Alien 3 Movie Review

This second Alien sequel picks up where Aliens left off. Survivor Ripley crashlands on Fiorina 161, a planet that serves as a penal colony for sex offenders. Ripley is forced to shave her head because of the planet's lice problem, and she sets out to survive on the cold, unfriendly planet until a rescue ship can come for her. Fending off sexual advances from the men, Ripley soon discovers this is actually the least of her problems. As fate (and sequel writers) would have it, Ripley wasn't the only survivor of the crash – an alien survived too, and has somehow implanted her with a gestating alien of her own. This film attempts to recapture the disturbing claustrophobic tone of the original by focusing more on character conflict and suspense than the unrelenting action of Aliens. To a great extent, it succeeds, thanks in large part to another excellent performance by Sigourney Weaver, but the film still goes over the top in a few places, particularly some of the none-too-subtle religious references. Intended as the final installment of the series (but don't you believe it). Though maligned at the time, music video director David Fincher went on to helm the acclaimed 1995 thriller Seven.

1992 (R) 135m/C Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Paul McGann, Brian Glover, Ralph Brown, Danny Webb, Christopher John Fields, Holt McCallany, Lance Henriksen; D: David Fincher; M: Elliot Goldenthal. Nominations: Academy Awards ‘92: Best Visual Effects. VHS, LV FXV