Alien 3
Year: 1992
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Charles Dance, Charles S. Dutton & Sigourney Weaver
Runtime: 109 mins (Theatrical) 138 mins (Assembly Cut)
BBFC: 18
Published: 29/09/22
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Charles Dance, Charles S. Dutton & Sigourney Weaver
Runtime: 109 mins (Theatrical) 138 mins (Assembly Cut)
BBFC: 18
Published: 29/09/22
'We’re all gonna die. The only question is how you check out. Do you want it on your feet, or on your fucking knees begging?'
Similar to my opening quotes for my reviews of Alien and Aliens, this line from Alien 3 speaks volumes about the film itself, both in its original 1992 theatrical form, and the 2003 ‘Assembly Cut’. Alien 3 was a project fraught with production issues, countless rewrites and multiple directors attached. By the time it landed on the lap of David Fincher he was given almost no pre-production and large sections of the film had no script. For the now revered director’s Hollywood debut, things couldn’t have looked bleaker. So, this puts my Alien 3 review in the unique position of not only continuing my Alien franchise reviews, but also kicking off my retrospective look at one of my all-time favourite directors in Fincher. Despised by many, including Fincher himself, Alien 3 is a film that pleased almost no-one, and yet I find quite a lot to like about it…under certain conditions at least.
Following her escape from LV-426, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is the sole survivor when the lifeboat carrying her, Hicks, Newt, and Bishop crash lands on Fiorina 161, a maximum-security male prison planet.
Concerned about the circumstances behind Hicks’ & Newt’s deaths, Ripley soon discovers that a xenomorph has survived the journey and is now lurking inside the prison. With the help of prison doctor Clemens (Charles Dance), and spiritually guided inmate Dillon (Charles S. Dutton), Ripley must lead the prisoners in a fight against the xenomorph and confront her own mortality.
Following her escape from LV-426, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is the sole survivor when the lifeboat carrying her, Hicks, Newt, and Bishop crash lands on Fiorina 161, a maximum-security male prison planet.
Concerned about the circumstances behind Hicks’ & Newt’s deaths, Ripley soon discovers that a xenomorph has survived the journey and is now lurking inside the prison. With the help of prison doctor Clemens (Charles Dance), and spiritually guided inmate Dillon (Charles S. Dutton), Ripley must lead the prisoners in a fight against the xenomorph and confront her own mortality.
I am going to clarify that this review is primarily based on the 2003 ‘Assembly Cut’ of Alien 3, a version of the film that is over thirty minutes longer than the theatrical cut and one that received a generally warmer welcome than the 1992 version. The reason for this is that Alien 3 as it existed in 1992 was quite simply a mess of a film. It lacked drive and purpose, and spent the majority of its runtime fumbling around trying to be as much like 1986’s Aliens as possible. But the Assembly Cut not only adds footage but alters how the film is constructed at a base level to present something more akin to 1979’s Alien but on a similar scale to Aliens. The decision for the theatrical cut to come across this way was not the fault of David Fincher, but instead of Fox executives who simply could never decide exactly what they wanted Alien 3 to be. It was a doomed project right from the start, but the Assembly Cut fixes almost every major problem that the theatrical cut presented. It’s important to highlight that Fincher does not associate himself with Alien 3 in any form. The theatrical cut was butchered so much in post-production that it doesn’t resemble the film he intended to make at all, and he was never consulted about the Assembly Cut. So really, neither version of Alien 3 is the film he wanted to make. The Assembly Cut still isn’t perfect, but considering how much hate Alien 3 tends to get (especially from Fincher), I’m here to defend it for once, and to do so I must review the Assembly Cut because that really is the only version of the film worth watching.
So, let’s start off with the elephant in the room, Hicks and Newt…or the lack of them. Killing characters off screen is almost never a good idea, killing beloved characters off between films is an even worse idea. For many Hicks and Newt were the best part of Aliens, and whilst I was never crazy about Hicks I did love the chemistry that Ripley and Newt had, so to have that so unceremoniously cut short is always a tough pill to swallow, and the Assembly Cut doesn’t change this fact. They’re officially dead and gone, nothing left to do but either think about what could have been, or look at what we have with Ripley following their death.
Ripley in Alien 3 is a defeated woman. She has had everything taken from her over the course of two films, it started with her crew, then her daughter, her past, her job, and finally now her friends. This woman has nothing left, and she’s landed on a planet where she is now the only woman and hated because of it. She’s surrounded by murderers and rapists, on the farthest reaches of known space, and the people coming to rescue her from this place probably want her dead. This gives Ripley such a transformative quality in Alien 3, and Weaver arguably gets to sink her teeth further into the character than she’s ever gone before by bringing out the darkest and most desperate side to Ripley she can. The only reason this woman has to live is to kill this alien, and as the film goes on she begins to realise than in order to ensure the xenomorph’s can’t come back again is to kill herself too.
