People in the Movie: Sigourney Weaver, Charles Dutton
Director: David Fincher (Se7en, Zodiac)
Pigeonhole: Sci Fi/ Horror
Recommendation: This is a strange film in the sense that there are things I really despise about Alien 3 - mostly relating to discarded story lines and what would eventually end up being filmed - but at the same time, the on-screen product has some very good production elements. While the plot did not expand the Alien universe mythology, it is still a fairly entertaining movie to watch, and I would recommend seeing it. 'R' rating is for language, horror-type violence and gore.
Basics: This is the third movie of the Alien franchise, it picks up right after the events of Aliens. Ripley (Weaver), Newt, Hicks, and the remaining pieces of Bishop are all jettisoned from the Sulaco, still asleep in their cryotubes, via escape pod, due to a fire aboard the ship. (The audience sees that this incident was caused due to the presence of one of the "face-hugger" aliens.) The pod crash lands onto a planet called 'Fury-161', which houses the remnants of a prison colony. Ripley survives, however, Newt and Hicks are killed, while Bishop's scattered pieces are subsequently thrown to the scrap heap.
We learn that there are only about a dozen inmates remaining at this facility, but these are the worst-of-the-worst type of criminals, and all noted to have the "double Y chromosome". They have stayed on this planet under the watch of a warden, his assistant, a medical officer named Clemens (Charles Dance), and have formed a sort of neo-Christian support group, as they would not ever be allowed back into regular society. The inmates are no longer kept in their cells and service the old foundry/ prison as custodians. Now faced with the task of quelling the disruption of a woman amongst their numbers, the warden suggests Ripley confine herself to the medical area with Clemens until her rescue group arrives.
The face-hugger alien has also hitched a ride on the escape pod and finds a dog at the prison to attach himself to and plants an embryo. Then the fun begins... An alien, different from all the ones we have seen in the past 2 movies, bursts from the dog to begin stalking and killing the inmate-residents of Fury-161. We learn Ripley is housing a dark secret, as well. There will be only one survivor.
**Spoiler Alert**
What went right:
- I liked the gothic look and feel of the movie. The colors throughout were muted with lots of browns, greys, and an almost overall sepia quality. Weaver shaved her head for the film, which initially seemed like it was going to be more of a talking point or gimmick, but in my opinion actually worked very well. Metaphorically speaking, Ripley was as much a prisoner to the circumstances and came off as an equal to the other characters of Alien 3. In general, the idea to have the film take place in a prison setting I feel is an element worth praising.
- Fincher (in his film debut) did create some enjoyable sequences with a good rise in tension, and reasonable amount of action when called for. I also enjoyed some shots that were done as if the audience is looking through the alien's eyes. Fincher also used a minimal approach to showing the alien in the scenes, like in the original Alien. He let the music and the environment create the suspense.
- The film production and direction stayed true to the idea that the setting was a run-down prison, so there was no misplaced introduction of some futuristic gadgets to help the plot move along. In fact, quite contrary, there was a total lack of anything technological to assist the characters against the alien, and I appreciated this element.
- The ending was entirely appropriate and rose my overall impression about this film's beginning to end totality. To set it up: Ripley, about mid-way through the film discovers she was implanted with an alien, so as the movie progresses, it's almost like a "death sentence" for both her and all the remaining characters. In the last sequence, Ripley, knowing she is carrying a Queen alien embryo, throws herself in the metal works just as the newborn alien is bursting out of her chest. Very much an exclamation point ending to one of the most powerful female characters in all of science fiction at the time.
What went wrong:
- I will discuss the overall misdirection of the complete story/plot in another post. But, one of my first issues with Alien 3 was the decision the kill off Newt and Hicks to open the film. I felt this was complete disrespect to the whole second movie, and basically minimized the entire "struggle" for Ripley, Hicks and Newt to escape LV-426 and to have defeated the Queen Alien and her broad.
- As I noted above, there was no attempt to expand the Alien mythology in this movie. Other than the element of the "monster" coming out of a dog this time, there was nothing I could point to that really made this story stand apart from its predecessors.
- Where Aliens did not necessarily feel like a direct sequel to Alien because of its ability to stand on its own a great sci-fi/action movie, Alien 3 does almost feel like a bad horror movie sequel to Alien and Aliens. Yes, it's a different planet with different characters, but still the same overall problem. From the opening sequence, I had the "here we go again" feeling.
Final Thoughts:
I think time has rightfully been kind to Alien 3. This is one of the few movies in my life I actually went to see opening weekend in theater. My initial reaction at that time was one of dismay - I was upset that Hicks was killed before the movie even started, and I was basically stewing for the remainder of the film just looking for anything redeeming at that point. I thought, at that point, David Fincher should go back to directing Madonna videos and leave feature film making to others.
(Fortunately Fincher came back a few years later directing Se7en, and has since established himself as one of the great American directors of the last 20 years.)
I also felt that the Alien mythology and future stories could have died with Alien 3 because of the death of Ripley, and the very shaky story. Luckily in science fiction and horror, no one ever "really" dies, witnessed by the future installments in the Alien film family.
After re-watching Alien 3, I realized my initial hostility was quelled and I found that it has very entertaining elements. While Alien 3 could be the most polarizing installment in the Alien universe as far as criticisms ranging from "very good" to a "complete waste of time", I find it an enjoyable member of the Alien films collection.
Tidbits:
- Oddly, Fincher was nominated for a Saturn and Hugo award for this film
- There is an "Assembly Cut" of this film which has approximately 30 more minutes of footage, and does supposedly add more back story and depth. I have not seen this cut as of this writing.
- David Fincher directed, but essentially has disavowed this movie because of studio/producer interference. He was not involved with the editing, and feels what is on screen is not what he envisioned.
- Multiple directors and multiple writers were associated with this film and were either fired or quit before David Fincher came aboard.
