and in my maturity and the passage of time I've learned to love this film more each time, seeing a new layer or different feeling with each subsequent viewing, reaching yet another level of appreciation with the DVD release of Fincher's intended cut of the film.
Much has been said about the turmoil that surrounded the making of this film (see making of...), but history has told us that what we've heard barely scratches the surface of the ordeal Fincher had to go through to get this film made. On one side he had Fox wanting to make Aliens 2, and on the other he had producers at Brandywine that wanted total control of the story and for Fincher to be little more than a hired hand. Fincher is an artist, and wasn't going to let ANYONE get in the way of him achieving his vision for this film, but it was this bravery on his part that proved to be the downfall both for him, and this film.
This film is unfairly maligned in the public's eyes, and is still seen by many through those same 12 year-old eyes that I grew out of a long time ago. For me now, I see each film in the trilogy (I regard Resurrection and AvP as a different universe altogether) as the logical continuation to the previous installment.
Alien: There's a monster killing us, we have nowhere to escape to. Aliens: We've got big guns, let's waste em! Alien3: I can't believe it, they're still not dead. No matter what I do this won't stop haunting me.
The story again centres on Ripley, this time crash landing on a maximum security "Double-Y chromosome" prison planet, her companions from the previous exploits dead. She is surrounded by murderers, rapists, thieves as well as company men. People that have turned their back on the world and taken on religion as a form of redemption for themselves. Long story short, an alien came back with her, and hijinks ensue.
From the moment Ripley lands on the planet, you get the sense immediately that there is no hope. The environment is grim, dirty and there is a sense of utter hopelessness about this place. Fury 161 is a beautifully designed and lit environment that is both sad as well as threatening. A major complaint from people about this film is that it's too depressing and dreary, but it adds to the overall theme of the film, hopelessness and redemption. Gone is the haunted house feel of the first film, and the video game action of the second, replaced by a character study of a person that has lost everything and how one copes with that. The alien is almost an afterthought, as more time is spent investigating how a person can continue to get themselves back up when all hope seems lost. The fact that she shares the danger with a group of prisoners makes it all the more poignant. They are here for the rest of their lives, they've got nothing to look forward to, but they still see the good in their simple isolation, and thus rally for one final chance at redemption. In terms of character development, this film far exceeds the first two, with Ripley and these prisoners affecting one another in very logical and emotional ways. The music is also brilliant, the best of the series, one moment screechingly terrifying, the next hauntingly beautiful.
There are other levels to the story also. There is a very strong religious theme, both with the faith of the prisoners as well as Ripley's lack of it. Why should she believe that good things are on the horizon? Everyone she has ever cared about is dead, and yet she continues to be hunted. Is there something wrong with her? Did she do something to deserve this fate? Sigourney Weaver again excels as Ripley, and IMO deserved an Oscar nom more for this performance than Aliens. She truly is one of the great actresses of our time.
Each viewing of this film brings forth something new and often wonderful, however flaws still remain. The shoddy rod puppet alien affects are severely dated, and characters changing personalities at different points (perfect example being Golic, going from a ranting "Charles Manson's British cousin" to "some guy from Liverpool") as well as the ever gnawing question of how the alien got on the ship to begin with. But really, these don't take away from the beauty of this story as long as one is prepared to scratch the surface.
Leave your pre-conceived notions at the door, take the time to do some homework about the making of this film and what Fincher was really trying to achieve, and then see this movie. Hopefully you'll come out the end in agreement with me that this is a wonderful movie, but sadly a missed opportunity at a classic. If only they left him alone.