So, aside from the whole "Hicks/Newt/Bishop die" thing, what do you think of Alien3?

[Orrex]

I really enjoy it, as a matter of fact. It makes a number of bold choices, and it's executed in a credible and suspenseful manner. The interactions between Ripley and the various male characters are uniformly fantastic.

I know that the film is widely condemned for its off-hand and off-camera killings of the three aforementioned characters, and that choice does have a big retroactive impact of the hardships those characters faced in Aliens, but aside from that I find it to be a very good film.


Your thoughts?

[harmonicon]

1. it was the last watchable Alien movie

that is all

[TK421]

2. Poorly executed storyline...that is all n/t

[Orrex]

5. How so?

:shrug:

[siligut]

3. Gritty

Ripley has gone from the frightened but brave ingénue in Alien to the rebel with a cause in Alien3. It also shows the greed, arrogance and total lack of forethought of a major corporation.

I like the men who found god in “the ass end of space”; it rings true to me as does the addicted doctor. The actual communication that seems to occur between Ripley and the alien, due to Ripley being a carrier, that is profound.

I really like Alien 4, when Ripley gets all “The Fly” in early stages, fun stuff!

Re-watching the Alien films, made me think of the Alien vs. Predator film, so much adventure and creativity.

[DerekG]

4. The Assembly Cut is my favorite film of the series

Whereas most third installments proved to be uninspired retreads--e.g., Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade--Fincher and Co. actually went to the trouble of taking the narrative into unexpected, and very dark, directions. They refused to replicate Cameron's bombast, opting instead for a more character-driven story, emphasizing the interior life of Ripley, and, in a stroke of genius, introduced the thread of religion, and its conflict with the military-industrial complex.

Had they not offed Charles Dance's character so early on, I'd put Alien 3 on equal footing with the original. As it stands:

Alien
Alien 3
Aliens

-------Goat urine

Alien: Resurrection

[Orrex]

6. Haven't seen the Assembly Cut, though I've read about it

Actually, I really like that they offed Charles Dance when they did. It was, as far as I know, an unprecedented move in science fiction cinema: the lead male, with whom the audience has been made to sympathize, is cut down at the exact moment when our sympathy for him (and Ripley's) is greatest! This is a bold literary move IMO, especially when we then shift to a much less sypathetic character (Dutton) whom we are made to respect, in a fashion, even though he's an admitted "murderer and rapist of women."

This whole daring maneuver is possible because the two male actors are very strong, of course, but also because Sigourney Weaver is an indestructible oscreen presence.