Good on many levels, but not the best of the ALIEN films.

Rating: 7/10 (21 December 2014)

WARNING: DEFINITE SPOILERS.
ALIEN 3 is a great example of how too much meddling ruins a promising movie. This movie went thru so many re-writes and director changes it's a wonder it ever got made at all. 20th Century Fox meddled until their meddlers got sore. I can't believe someone thought a wooden planet full of monks was plausible. Luckily, this was changed into a max security prison filled with "YY" men, rapists, pedophiles, sociopaths, serial killers, you name it. Ripley and the survivors from ALIENS are in hypersleep when a fire breaks out aboard the Sulaco, and the escape lifeboat is jettisoned and crash lands on Fiorina 161, the prison planet.
One of the problems I had with this film is the fact that since everyone's head is shaved, and almost everyone is British, I had trouble differentiating one character from another. There weren't enough closeups, so many of them simply looked too "alike" for me to get to know characters. Yet everyone did a marvelous job acting, and characters such as Warden Andrews (Brian Glover), Golic (Paul McGann), and Mr. Aaron (Ralph Brown), AKA "85" were amusing as they tried to deal with Ripley's presence in their orderly world. Charles S. Dutton gives a great performance as Dillon, the "leader" of these prisoners, who are trying to live lives of order, atonement, and godliness after committing such heinous crimes.
The other problem I had is: how did 2 eggs get aboard the escape pod? How??? Did Queen Bitch lay them before her last attempt to kill Ripley, Newt and Bishop??? If you've seen the film, you know what happened with egg #1, but in the theatrical version, victim #2 is a dog, and in the "Assembly Edition," an ox.
Weaver of course is still as commanding as ever, and got an Oscar nom for this portrayal of Ripley. Not because she shaved her head either, but because she gave us even more layers. For the very reasons I was angry about the beginning of the film (the deaths of Hicks and Newt), we got to see a Ripley who has lost so much. She had developed a very deep relationship with Newt, which would have balmed the pain of losing her own daughter (outliving her due to 57 years of hypersleep drifting in space), and she had had an undeniable chemistry and friendship with Hicks as well.
She's lost everyone now, and she's not even afforded more than a few hours of closeness with Clemens (Charles Dance) the prison's chief medical officer.
I enjoyed the "Assembly Edition" so much more than the original cut. There was a much better look at the individual characters. Even though the ox was a clumsier animal than a Rottweiler to use as the unlikely host to a chestbuster, it was interesting to me. Having an alien more "doglike" than humanoid was very interesting as a twist. I also liked the addition of Junior (Holt McCallany, an actor I've liked since seeing him on CSI Miami) attempting to redeem himself after that horrible scene of Ripley nearly being raped. Another standout is Danny Webb as Morse, who after being hateful to Ripley for bringing lots of problems, one in particular, with her when she crashed, ends up a hero.
Again, not my favorite, but as long as the "Assembly Ed.) exists, it has its merits, and once you get used to the disappointing beginning, it's quite a good story with great acting.