alien 3 is the only alien film i have seen in theaters .
i saw it when i was 13 years old , and i must admit that i did n't like it .
of course , i was expecting aliens again , and i believe this was my fault .
in order to appreciate alien 3 , you need to see aliens , but you also have to wipe away all the expectations from its predecessor .
james cameron 's aliens was an action film , and many people consider it the best in the series .
i am among that group , but alien 3 is an extremely entertaining film , which critics have bashed for its originality .
many thought the final chase scene went on for too long , and many others thought that the film was too much dialogue and not enough action .
both are untrue , because the film has quite a bit of action , and the dialogue was essential and well - written .
as for the chase sequence , it was long , but not overly long , creating quite a bit of suspense from confusion .
perhaps watching alien 3 on video helped .
on the big screen , i was overwhelmed by something i normally did n't see .
it was a very dark film , and the language was extremely harsh .
i had always figured the alien series to rely on smart dialogue instead of moronic profanities .
do n't get me wrong -- i'm not saying films should eliminate swearing , but when a film substitutes dialogue with these profane remarks , it gets rather distracting .
however , since seeing it again , i realize that the swearing is mainly just an aspect of the restrained hatred in the characters .
as a result , alien 3 's only flaw ( albeit a major one ) is the underdeveloped characters .
we never really care about any of them , and i get the feeling that many scenes were cut in order to shorten the length of the movie .
there were only two characters i liked , and of course one was lt .
ripley ( sigourney weaver ) , although we have gotten to know her through two other films .
the other character was dr .
clemens ( charles dance ) , but
because we like him , the inevitable occurs .
alien 3 begins exactly where aliens left off .
the prologue of alien 3 is a pure cinematic achievement by director david fincher , who had only directed music videos before his chance with this alien entry .
without using a single line of dialogue ( unless you count computer warnings ) , fincher sets up the entire film .
an impressive aspect of this is that fincher only shows a few seconds of film before cutting to a title card .
we see lt .
ripley and the little girl in their cryogenic compartments .
. .
( title ) . . .
a shot of an alien egg .
. .
( title ) . . .
alien legs stretch up into the air .
. .
( title ) . . .
and so on and so on .
during these first ten minutes , i learned everything i had to in order for alien 3 to proceed .
it 's quite a remarkable opening , and one which will remain in my mind for a long time .
because of this face - hugger which has been hatched aboard the vessel from aliens , the hypersleep containers are sent into an escape pod , and sent down to the nearest planet : fiorina fury-161 , an ore refinery which has been turned into a maximum security prison .
however , the face - hugger managed to attach itself to one of the cryo - tubes , and is sent down with the escape pod .
unfortunately , during the landing , all but one of the survivors from aliens is killed .
ripley is discovered by some of the inmates and taken back to the refinery .
of course , you need a carrier for this face - hugger , and it attachs itself to the dog which came with the team of inmates .
ripley is revived and asks to see the ship .
after seeing a mysterious acid - eaten section , ripley asks to see the dead bodies , and then have them cremated .
this cremation scene is one of the most powerful and impressive of all the alien films . featuring a monologue from dillon ( charles s . dutton ) , a prisoner who has found god , the movie cuts back and forth from the ceremony to the dog 's demise .
it 's one of the most memorable moments , as the speech reflects exactly what is going on with the dog .
and this is where alien 3 succeeds .
fincher normally injects a lot of symbolism into his films , and
i can easily see him becoming the next stanley kubrick or alfred hitchcock
( in fact , he is the mixture of both ) .
fincher knows exactly what to film and how to film it , and i figure that he will be one of the few directors with complete control over his films .
alien 3 is riddled with symbolic speeches and metaphorical images .
by doing so , fincher creates some of the best scenes in the entire alien franchise .
many people have criticized fincher 's filming of the death scene of ripley ( i reveal nothing by saying this ) as looking too fake , but i enjoy and relish in the portrayal .
showing ripley fall in slow motion is a nice touch , but by actually not showing her hit the vat of iron , a great deal of symbolism is derived .
i feel that it would have spoiled the mood of the entire film if they had actually shown her splash into the molten iron .
however , most people seem to want to witness ripley die ( which creates a paradox , as she is the character i did n't want to see die ) .
why she is killed is one of the surprises of the film , and i do n't plan on spoiling that in this review .
