Rating: 
Summary: Pathetic
Review: What an absolute travesty. By far, this is the LEAST favorite of all the Alien movies."Aliens" left off on a hopeful note of "no more bad dreams"...until Alien 3 came along and injected its OWN "bad dream." Hope for the fragile human spirit? Love of childhood innocence? We're sorry, that's not allowed in this third farce of a movie. Let's squash it head-on early in the movie by killing off two of the characters that we grew so attached to in the second movie as this may complicate the intricate plot of the 3rd movie. Oh, I'm sorry, WHAT intricate plot? Originally, some of you may remember a teaser trailer that stated something along the lines of "On Earth, EVERYONE can you hear you scream." Chills galore!! Aliens on Earth...how scary is that prospect? Oops, we're sorry, no film budget...guess we're going to have to go to butchered plot #2: Let's see...as J. Bollen describes in his review, how does the whole facehugger loophole work? It doesn't...see his review...he covers that ground QUITE NICELY, but I will paraphrase here. Facehuggers do not, repeat NOT, impreganate hosts MORE THAN ONCE. If they did, then the first Alien movie would have been quite different. It's laughable that an Alien egg is shown at the beginning of the film as this would imply that it had been deliberately placed there somehow. Nah-uh...the Queen could not have laid it and NO ONE ELSE FROM THE SULACO GOT BACK TO THE SHIP UNTIL THE VERY END. So...how did it get there? How does Bishop know there was an Alien on-board and, if he knew through the computer system, why hadn't the computer tried to wake its passengers when something foreign was detected? It knew well enough to eject the pod when a fire started. This in itself is somewhat weak...what fire could be so severe that it could not be quashed with some sort of Halon system? Everyone is in their cryo-tube, so a fear of not having an oxygen supply would have been meted out. Sorry, it's really weak...the film-makers would have done well to explain it. However, they don't and intent to insult your intelligence by throwing it in your face with brief clip-shots of languid explanations. Ok, loopholes aside, we are on a new planet. Nothing real exciting to look at. All right, let's just move on to the facility which looks industrial to say the least. Okay, nothing new here either. Let's move on to characters. The warden, a cardboard cutout of the disbelieving members of the Company from the second movie, explains his disbelief of the Alien in such a similar way to cause eye-rolling "get on with it" looks. No weapons? A cloaked way of saying: "No budget for the film." The explanation? Prisoners. Ah, yes, prisoners. As Ripley tries to convince them to fight the Alien (especially after being nearly brutally raped at one point), one tends to wonder, "How can somebody be callous enough to use human beings to protect one's interests in thwarting the Company's plans?" The answer is quite simple -- they are murderers and rapists so nobody cares if they die. Ripley would lead you to believe that SHE CARES (and she does), but the audience is left to feel no remorse for those who committed heinous crimes in the first place!! And that's yet another point to emphasize!! Where is the human spirit? There are some characters that we could care for. There's the doctor, but for crying out loud, let's get him killed before we get too emotionally involved! There's the preacher, but again, what's the sense in maintaining hope for the human spirit...off with his head, too! There's Ripley...again, I think you see where this is headed! The whole lead facility at the end of the movie had me rolling around in laughter in tears. It's almost as if somebody wanted to make a really cool Halloween maze; you know, the kind that pops up in the middle of fields in some cities that tries to scare thrill-seekers with fake chainsaws, etc.? None of the doors work, so this is somehow supposed to increase our fear of automatic doors not working while we're being chased. Oh, and let's not forget this appears to be the part of the facility where nothing works. Except for the lead. You would think that something like the lead works, if fully functioning, would have fully functioning doors as well. Ah, yes, prisoners...nobody cares for the prisoners. What a wonderful loophole of disregard for human life that we have found! My least favorite aspect was the Alien itself. CGI was still somewhat in its infancy and it is painfully obvious here. Whereas the first two movies frighten us with their implicit size and strength, this one is supposed to frighten us with its speed. It does not appear to be too strong. At one point, as it's "chewing" on a victim, it looks as if it's convulsing in its attempts. I'm not sure if I needed to get in there and perform a Heimlich on the poor wretch or if I was supposed to be frightened by its gyrations. I did not do either, in any case. This Alien does not frighten me one bit. The first two movies scared the hell out of me, though. This one, not even close...not by a long shot. Skip this movie. Alien Resurrection was a decent effort at apologizing for the 3rd movie, but it should have ended with the hope of Aliens.