So, let’s start off with the elephant in the room, Hicks and Newt…or the lack of them. Killing characters off screen is almost never a good idea, killing beloved characters off between films is an even worse idea. For many Hicks and Newt were the best part of Aliens, and whilst I was never crazy about Hicks I did love the chemistry that Ripley and Newt had, so to have that so unceremoniously cut short is always a tough pill to swallow, and the Assembly Cut doesn’t change this fact. They’re officially dead and gone, nothing left to do but either think about what could have been, or look at what we have with Ripley following their death.
Ripley in Alien 3 is a defeated woman. She has had everything taken from her over the course of two films, it started with her crew, then her daughter, her past, her job, and finally now her friends. This woman has nothing left, and she’s landed on a planet where she is now the only woman and hated because of it. She’s surrounded by murderers and rapists, on the farthest reaches of known space, and the people coming to rescue her from this place probably want her dead. This gives Ripley such a transformative quality in Alien 3, and Weaver arguably gets to sink her teeth further into the character than she’s ever gone before by bringing out the darkest and most desperate side to Ripley she can. The only reason this woman has to live is to kill this alien, and as the film goes on she begins to realise than in order to ensure the xenomorph’s can’t come back again is to kill herself too.
It's wonderfully bleak and had this been the final film in the franchise I think that this script had a lot of potential. Aided further by its prevalent themes of religion and misogyny, Alien 3, at least in the Assembly Cut, feels like a film ahead of its time and prepared to end the franchise with Ripley’s ultimate sacrifice. Of course, in 1992 this was not the case, a hodgepodge of chase sequences and a cast filled with one dimensional criminals left little to be desired, and it almost seemed like Fincher and Fox were just burning the franchise at the stake for no good reason.
That being said I love the prison setting of Alien 3, even in the theatrical cut. Its labyrinthian design and oppressive atmosphere really do make it feel like a descent into hell. The galaxy’s rejects all shoved into the deepest darkest hole in a corner of space that everyone would rather forget exists, and now they have a xenomorph to deal with.
To me Clemens represents everything that Hicks should have been as a love interest to Ripley. He’s not the big strong man that’s going to save her, but the man that wants to help her open up about her fears. Ripley’s more than capable of looking after herself physically, but emotionally she’s up shit creek without a paddle. Hicks wasn’t that kind of character, he was a marine, he wanted to protect Ripley with a machine gun, not with kindness.
Clemens' dark past is glossed over a little too quickly for my liking, and I feel that he’s killed off far too early in the film to see this relationship truly flourish. But like everything in Alien 3 he did need to die.
Dillon meanwhile to me seems like Ripley’s conscience personified. He is her determination and her faith, he takes no crap from anyone and he will lead those who aren’t strong enough out of the darkness. Like Ripley he doesn’t belong in this world anymore, but he needs to survive long enough to ensure his mission of saving the souls of his fellow inmates is complete.
The rest of the prison inmates are a mix of criminal stereotypes. The bruisers, the rats, the mentally unstable, and the downright stupid. Whilst I don’t feel that they contribute much to the story directly, I do feel like they do allow Dillon to be a better character. He’s responsible for them, they’re his people, so when they do wrong he shoulders the blame, and when they do right he feels hope that he has made the world a slightly better place.
That being said I love the prison setting of Alien 3, even in the theatrical cut. Its labyrinthian design and oppressive atmosphere really do make it feel like a descent into hell. The galaxy’s rejects all shoved into the deepest darkest hole in a corner of space that everyone would rather forget exists, and now they have a xenomorph to deal with.
To me Clemens represents everything that Hicks should have been as a love interest to Ripley. He’s not the big strong man that’s going to save her, but the man that wants to help her open up about her fears. Ripley’s more than capable of looking after herself physically, but emotionally she’s up shit creek without a paddle. Hicks wasn’t that kind of character, he was a marine, he wanted to protect Ripley with a machine gun, not with kindness.
Clemens' dark past is glossed over a little too quickly for my liking, and I feel that he’s killed off far too early in the film to see this relationship truly flourish. But like everything in Alien 3 he did need to die.
Dillon meanwhile to me seems like Ripley’s conscience personified. He is her determination and her faith, he takes no crap from anyone and he will lead those who aren’t strong enough out of the darkness. Like Ripley he doesn’t belong in this world anymore, but he needs to survive long enough to ensure his mission of saving the souls of his fellow inmates is complete.
The rest of the prison inmates are a mix of criminal stereotypes. The bruisers, the rats, the mentally unstable, and the downright stupid. Whilst I don’t feel that they contribute much to the story directly, I do feel like they do allow Dillon to be a better character. He’s responsible for them, they’re his people, so when they do wrong he shoulders the blame, and when they do right he feels hope that he has made the world a slightly better place.
