Alien³ (Film Review)

1992 20th Century Fox
Directed by: David Fincher; Written by: David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, and Lance Henriksen
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 114 Minutes/145 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10 (for both the original and Assembly cuts)

Ellen Ripley has just experienced one of the biggest victories of her life. She's seemingly destroyed the xenomorphs, those acid-for-blood, killing machine aliens that have haunted her life for years. Even better, she seems to have gained a surrogate family, with a new daughter in Newt, a partner in Hicks, and a friend in Bishop. However, as the foursome cryosleep on their way back to Earth, something begins to wreak havoc on their ship. Before you know it, their pod has crash-landed on a grimy prison planet, and everyone but Ripley is dead. Even worse, the culprit is a sole-remaining, hidden alien-facehugger...and it's produced another xenomorph. To make matters even more grim, Ripley is stranded not only with a xenomorph, but with a gaggle of former rapists and murderers. These men have apparently found God way out on this godforsaken planet, and volunteered to stay and work the prison foundry long after the actual prison has closed. As the xenomorph makes its presence known, and matters become more and more dire, Ripley finds that the greatest threat of all may be her waning will to live.
Look, I hated Alien³ back when I saw it for the first time. I love the first two Alien films, and the first ten minutes of Alien³ seemed like a slap in my and other fans' faces. However, as the years have passed, and I've slowly forgiven Alien³ for the fact that it immediately discards the survivors of Aliens, I've come to appreciate it for what it is: a thematic completion of the Alien series, and a worthy ending for the character of Ellen Ripley. There's an even bigger miracle at work here than me changing my mind about something, though:

Despite having to battle a meddlesome studio throughout Alien³'s shoot, first-time director, David Fincher, still manages to make his style and themes reign supreme. 

Rather unusually for a major studio blockbuster, Alien³ deals with heavy topics like nihilism, as Ripley struggles to find meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. Fincher may have disowned the film due to the studio's intereference, but the fact of the matter is, this is a stunning debut, full of brilliant visuals, as Fincher somehow makes rusty grey and tan seem lush and sumptuous. He also coaxes some incredible performances out of his actors. 

Sigourney Weaver puts in one of her career best as the broken Ripley. Charles Dance is brilliant as the prison's sensitive doctor, while Charles S. Dutton shines brightly as the collective's religious leader. 

The film does have minor issues with continuity due to the studio cuts, and not all of the prisoners get their due as a result. This issue is remedied by a later-released "Assembly Cut," which restores much of the removed footage to great effect, yet bloats the film and makes several minor, yet questionable changes. Overall, the same themes and incredible performances and visuals are conveyed (as well as Elliot Goldenthal's incredible score), regardless of which version one watches.

Alien³  requires the viewer to leave their expectations at the door. It's taken me quite a while to do that, but now that I have, I've found more and more to chew on the more I revisit. I hope one day Fincher can embrace his debut, as well.