I actually liked it

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2013)

With all the negative reviews "Alien 3" was getting my expectations were very low.To my surprise,I thought the movie was good,sure there are flaws,but the general idea was very nice-different then the first movie and "Aliens".The fact that this film takes the franchise in a new direction means this wasn't a cash-in sequel-effort was put into it.
So,what makes the third installment different then the previous.Well,the film creates a rather sad and depressing atmosphere.I think this is one of the reasons people hate "Alien 3" so much,it ruins the happy ending of "Aliens".And sure,the way it kills of Hicks and Newt is a little cheap,but necessary for the sad tone of the film and it also prevents further overflow of characters.That brings us to the next complaint a lot of people have-too many characters.I think the characters that needed to be developed-Clemens,Dillon and Ripley get adequate character development.The romance between Ripley and Clemens does seem unnatural and kinda forced and it's one of the things I didn't like about the film.
Although "Alien 3" doesn't have the constant suspense of the first film or the thrilling scenes of "Aliens" it manages to create a feeling of helplessness and constant dread.Think about it,"Alien" took place on a space ship,which is isolated and far away from help,but you can get on an escape pod and blow the ship up anytime you want(which they did)."Aliens" takes place on a remote colony,but they had weapons and a ship in orbit."Alien 3" takes place in a prison in the a** end of space and they have no weapons.Sure,the alien itself,may not be very shocking.In some scenes it's CG(I think that's because I watched the assembly cut,I'm not sure how it was in the original).
I think people are being to harsh on "Alien 3".The movie is not that bad and it's worth taking a look at.