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from every alien film comes several memorable moments which seem to stick with you forever .
in alien , it was , of course , the moment the alien burst out of kane 's stomach .
in aliens , it was the showdown between alien and ripley in a machine .
alien 3 has several , but
most memorable is the terrific shot involving the alien and ripley .
ripley is pushed up against a wall , and the alien stands inches away from her .
why it does n't kill her is a shocker , which later leads to a surprise ending .
fincher apparently loves to use close - ups of actors ' faces ( michael douglas and the clown face - off in the game in the same style ) , and by shaving off the actors ' hair , the only thing we have to look at is their faces .
many critics did n't like all the actors being bald , but it makes complete sense when taken in context of the plot .
most of alien 3 works when you take it in context of the story , but when you try to compare it to its predecessors , fincher 's turn seems a bit gloomy and dark , though that 's not always a bad thing .
the plot is pretty much a rehash of the first two films , with some major twists .
again , we are setup with several different characters , and one by one , they are picked off .
however , while the first two had tons of arsenal ( especially cameron 's film ) , alien 3 takes place on a planet devoid of human life except for this run - down prison .
as a result , no weapons are to be found .
this creates a lot of tension , although i must admit that fincher could have added a lot more suspense .
as an alien film , alien 3 is the worst of the series , but by itself ,
it is an extremely well - made motion picture , with a lot more merits than not .
the unfortunate thing surrounding this second sequel is the one - dimensional characters .
i never was really emotionally involved on screen because most of the characters are hardcore criminals whom i really could care less about .
despite this , ripley was the central figure , and that 's what is important .
we care for her , even though she began to act just like one of the guys .
again , the technical side of this film is remarkable , and better than the two previous versions .
while cameron 's version was a pumped up action film with massive artillary , fincher uses brilliant camera angles , terrific lighting , and moody sets .
the cinematography , by alex thomson , is very well done , with a terrific chase sequence towards the end of the movie .
the confusion of the ending draws the viewer in , as we are just as confused as the actors who are being chased around .
the yellows , reds , and oranges of the lights create a dark mood , and by themselves create a lot of suspense .
shadows dance on the walls , and yet those shadows could easily be the alien .
the alien is different from its predecessors this time around , and the swiftness of this alien is quite intense .
the camera likes to take up the perspective of the alien , racing after the characters .
the sets are quite incredible , which are reminiscient of the nostromo from alien .
the narrow corridors and labrynthine hallways is well constructed .
the sets appear to be in the future , but not too far in the future .
one of the set pieces even aids in the destruction of the alien ( nothing surprising there ) .
sigourney weaver turns out yet another good performance , equaling her portrayal of ripley in aliens .
she was snubbed at the oscars for this one , mainly because the film was a critical bomb .
her reactions are far more realistic in this film , with her crying over the loss of the little child she risked her life saving in her previous encounter .
it 's quite touching really .
charles s .
dutton is very strong in his performance
as one of the inmates , and i was on the brink of actually caring for him .
charles dance turns in a nice low - key performance , and as a result , i cared for him immediately .
lance henriksen makes a brief appearance as bishop ii , but he was more entertaining in aliens .
the rest of the cast is pretty stale , though pete postlethwaite sticks out due to his recent turns in the usual suspects and the lost world .
alien 3 is rated r for strong violence and language , and sex .
although it has its flaws , alien 3 is highly entertaining with rich symbolism .
this film reminds you how much fun it is to spot metaphorical images throughout a movie .
while kubrick may have a moral message throughout his films , fincher relies on cinematic devices to bring his meanings out .
it 's a film like fincher 's which reminds us that it is okay for a film to sacrifice quality for quantity ( the final scene ) .
in fact , it tells us that we , as a society , have become too critical of things which may happen to look a little " fake .
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whenever something looks fake on screen , we immediately point it out as a mistake .
but perhaps it is n't a mistake .
Output: P