Alien 3 Special 'Assembly Cut' Edition Blu-Ray Review

Rated R (Monster Violence, and for Language)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 25 Minutes

Cast-

Sigourney Weaver-Lieutenant Ellen Ripley

Charles S. Dutton-Leonard Dillon

Charles Dance-Jonathan Clemens

Brian Glover-Superintendent Harold Andrews

Ralph Brown-Francis Aaron

Paul McGann-Golic

Danny Webb-Robert Morse

Pete Postlethwaite-David

Christopher John Fields-Rains

Holt McCallany-Junior

Carl Chase-Frank

Leon Herbert-Boggs

Vincenzo Nicoli-Jude

Paul Brennen-Troy

Clive Mantle-William

Peter Guinness-Gregor

Deobia Oparei-Arthur

Philip Davis-Kevin

Niall Buggy-Eric

Lance Henriksen-Bishop/Michael Bishop

Danielle Edmond-Newt

Tom Woodruff Jr.-Runner Alien

Directed by David Fincher 

"Alien 3"--an underrated gem.

Note: Part of the "Alien Anthology" Blu-Ray box set.

Before he became the critically acclaimed filmmaker that we know today, David Fincher was a music video director but all that changed when he was brought onboard to helm his first big budget feature, the highly anticipated “Alien 3,” released in 1992, six years after James Cameron’s follow-up masterpiece. Unfortunately, many fans view this as the dark horse of the franchise and it received mixed reviews from critics, who called the story disjointed and an incoherent mess but few knew of the troubled production that plagued the film. To be honest, I always found “Alien 3” to be highly underrated and it was the film that introduced me to the franchise. I’ll admit the theatrical version had major flaws as it suffered from poor editing and a misleading marketing campaign but there was a good film buried in there and with the extended ‘Assembly Cut,’ this is as close to Fincher’s vision as we’re going to get. “Alien 3” jettisons the action style of the previous film and returns to the more slow-paced horror of the original. The dark, gothic style is unique and Sigourney Weaver is as excellent as ever but it can’t quite get the pacing right and the supporting characters aren’t very memorable. This is a good film but not a good sequel.

After escaping the infested colony of LV-426, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the remaining survivors return to Earth on the Sulaco while in hyper-sleep. Unfortunately, a fire breaks out which causes the ship’s computer to automatically jettison an escape pod containing the survivors. Unbeknownst to them, a facehugger has also stowed onboard and attaches itself to one of the survivors. The escape pod crash-lands on Fiorina 'Fury' 161, a foundry and penal colony whose prisoners consist of all males with double-Y chromosomes and committed heinous crimes which include rape and child molestation. Ripley is brought to the infirmary by the facility’s doctor, Jonathan Clemens (Charles Dance) and upon awakening, learns that both Newt and Corporal Hicks has died in the crash. They are both cremated while the de facto religious leader of the prisoners, Leonard Dillon (Charles S. Dutton) gives an impassioned sermon. Meanwhile, another facehugger has seemingly attached itself to an ox and its chest bursts open to reveal an Alien. While Ripley waits to be rescued by Weyland-Yutani, Superintendent Harold Andrews (Brian Glover) orders that she is to be escorted at all times and kept out of sight so as to not agitate the prisoners, many of whom have not had any female contact for a long time. When a few prisoners begin to turn up dead, Ripley discovers that another Alien is now running amok and makes the most shocking discovery—she is carrying the embryo of an Alien Queen.

