This much-hated sequel isn’t half bad once you get over the fact that the film starts off by wiping out everybody we cared about in "Aliens". Kind of makes ALIENS seem like a big waste of time if you ask me, but I have to let that shit go, don’t I? Ok, I won't let it go, I have to vent out at least once: WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL NEWT AND THEN RUB IT IN BY AUTOPSYING HER??? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL THE HYPER-KOOL HICKS! I LOVED BOTH OF THEM! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU, ALL!!!! Okay, now that I got that out of my system...I can continue.

If you look at the Alien movies as a trilogy (forget "Alien: Resurrection" for a moment), the direction this third entry takes kind of makes sense. I mean Ripley started off as a naïve officer in "Alien", then she went to face her fears in ALIENS and in ALIEN 3 she finally comes to terms with her fate. Ripley hasn’t had a very good life since that slimy creature entered her existence. Everybody she ever cared about dies. And I mean everybody! In this third sequel, we feel like they're going for that certain sense of closure, that Ripley knows this “demon” will always follow her until her final days and that in order for the nightmare to end; she must end. Yes, it's fucking depressing.

The problems that I have with "Alien 3" are mostly on a script level (although I hear the film was severely edited, so keep that in mind). First off, the character development is quite weak. For the exception of Clemens (Dance) and Dillon (Dutton), I didn’t give a rat’s ass about any of the secondary characters. What made the two previous entries gripping is that the creature(s) went after people that we cared about, and even with limited screen times, they all had strong individual presences. Here all I could say was: there goes another bald head! Oh well…next!

Furthermore, the film is so persistent in not giving its lead a break that it sacrifices the most interesting and developed character of the movie (not counting Ripley) very early on. Yes, I’m talking about Clemens (Dance). I loved the guy and having him exit so fast was quite a disservice to the movie. His relationship with Ripley and his persona brought lots of “humanity” to the film. To make matters worse, his death is very bland. He deserved better. Actually most of the kill scenes in this movie are pretty "blah". Since we couldn’t care less about the secondary characters who croak, that affects the suspense factor. Compared to the two previous flicks, the tension here is quite low. So you would think that they might compensate for that fact by slapping in some more gore but everything happens so quickly in this film, that you ultimately don't see very much. It all makes for very un-involving killings.

The film has a few plot holes that bothered me as well. First off, how can a few drops of acid blood cause a whole ship to malfunction? What kind of crappy ship is this? Also when did the Alien queen lay an egg in the Sulaco at the end of Part 2? Where did she find the time? Sneaky bitch isn’t she. Last but not least: doesn’t a facehugger die after one impregnation? If so, how did he manage to lay his seed twice? Us sci-fi/horror geeks don’t let that shit go that easily, Mr. Screenwriter. Don’t undermine our intelligence.

The effects here are also quite weak compared to the ones in the previous two entries. I didn’t mind the twist of the alien adopting some characteristics off his host (in this case a Rotweiller) but I did mind the cheesy effect they used to execute it. The close-ups of the creature are fine (mostly because it’s a guy in a suit) but when we get wide shots of it running on all fours it looks pretty fake (because it’s a visual effect). Another effect pet peeve, it's fairly small but I have to mention it: the outside shots with the debris flying in the wind…the debris is way too phony looking…why bother?

The ace this movie is holding in its deck is the Ripley character. This flick is all about her. Since the secondary characters are mostly thin (Dillon kept me interested though) and that Clemens disappears early on, all of our love, attention and 99% of our interest is directed at her. And having warmed up with the two previous ALIEN flicks, Weaver gives a captivating turn here and alongside the directing and the depressive aura, is the big reason why this flick grabbed me.

Sigourney Weaver (Ripley) gives her best Ripley performance to date. She has more confidence here than she did in the two previous films, she doesn’t overact and all of her emotions are properly conveyed. She should have gotten the Oscar nomination for this one. Good show girl, too bad you had to say that awful “crud” line. The word “shit” would have been more appropriate. Charles Dance (Clemens) gives a sweet and subtle performance. His chemistry with Weaver is so "on" and every scene they shared was a pleasure to watch.

THE FACE HUGGER THEORY: It is rumored that Newt was the first to be facehugged. Because the foetus was drowning (along with Newt) he couldn't exist in that host any more. The foetus proceeded to come out of Newt and enter Ripley’s cryo-chamber. That would explain the acid burns on two of the cryo-chambers as seen in the movie. The foetus then entered Ripley by her throat. This would also explain the reason why Ripley had a very soar throat during the first parts of the movie. The Dark Horse Comic "Alien 3" movie adaptation is the source of this rumor. That fucking facehugger got busy or what!!!

H.R. Giger once again designed the alien creature.

The screenplay was written by Walter Hill, Larry Ferguson and David Giler.

Many writers took a crack at the Alien 3 screenplay, namely: Eric Red ("The Hitcher"), David Twohy ("Pitch Black") and William Gibson (Johnny Mnemonic)

Newt is played by Danielle Edmond not Carrie Henn of ALIENS.