Film Review
The third entry in the original
Alien
quadrilogy had a problematic production and has been much maligned,
although viewed today it actually has quite a lot going for it and it
holds up almost as well as the other
Alien
films. Much has been made of the chaotic circumstances
under which the film was made - directed by a rookie filmmaker whose
best efforts were constantly thwarted by studio interference, with a
script that was hurriedly cobbled together as the film was being
shot, on sets that had been designed for an abandoned script. Bearing
all this in mind, it is remarkable that
Alien 3 stands up as well as it
does. Its totally fragmented plot, which breaks most of the rules
of film narrative and goes off in some weird directions aparently for
the fun of it, is actually a strength and makes the film even more
disturbing than its two slicker and more formulaic predecessors,
Alien (1979)
and
Aliens (1986).
This is a film in which anything can happen, in which guest actors are
dispatched as unceremoniously as bit players, and where nothing should
be taken for granted.
Alien 3
is also far grubbier, far more sadistic than what went before, a truly
nightmarish vision that offers absolutely no concessions to good
taste. Don't even bother trying to count the number of times the
F word is used.
Alien 3 is a
nasty, ugly, crud-incrusted bastard monstrosity of a film, and it has a
solid dirty realism that the first two
Alien films, brilliant as they are
technically, lacked. The characters, whilst virtually
indistinguishable from one another (which is the film's biggest
failing), look as if they are absolutely terrified. Even Ripley,
battle hardened after her two previous run-ins with the
Alien, looks as if she is out of
her depth and about to clock up a truly horrendous dry-cleaning bill.
We can only guess at how much better
Alien
3 might have been if director David Fincher had been able to
realise his vision instead of being constantly compromised and
sidelined by the studio executives. As the film stands, it
is a flawed masterpiece, terrifyingly nihilistic in its tone, and
viciously claustrophobic in style. Yes, the film is
structurally a mess and seems to wallow in its confusion like a drunk
revelling in his own vomit, but it offers one Hell of a ride.
Watching
Alien 3 is not for
the faint-hearted - it is a gruesome, sordid experience, and you are
left feeling like you have been violated by the Alien Queen
herself. Or maybe that was the Doner kebab I ate.
© James Travers 2011
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
When a fire breaks out aboard the Colonial Marine spaceship Sulaco, an
escape pod containing the surviving crew members is ejected into
space. The pod crashlands on Fiorina 161, a maximum security
penal planet inhabited by some of the most dangerous criminals in the
galaxy. The prison's population is entirely male, mostly
pathologically hostile to women, and is employed in operating a large
metal foundry. The only member of the Sulaco to come round from
cryonic stasis is Ellen Ripley; her companions Newt and Hicks are
dead. Convinced that an Alien may have been aboard the pod,
Ripley persuades the colony's doctor, Clemens, to perform an autopsy on
Newt, but there is no sign of an Alien embryo in her body. Just
when the threat appears to have passed, an Alien bursts from the body
of the prison dog and begins its killer rampage. Ripley then
makes two terrifying discoveries. Firstly, there are no weapons
of any kind on the planet, which makes its entire population
defenceless against a marauding killer. Secondly, a body scan
reveals that she has been impregnated by the Alien and hosts the embryo
of the Alien Queen. This really looks as if it could be the end
for Ripley. If might also be the beginning of the end for
humankind if the Company gets its way...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.