The decision to end Alien 3 with Ripley’s death is bold, and a decision I feel works much better if you ignore that Alien Resurrection exists. I like it when a big budget franchise commits to finality, and by having Ripley be pregnant with a xenomorph queen it’s only going to end one of two ways and both of them are without her. It feels right too, as I’ve previously mentioned Ripley’s lost everything and all the power she has left she will ensure is spent wiping out the xenomorph’s for good. That’s the only purpose she has, and if she succeeds in her mission but stays alive she needs to deal with the consequences from Weyland-Yutani, who will probably just kill her anyway. Having Ripley destroy herself and the unborn xenomorph queen in front of company executives really hammers home the finality of it all quite poetically.
Of course, money talks and Ripley does return (albeit in a different capacity) for Alien Resurrection; but that’s a story for another time.
One thing that Fincher can truly be credited for though is Alien 3’s fantastic visual design. He’s one of my favourite directors for good reason…the man knows how to make a good-looking film that doesn’t lack substance.
Coming off the back of music videos, Alien 3 was his first feature film and whilst it obviously didn’t turn out how he wanted, that doesn’t mean his DNA has been stripped from it entirely.
Much like the rest of Fincher’s early filmography with Seven, The Game, and Fight Club, Alien 3 is dark and moody, it’s dripping with filth, and it feels nasty. It’s considerably gorier than either of its predecessors, something I feel that in the theatrical cut could be construed as compensating for its low-quality story. But in the Assembly Cut it really adds a level of viciousness to the xenomorph that has been mostly unseen before. It literally tears people apart in showers of blood and gore, and it’s fantastic.
The problem with the xenomorph in Alien 3 though is that quite often CGI is relied on to give it a more fluid and animal-like appearance. Fincher wanted it to feel sleek and dangerous, and to do that he needed to rely less on puppetry and men in suits like had been used in Alien and Aliens. The CGI for the time was passable bordering on good, but it’s really not aged well. It often isn’t lit correctly and regularly doesn’t look like it’s attached to any surfaces. But it does therefore mean that when a practical xenomorph is used that it looks amazing by comparison.
Alien 3 is a film that a lot of people hate, and when you compare it to what came before it’s easy to see why. When looking at the theatrical cut, I can agree that the film is a disaster, and it’s even understandable as to why people may be reluctant to give Alien 3 another chance. But I honestly believe that warts and all Alien 3 Assembly Cut is a decent film, and personally I would say it’s as good as Aliens. It’s worth bearing in mind that I don’t hold Aliens with the same reverence as most, but I do think it’s an enjoyable film, and Alien 3 is to me no different.
I feel it’s a fitting end to the franchise (even though it kind of isn’t) and I admire the risks it takes. It’s gorgeously shot, and I think the added brutality both visually and narratively really ups the ante for this last stand against one of the most fearsome creatures ever put to film. If you’ve never given the Assembly Cut of Alien 3 a go, I really think you should, it might just surprise you.
Of course, money talks and Ripley does return (albeit in a different capacity) for Alien Resurrection; but that’s a story for another time.
One thing that Fincher can truly be credited for though is Alien 3’s fantastic visual design. He’s one of my favourite directors for good reason…the man knows how to make a good-looking film that doesn’t lack substance.
Coming off the back of music videos, Alien 3 was his first feature film and whilst it obviously didn’t turn out how he wanted, that doesn’t mean his DNA has been stripped from it entirely.
Much like the rest of Fincher’s early filmography with Seven, The Game, and Fight Club, Alien 3 is dark and moody, it’s dripping with filth, and it feels nasty. It’s considerably gorier than either of its predecessors, something I feel that in the theatrical cut could be construed as compensating for its low-quality story. But in the Assembly Cut it really adds a level of viciousness to the xenomorph that has been mostly unseen before. It literally tears people apart in showers of blood and gore, and it’s fantastic.
The problem with the xenomorph in Alien 3 though is that quite often CGI is relied on to give it a more fluid and animal-like appearance. Fincher wanted it to feel sleek and dangerous, and to do that he needed to rely less on puppetry and men in suits like had been used in Alien and Aliens. The CGI for the time was passable bordering on good, but it’s really not aged well. It often isn’t lit correctly and regularly doesn’t look like it’s attached to any surfaces. But it does therefore mean that when a practical xenomorph is used that it looks amazing by comparison.
Alien 3 is a film that a lot of people hate, and when you compare it to what came before it’s easy to see why. When looking at the theatrical cut, I can agree that the film is a disaster, and it’s even understandable as to why people may be reluctant to give Alien 3 another chance. But I honestly believe that warts and all Alien 3 Assembly Cut is a decent film, and personally I would say it’s as good as Aliens. It’s worth bearing in mind that I don’t hold Aliens with the same reverence as most, but I do think it’s an enjoyable film, and Alien 3 is to me no different.
I feel it’s a fitting end to the franchise (even though it kind of isn’t) and I admire the risks it takes. It’s gorgeously shot, and I think the added brutality both visually and narratively really ups the ante for this last stand against one of the most fearsome creatures ever put to film. If you’ve never given the Assembly Cut of Alien 3 a go, I really think you should, it might just surprise you.