“After her last encounter, Ellen Ripley crash-lands on Fiorina 161, a maximum security prison. When a series of strange and deadly events occur shortly after her arrival, Ripley realizes that she has brought along an unwelcome visitor.”
Very few movies have had the troubled start that Alien 3 had. Multiple screenplays - some more bizarre than others including a reportedly weird fairy tale echoing the seven dwarfs, a western influenced space station and a planet made out of wood inhabited by monks.
It’s little wonder that the film is disjointed and incomplete as it is. Without a cohesive screenplay as a road map its difficult to bring stories like these to screen. It’s nigh on impossible if you aren’t backed as a director and the studio you work for has no faith in your ability to deliver. David Fincher was in an untenable position, trying to deliver a Gothic and very bleak take on an alien movie while being constantly undermined and questioned.
I for one, would have been interested to see his completed vision. In some ways it’s present in the ‘assembly cut’ which features some of what Fincher had intended for the movie but is missing the scope and the spectacle. As reported in the making of documentary for the film he wasn’t allowed to film sequences because they were too expensive. Which is bizarre considering they had to do six weeks of additional filming when production wrapped in the UK which incurred more expense I would wager.
But such is the problem when ego, creativity and commerce clash. It is never going to end well for the film.
As it is the film looks great for the most part, (apart from the terrible optical effects work) sweeping wide angle shots filled with smoke and shadow. There is a creative vision at play. An oppressive world filled with bleak characters living out their days in the arse end of space. These ‘lifers’ choosing God and celibacy until their day ends. Enter Ripley, a female offering temptation and a glimpse of a world they have chosen to forget unwittingly bringing an Alien creature whose sole purpose is to wreak havoc with the lonely inhabitants.
Closer to the original Alien in tone, Alien 3 is a weirdly disjointed movie. Bleak, sometimes stunning and others infuriating. Its a mixed bag that never really takes off. Which is a shame as it had potential with its signature style of low angle shots and incredible industrial Gothic sets.
The physical effects work is great as well as the alien costume. It’s major failing is the optical effects by Richard Edlund which at the time I thought looked fake never mind nearly thirty years later. The ‘dog alien’ a challenge to make look real as well as do actions that we’re beyond the puppetry and fx capabilities at the time. It’s clear to see the flaws with matte lines around the alien from compositing issues.
Whenever you cut between live action and optical puppet the differences are night and day. The issue with scale apparent in the above shot compared to the life size animatronic head used for the iconic close up. In today’s CGI environment it would be much easier to achieve the desired look and blend both together almost seamlessly.
The cast deliver committed performances under what I would imagine was quite a difficult situation - Daily changes to script being one of the more demanding. Charles Dutten (Dillen) is a highlight as the ring leader of the inmates as is Sigourney Weaver and Charles Dance.
Overall it’s an enjoyable movie perhaps not quite as engaging or exciting as the previous two but certainly a worthy entry into the franchise. It is an often asked question: what would the movie have been if Fincher had been given more time to prep and left to create his vision? In that regard we will never know but suffice to say that it would have been a tonally more cohesive effort and perhaps grander in scale. What is clear is it would have been a more interesting movie as a result. As it stands, its frustrating, at times brilliantly conceived and others a bit sloppy and incoherent.