You can’t review “Alien 3” without taking a look at its troubled production and it’s a classic example of how studio interference ruins a potentially good film. The original intent was to create two more sequels and series producers David Giler and Walter Hill settled on the idea of making a two-part film with Ripley having a cameo in the first and returning for the second. The early scripts by William Gibson and Eric Red focused on this idea but 20th Century Fox president Joe Roth disliked it, remarking that Ripley was the centerpiece of the franchise and offered Weaver a $5 million salary to return plus a share of the box office receipts. David Twothy and Vincent Ward also contributed scripts and eventually, Giler and Hill were forced to meld certain aspects of both treatments for the final film as they were short on time. At this point Fincher was hired and forced to shoot without an actual finished script. He had an agonizing experience as the studio constantly interfered and issued changes. Fox basically screwed him into making a less-than stellar film. When it was actually finished, Fincher quit and disowned “Alien 3” before editing began and Fox pretty much mucked it up and released a mess of a film. There were glimmers of brilliance but it wasn’t until the 2003 DVD box-set that we viewed a close approximation of Fincher’s original vision with the Assembly Cut, which differed in several areas and was thirty minutes longer. He declined to record his audio commentary and revealed that the only way to show HIS vision was to basically remake the film.

As it stands, the Assembly Cut is surprisingly coherent and featured many stylistic choices that would become a trademark for Fincher’s future films, particularly “Se7en” and “Fight Club.” Many decried its ‘depressing’ tone but I find it hauntingly beautiful as the prison facility is often shot with a lurid color palette that creates a sense of unease in the viewer. There’s a strong religious subtext to the film. Dillon and the other prisoners have committed terrible crimes and have embraced an apocalyptic, millenarian version of Christianity. They hope to be forgiven for their sins and ascend into Heaven upon death. Virtually abandoned by the company, faith of a better afterlife is all they can hope for. Ripley herself also becomes a sort of Christ-like figure, facing one more trial against the Alien and finally sacrificing herself by falling into the furnace, arms stretched in the shape of a cross. I wished they kept the theatrical ending, which I feel was stronger. However, the extended cut still suffers from some problems, namely that it’s pacing can feel lethargic at times and this can be attributed to its weak characters, with the exception of Dillon. None of them come off as either memorable or likable and I agree—they all look the same with their shaved heads. There are also some lapses in logic, chief among them being how an Alien egg managed to make it onboard the Sulaco and the fact that a penal colony lacks any kind of conventional weapons. Why the prisoners don’t overrun the meager custodial staff is beyond me. “Alien 3” is a flawed gem but I feel it’s still a worthy conclusion to Ripley’ journey.

The acting is a bit of a mixed bag but Sigourney Weaver is as flawless as ever, her character weary after all that she has gone through and there’s a sense of relief, peace even, during the ending. At one point she thinks aloud about her relationship to the Aliens: ‘You've been in my life so long, I can't remember anything else.’ Most of the prison characters are paper-thin but Charles S. Dutton impressed me as Dillon and there’s a harsh yet sincere conviction whenever he speaks. Clemens, played by Charles Dance, is the prison’s medical officer and develops a romance with her, though beyond a one-night stand, not much is done with it story-wise and eventually it’s dropped half-way. The other characters don’t make much of an impression and while I recognize Pete Postlethwaite among them, it’s hard to differentiate everyone with their shaved heads. Lance Henriksen also shows up for an extended cameo.

Part of the “Alien Anthology” Blu-Ray set, “Alien 3” doesn’t seem to have received the same amount of attention as its more well-regarded predecessors and the video quality is noticeably soft at times, particularly during scenes when there’s heavy smoke. It’s certainly leaps and bounds above the DVD version and shadows are strong, adding to its gloomy atmosphere. Audio is more subdued and while it lacks pizzazz, the dialogue is clear with a quiet, foreboding score from Elliot Goldenthal.

“Alien 3” was released over Memorial Weekend on May 22, 1992 and reception is mixed, with 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics weren’t enamored with its grim tone and found the story a total mess, and those who gave it a positive review also found it inferior to what came before. The Assembly Cut alleviates many of the plot issues but it’s not perfect and will never be given the trouble Fincher had to deal with. The production budget was high with $50 million, much of it wasted on unused sets and it barely covered at the domestic box office with $55 million, though it made up for it overseas for a total of $160 million. For his directorial debut, Fincher did the best he could with what he was given and “Alien 3” is not as bad as most people say it is. An underrated film and a fitting conclusion for Ellen Ripley, but Fox couldn’t leave well enough alone and made “Alien Resurrection,” though that’s a story for another day.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

"You've been in my life so long, I can't remember anything else."