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Alien3 (1992)
Reviewed on 2012 April 5
Good continuation in the Alien cycle that pales in comparison to the first two movies, but is still a good monster movie, and I have to give it credit for having the most unusual (and darkly funny) setting. I watched the special edition with the extra footage for my review, and despite some the audio problems with the extra footage I personally like it better than the theatrical release.
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver; had they chosen anyone else they would have had to stick a fork in it right there) survives her escape from LV-426, and the opening credits show it’s a miracle she made it. Somehow, an alien snuck on board the escape pod. The infested ship crashes onto Fiorina “Fury” 161, an ore refinery and maximum security facility for double-Y-chromosome offenders. She’s found by Clemens (Charles Dance), chief medical officer of Fury and a man enduring his own ordeal.
Ripley cares little about what these guys did; her main focus is to keep the aliens from wiping out humanity, including these antisocial yobs. She tries to convince the men that they’re in danger of being monster chow (and that’s if they’re lucky) but they have a hard time hearing her over the roar of all that testosterone. Since society seems to care little about a junk planet filled with criminals, they’re going to all have to pull together to kill the monster.
The party starts to have its death pains with this release, but there’s still a lot I like about it. Weaver is the only Ripley, and Dance was great as the sympathetic Clemens. The other gift this entry had was Charles S. Dutton as the tough, brave preacher Dillon. That said, there’s one real star in these things: The Monster. There’s only one critter in this but it’s almost mean enough to make up for the absence of the army of the things with which we were spoiled in Aliens. Ripley notes that this creature is a little different somehow, and she’s not kidding. This thing is vicious, even by alien standards.
Three chocolate morsels, and it still beats Alien: Resurrection.
— Shukti
