No wait, Alien 3 is great actually. It’s not flawless, but it’s the perfect bookend to Ripley’s arc and the original Alien Trilogy. Despite the challenge of following two genre-defining films from the same series and incessant interference from 20th Century Fox, Alien 3 made bold decisions that remain true to the franchise’s roots - something more recent entries have struggled to do.
Alien 3 was David Fincher’s feature debut and despite his desire to distance himself from the film, the opening credit sequence is one of his finest. The visuals are disturbing, the score is haunting but most importantly, the sequence services the story. Not only in what’s still to come, but what came before. Hicks and Newt are killed, while Ripley is impregnated by a facehugger, born from a Xenomorph Queen's egg. James Cameron, director of Aliens, suggested that the deaths of Newt and Hicks were a slap in the face to both himself and the audience. However, their sudden deaths preserve the strength of feeling that the audience held for their characters. Luckily this was the end of divisive deaths in sequels to popular franchises. Ahem.
Ripley et al flee the Sulaco in an escape pod, only to crash on Fiorina 161, a defunct prison planet that's nonetheless still home to a handful of inmates. Rather than introduce cookie cutter replacements, the supporting cast are a skeleton crew who have committed a litany of violent crimes. Having embraced religion and taken a vow of celibacy, Ripley’s arrival disrupts their equilibrium which creates a simmering tension. Her initial anchor is the prison doctor Clemens, portrayed by Charles Dance. As he nurses Ripley back to full health, so too does his empathy help ease the audience’s agony of losing Newt and Hicks. Well, after a rather brutal autopsy scene. Dance delivers a subtle performance that manages to maintain warmth towards Ripley, whilst delicately displaying Clemens’ own pain.
The standout performer, however, remains Sigourney Weaver. She cements Ripley’s place as not only one of science-fiction’s all time greatest characters, but one of the most iconic in the history of cinema. Where there was determination in Alien and aggression in Aliens, in Alien 3 there is devastation. Ripley is robbed of her agency, she's no longer surrogate mother to Newt, but to a Queen Xenomorph baby. Watching Weaver wrestle back that agency and reclaim her humanity, despite the patriarchal surroundings, is compelling.
The prison planet Fury 161’s environment is unforgiving with brutalist structures, a desolate landscape and a rustic foundry that are a fitting backdrops for what is an undoubted mismatch against the new alien Xenomorph. This time there are no marines, no weapons and no escape - as Fincher’s use of tilted camera shots implies. While his camera work helps to establish a sense of dread and hopelessness, nothing can match Ripley's first close encounter with the new Xenomorph in what is now the most recognizable image from the franchise.
Despite the fact Ripley is the only one who really understands the threat of the Xenomorph, the film doesn’t dwell on the inmates disbelief. Lesser films might have turned Ripley into a wailing lunatic while the alien picks off the skeptical inmates. The pretense of the previous two films has been eviscerated, the Weyland Yutani company didn’t care about Ripley’s crewmates or their own marines, so there is little hope for the inmates. Considering their hopeless surroundings, they could easily have capitulated. Instead, galvanized by Dillon, a rousing performance by Charles S. Dutton, they fight back against the alien.
The last great entry into the Alien franchise, Alien: Isolation, is told from a first person perspective. The climactic chase around the labyrinthian tunnels of Fury 161 employs the same perspective, showcasing the vicious nature of the new Xenomorph. Each plan Ripley for crumbles, showing how futile the fight against the Xenomorph is. The slightest error, punished with the ultimate penalty of a grisly death. Though the animatronics can stretch suspension of disbelief, the clicking sound of the Xenomorph gnawing on its prey is chilling.
After the grueling final showdown, the company finally arrives, returning to the theme of agency. Weyland Yutani rolls out a familiar friendly face of Bishop, to mask their greed and coax Ripley into giving them the alien inside of her as they intend to play God with the Xenomorph. Despite everything she knows, the glimmer of hope Bishop offers is tempting – but on this planet there is no hope. Ripley chooses to sacrifice herself, to scupper the company and destroy the alien queen.
With the upcoming Snyder cut of Justice League and the recently announced re-cut of The Godfather: Part III, directors and studios continue to tinker with their finished products. Some are more in more need of it than others. Alien 3’s assembly cut enriches a film that had much of its narrative flesh stripped away, concluding the trilogy with the kind of heart, despair and horror that established the franchise to begin with.
Alien 3 is available via VOD services and on Blu-ray.