Directed by:
David FincherCinematography:
Alex ThomsonComposer:
Elliot GoldenthalCast:
Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Paul McGann, Brian Glover, Ralph Brown, Danny Webb, Holt McCallany, Lance Henriksen, Christopher Fairbank (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
When Sigourney Weaver's spacecraft crash-lands on a prison planet, she thinks things are as bad as they're going to get: the inhabitants are murderers, rapists and thieves. But she doesn't know about her craft's stowaway, the only other survivor of the crash: the vicious alien life form that lives to kill! As the body count rises, the desperate humans band together for survival. But with no weapons on the planet, how can they fight? (Home Box Office)
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Reviews (14)
The last 15 minutes was the first thing I saw of the Alien saga and now, after all those years the circle finally closes. Fincher’s (probably) depressed soul made its rather significant mark on this part and even though the story is a little slow in places, there is no shortage of nerve-wracking moments. P.S.: I have never had a bigger jump-scare moment than I did during the final credits.
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I'm putting this film a little below Scott's original opus. Fincher's a talent, there's no denying that. Unfortunately, the third installment of the series was reportedly treated by the studio as unwanted, so it was a problem to fit it into the budget at all (which is visible in places). Yet, after Cameron's spectacularly militant shootout, this psychological play is literally a revelation in a completely repulsive space crime environment for the worst offenders. The creeping terror is trickier than ever, guns are scarce, and Ripley has to fight on two fronts -- a hungry intruder and creepy "roommates". Maybe the third film is something else entirely than what was expected, but in hindsight, I like it more than Cameron's contribution to the Alien family.
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The first time in this cult franchise we have two key elements playing the main role. The first one is undoubtedly the Alien itself, and the second is the depressing and oppressive setting along with the morality and psychological profiles of the convicts – serial killers, violent criminals, pedophiles. David Fincher doesn't waste anything in his debut and his camera escapades (the Alien’s POV) are already a signature. Unfortunately, the monster is again only one and also annoyingly computer-generated when shown in full. Compared to the second installment, there is a slight downgrade, but the atmosphere is brilliantly depressing, and the play with lights is amazing. For example, the lighting of the background during the autopsy is worth mentioning. The emphasized faces alternating with short shots of the scalpel's sharp macro details are incredibly suggestive. Likewise, the prisoners have very well written characters, and the ending, as presented by Fincher, is not particularly surprising. Definitely a progressive and the most peculiar Alien.
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The subject is fine, Sigourney Weaver is great as always, the magic with the camera and its lenses in the tunnels of the prison labyrinth is perfect, and the film has Fincher’s typically bold and depressing creative signature. But that somehow doesn’t bring the film to the level of which Fincher is usually capable and which would have helped Alien3 to be as impressive as its predecessor.
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A hesitant chapter of the Alien mythology that significantly undermines the efforts of the producers. In their edit, the film is a play on effects that throws Ripley in the path of a bunch of tough guys (as in Aliens) in a depressingly themed environment (as in Alien). Though David Fincher didn't supervise the special edition, a surprisingly more sophisticated version was created according to his original notes, with more references in the dialogue to the previous installments, explorations of the gloomy planet... and the alien does not hatch from a dog. Nevertheless, I don't particularly like the third image in the Alien mosaic. The strange supporting characters, an unnecessary religious subtext, and downright bad special effects cannot be overshadowed even by the powerful ending.
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