Alien³ (1992) - ★★½

Director: David Fincher
Writers: Vincent Ward (Story), David Giler, Walter Hill, Larry Ferguson (Screenplay)
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Charles Dance, Charles S. Dutton, Paul McGann, Pete Postlethwaite, Lance Henrikson

In my opinion, Alien³ is the most unnecessary sequel ever made. However, it wasn't a terrible movie. What I hate about it is that it pretty much ruins the ending of Aliens (1986). With this new installment, it turns out that everything that happened in its prequel was pointless and futile. It was super depressing to see, which is why I'd prefer to act as if this movie never existed.

Major plot events happen at the very start, so I don't want to spoil too much for people. After years of being frozen in a cryogenic chamber, Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) ship makes a crash landing on a planet that we know scarcely anything about. On this planet is a maximum security prison, containing the most horrible people on the planet. However, the convicts are now reformed Christians I believe, which means they're not so bad. Anyway, this is the first time she wakes up since the horrors of Aliens.

Little did Ripley know that her ship brought an alien with it. So basically the rest of the film followed the basic formula of a slasher flick. One by one the alien picks off the convicts, as we watch in terror. Except there wasn't any terror. This was hardly a horror movie. I've become so desensitized to the creature that there was nothing new to scare me. Not to mention, the CGI Alien (while good for its time) looks really silly now.

What this movie lacked most of all was a lovable supporting cast. In the first film, all of the crew members were interesting. In the second, I fell in love with Nute, the little girl (and various other characters). In this one, you have but one likable character other than Ripley. If you can't relate or remotely like the people, their deaths have little to no impact on your emotions. Unfortunately, that's what happened in Alien³.

All of that aside, there is one thing that absolutely blew me away in this movie. Sigourney Weaver gave one of the most emotionally powerful performances I've ever seen. I was so surprised to see such a high caliber performance in a third rate movie.  

The first half an hour of the film was actually really good, simply because her acting made it so damn heart-wrenching. Even with all the sludge that came after, I'll never forget the beautiful scene where she's standing at the funeral of her dear friends.

This movie just didn't need to happen. It added nothing to the franchise. It wasn't scary, it wasn't clever, and most of all; it didn't come close to being as good as the prequels. I'm happy for anyone who enjoyed it. The only effect Alien³ had on me was that it left me feeling terribly sad about the fate of the characters from Aliens.