tmensamaster-2 Review of Alien³

Alien³ (1992)

David's most underrated film......[Possible Spoilers]

[8/10 · 14 October 2002]

Alien3 is a film both wonderful and maddening. Wonderful as it, being the third one in a very famous series and following its ''classic'' brothers, manages to entertain and has an intriguing quality to it as well. Maddening, in that it sometimes has awkward directorial flourishes and has flat scenes balanced with tremendously good ones that make you wonder if this could have been the best in the series. In my opinion, this is the second best in the series[after the original, which IS a masterpiece of the cinema] and the most moody. The alien is the most convincing in this entry[The fourth entries aliens didn't seem to movie in a lifelike manner and seemed blatantly CGI] and Weaver gives her best performance in the entire saga. You see the weariness in her eyes as she faces the creature for the third time and her pain of loss. The third has the best cinematography in the movie: some scenes are shot with this hellish-feeling amber hue that really gets the atmosphere across. The now-classic moment where the alien has Ripley against the wall in the infirmary and seems to nuzzle her is the most disturbing moment in the whole series because its reaction is not what we expect. David Finchers' take on the series is not what we expect either: instead of a guns'n'action movie like the second, or a masterful scare-fest like the first, we get a somber, thoughtful entry that must have been a surprise to some[too surprising in fact as the film was loathed upon release]. He paces the film like a death march[which is what it turns out to be] and has Ripley lose everything she held dear. Some people hated the movie for killing off Hicks and the girl, Newt but I think it is quite daring that Fincher dared to do this. This sets up Ripleys' anguish and allows Weaver to fully develop her character while preparing for the characters possible demise. The ending is very striking and and Elliot Goldenthals music is perfect for the scene, it tugs at your heartstrings. His dark, religious sounding score played over the opening credits really sets the tone. But the film isn't all perfection; the movie's characters seem to have a problem with the English language. They scream profanities at every oppurtunity. This separates us from their characters which are sometimes hard to identify with. Weavers' character swears the most in this one; she also likes to talk in metaphors[''It's like a lion, it likes to stay close to the zebras.'']. But her new character flourishes give the movie its intriguing quality, one quality that stays till the end. People take for granted what Fincher did for this movie. He went in a new direction and got shot down[happens a lot in Hollywood]. This is his most underrated film[after 'The Game' which is surely Finchers masterpiece] and one in the most need of rediscovery........Now............8/10