Rating: 
Summary: A VERY dark, grim, gritty and depressing sequel...
Review: But I liked it. I can't deny it. There's just something about this film that I can't get enough of... maybe it's the raw in-your-face gritty style that's become Fincher's trademark... maybe it's cuz Weaver looks really cool with a shaved head... ah, whatever it is, sure is cool, and I have to grant it 3 and a half stars, because it deserves it. I can understand why most hate it, though... I just can't join them...
Rating: 
Summary: My Favorite Movie
Review: I should begin by saying that I am a fan of the Alien movies. I agree with the last reviewer, that this episode is as enjoyable as the original Alien--but I'd say that it is probably better. It was the first Alien film that I ever saw, as fact would have it, and so I hold a special place for it. The emotional impact of the film is tremendous. The characters are intense and three-dimensional, and Ripley herself...well, in this film, Ripley is a tragic figure. No longer the victim of the first film or the reluctant warrior of the second (and not at all resembling that ridiculous human-Alien hybrid of the fourth), Ripley comes into her own as an experienced expert on all things Alien. I'd end the review here, but I feel it worth mentioning another aspect of the movie that I myself have only recently come to recognize. This film is rife with religious symbolism. From the opening sequence, when the silhouette of a crucifix is shown, up until the conclusion, Christianity plays a strong role here, moreso than in any of the other episodes. Ripley can be viewed as both a Christ-figure and perhaps the Virgin; the theme of redemption is recurrent, as is sacrifice; and could the Alien represent...the arbiter of divine justice? Keep your eyes peeled for these themes while watching it--it'll double the fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Alien 3 - Neglected Gothic Splendor
Review: Charon beckons you to an apocalyptic monastery where dark beasts dwell in the shadows. Such gothic trappings are essential elements in the filthy bowels of David Fincher's spiritual heir to Ridley Scott's original nihilistic vision. Cameron's steroidal Rambo no longer, Ripley is once again a strong woman trying to survive. Medieval dungeon prisons awash in slime, the primordial playground of bestial inmates. Raped by the bodily invader of her(and our own) worst nightmares, our dynamic heroine must make the ultimate sacrifice in a pregnant image of birth and destruction, a bloody abortion for us all. And honestly, who wanted Hicks and Ripley's maternal issues back for the sequel?
Rating:
Summary: Give me a break...
Review: The only people who actually give this thing five stars are the ones who REALLY love this series and David Fincher fanatics, who annoy me to no end. Newsflash, folks: everything this guy touches is not gold. Frankly, I think his only good film was Seven. Get over him. He's not God. And this movie stinks. To call this film better than the first two Alien movies is ridiculous to the point of being almost offensive.
Rating:
Summary: Worth "Alien" in the title
Review: This is one movie worthy of carrying on the Alien movies. One thing I really disliked about this movie was how long it took for a stable plot line to be introduced. In the other 3, a plot line is introduced fairly quickly (even if it is just staying alive long enough to kill the Alien).
My absolute favorite part of the movie is the ending. Although they manage to resurrect Ripley in #4, the "birth" of her "child" is definetely my favorite ending of any movie I have seen yet. I have seen other movies with good endings (The Matrix, T3), but the way the way the music, effects and acting all combine at the "birth" just is INCREDIBLE.
Note: The rest of this movie is quite good and I like it, but it is the ending which makes the entire movie worthwhile for me.
