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• Alien 3 — for Alien³
  Written by cosmobrown on 20.07.2009

  Following two undisputed classics like Alien and Aliens, directed by two modern masters in Ridley Scott and James Cameron, is a daunting task for any director. For it to be the debut feature of a young film-maker whose only previous credits consist of music videos makes it a very daunting task indeed. That young director was David Fincher, future director of classics like Se7en, Fight Club and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. His trademark style is stamped all over Alien 3 and it's a competent, well made sequel. Fincher famously fell out with the studio over their constant interfering and walked out on the movie at the post-production stage, so if all had gone swimmingly, Alien 3 could have been even better than it is. Setting the action on a all-male prison planet, and reverting back to a singular alien plotline, Alien 3 has enough of the hallmarks of the series while simultaneously bringing enough original ideas to the fore to create a nice balance. Sigourney Weaver is excellent as Ripley, and Charles Dance is cool as the prison doctor. However, the rest of the characters could have benefitted from a little more fleshing out. They all just come across as generic cockney prisoners. It doesn't help that with their shaved heads and drab prison clothing it's hard to tell them all apart. That being said, Alien 3 is a visual treat, with incredible set design and Fincher's deep shadows and moody colour pallete. It has enough big set-pieces and tense moments to entertain, although the CGI alien was a poor choice. It's not nearly as effective as the practical models used in Scott's and Cameron's movies. While not a patch on the previous two films, Alien 3 has enough good and original and exciting moments to warrant a watch. Plus it has a great ending (which was subsequently ballsed up by Alien: Resurrection).