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Rating: 2 out of 5
Listen, Aliens was the shit! It is considered one of the greatest sequels ever made. It took the original from a horror film to making it an action film with horror elements. The success of Aliens led to a sequel six years later. I know we live in a world of trilogies and milking a franchisee for all its worth. Sometimes, there are some movies that should never be made. Alien 3 is that film where a chest buster would be like, “naw, it’s not even worth it.”
Alien 3 picks up right after Aliens. After escaping with Newt and Hicks, an egg hatches aboard the Colonial Marine spaceship Sulaco, releasing a facehugger. A fire breaks out, and the computer launches an escape pod containing Ellen Ripley (Weaver), Newt, Hicks, and the damaged android Bishop; all four are in cryonic stasis. Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and home to a correctional facility. Newt and Hicks die in the process. Ripley wakes up and learns that the prison is like hell and doesn’t allow weapons. Survival is rough, and prisoners do anything they can to survive. Unbeknownst to anyone, an alien egg manages to survive and attach itself to a dog. While waiting for help until she can be rescued, Ripley discovers the reason behind her crash. As the aliens mature, she must find a way out of prison and learn the truth about herself or what is inside her.
Let’s get the good out of the way first. Alien 3 has some really stylish visuals, and I will give it credit for the tone. The visuals are a minor upgrade from the previous film, as it really draws you in with the way the xenomorphs move around. The tone/atmosphere is solid. It seems like the planet is one giant volcano surrounded by trash. It always seems to have an orange glow to it. Honestly, it isn’t a place you want to be, and I feel like you need to wash.
Now we got the minor good out the way; this film is meh. I don’t know if it was Alien fatigue, but the storyline really didn’t click. Ripley crash landing on a prison planet just didn’t click. She being the only female on this planet wasn’t interesting. Then when shit hit the fan, it was a long-ass chase scene. There were so many long chase scenes that you got dizzy from it. Were they entertaining at the start? Yea, it was fun watching the xenomorph crawl along the walls as the prisoners try to escape while closing doors. After a while, you start wondering if it would end and where the jump scares are at.
I think that is the biggest problem of this film. It doesn’t know if it wants to be an action or horror film. It seemed like the writers and director were like, “Okay, the first one was a fantastic horror film, and the second film was an awesome action thriller. How about we combine the two, and it should be even better.” Yet, it failed to live up to any expectations. I read that it went through three script changes, and it definitely showed. I would say the ending will live on with SPOILER ALERT, Ripley throwing herself in an ocean of lava as a chest buster comes out of her stomach while cradling it like a baby.
I will say that killing off Hicks and Newt was an awful decision. They were cool characters in the previous film, and to just throw them away and be like they died in the beginning, made this film even less than appealing to watch.
Honestly, the best part of this whole film is Sigourney Weaver, reprising her role as Ellen Ripley. Weaver has such a hold on this role that she makes it look easy. The problem is that an awful movie will leave the character looking inferior than what she was. You’ve taken a character that was an Academy Award nominated character and mixed her into something that was strong but also worried about things. Where was the badass woman that jumped in that suit and whipped that ass?
Alien 3 is one of those films that you can watch for the series but will feel disappointed. The multiple script changes hurt this film majorly and just made the film confusing. The visual effects are badass and a highlight, but overall you can almost skip this film to keep up with the character’s storyline.