Rating:
Summary: I have mixed feelings about this one
Review: My favorite movie of the Alien series will always be Aliens (Alien is also great, but not quite as fun to watch in my opinion). As for Aliens 3, I have a hard time deciding if I like it or not. Although it beats the fourth installment, there are pluses and minuses to this movie. The biggest thing going for this movie, in my opinion, is the atmosphere. It would be hard to follow up on the example the first two films made when it comes to atmosphere, but I think this one still holds up. I think the prison setting is very bleak and tense, especially in scenes such as the early one with the inmates holding those flares in the tunnels, and the final chase scene in the corridors as the inmates try to lure the alien into the lead furnace. However, I think the movie has some noticeable flaws. The most annoying, for me, would be the alien itself. I don't know who decided to use CGI in this movie, but frankly I see this as an early example of people overusing CGI just because it's available. I get sick and tired of movies (especially in the last few years) that use massive amounts of computer-generated effects when they can have more impressive scenes using puppetry or other techniques. Quite frankly, there is something wrong when the alien in Alien 3 looks worse than the one in the first movie, made 10 years earlier. Fincher (or, wasn't it some other guy directing a lot of the movie, and Fincher came in later?) should have just used puppets, bodysuits, and that type of thing. Why can't people just stick to what works, instead of doing whatever is newest? I can't get too nervous when the Alien looks like a well-drawn cartoon figure. Ok, CGI rant over. My other main complaint with this movie, which I have more trouble on, is it's negativity. I normally love movies that have a negative feel to them (Night of the Living Dead, The Thing) but I guess this time it was just a little TOO much of a downer. I mean, they kill Newt and Hicks before the movie even starts! And Hicks was one of the coolest characters in Aliens, other than Hudson. Hell, they were all cool. I can see how it might be hard to avoid doing this in making a third movie, but sheesh. So, after Fincher kills the survivors of Aliens 2 in the first 10 minutes of the movie, what happens at the end? I guess I'd better not give it away in case someone who's reading this actually HASN'T seen Aliens 3, but... well, I guess such a negative ending can kind of suck when you've been following along with a series for 2 movies already. Anyway, that's where my ambivalence about the movie comes in... I have a hard time deciding if the movie is dark and despairing in an awesome way, or just a big punch in the kidney. I'll give it 3 stars cause of the atmosphere, and because even if it's a shadow of its two predecessors, it still beats the heck out of watching most movies.
Rating:
Summary: As good as the first
Review: Fincher is maybe the most interesting director to contribute to this particular franchise and, let's face it, it shows: after the failure that was "Aliens" we get this, the most gloriously dark and bleak sci fi film to be seen anywhere. Weaver's Ripley aside, all the cutely sympathetic characters whose survival we are encouraged to root for through the anodyne "Aliens" are casually killed off before the opening credits and we are transported to the world of an abandoned prison colony supervised by the magnificently nasty and brutal Brian Glover. Apart from Weaver and Glover's characters everyone in the colony is gripped by the most asinie form of religious fanaticism which makes the bleak refusal of any sort of redemption implicit in the ending all the more satisfying. No cute little girls, no big automatic weapons, just a bunch of defenseless lost souls at the back end of a world that has given up on them being chased around in the dark by something murderous that they are unable to kill. A serious return to form by Geiger's evil black salivating thing: if only it had ended here!
Rating:
Summary: A Really Puzzling Message Here
Review: Now the alien creature lands upon a prison planet and kills some of the inmates, accordingly instilling terror in all the others. The prisoners and visitor Ripley then determine to kill the creature. Killing the creature, you see, is the only way to eliminate the threat and end the terror. The really puzzling thing is this: All but Ripley were prison inmates, and convicts overwhelmingly come from social/family settings wherein everyone is a Democrat. But these prisoners decided to act unilaterally, in cowboy fashion, against this terrorizing creature. They did not seek U.N. approval, or allow more time for inspection, or attempt to form any sort of coalition. At no point did they ask, "Why does the creature hate us?" Their decision to simply kill the terrorist, before it could kill any more of them, was definitly not diverse, compassionate, inclusive or tolerant -- it was simply the action they needed to take, to completely neutralize the alien threat. They didn't behave in the least like they wanted to reach out to this terrible creature, and show some compassion, inclusion and diversity. VERY puzzling!
Rating:
Summary: A Thankyou note for the Alien series
Review: Basically Alien like so many American made movies were a huge hit in Australia and the UK. Alien 3 was cast with prodominantly Aussie and UK actors as a thanks for their those respectively country's contribution to thier past box office success. That's pretty much it........Did I like it? Good acting Poor plot.....
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