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Mark Cawley
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 2:21 AMWhy doesnt anyone like Alien 3?
It is the sequel to Aliens. If your escape pod crash lands on a planet that has NO weapons and you only bring ONE xeno with you....what do you actually expect to happen?
Just the fact that it HAPPENS to be a prison world makes no difference.
I think Alien 3 was done just as well as Alien. A group of people without any real way of defending themselves on a desolate planet with a killing machine on the loose. What do you expect to happen? You cant say it was low budget or crap acting.........some of the worlds most renowned actors are in that movie.
Just lay off......lol
72 Replies

BigDave
MemberDeaconMay-28-2012 6:35 AMMyself i think Alien 3 was a let down, but not bad....
Prometheus may be a big let down by the same token....
Because Alien and Aliens gave pretty big shoes to fill.
The ending to Aliens was done, so it can be open. It was not a open ending but it was a ending with just as much scope for a sequel as Alien 1979 ending.
The whole Dog Alien made sence, because of how the Xeno Life Cycle worked, in which the aim was to incubate a Xeno Embryo in a Host.
With Animal Embryos they take a lot of form based on the Mother in the Womb....
The only thing that sucked was the ending...... because this when combined with Aliens, basically shut the door on any more Aliens.
Not that it was a bad ending....
Just how do they go explain a Alien 4 if its ever made....
Well they did make it and it had Ripley again....
Now i can understand clonning DNA of Ripley to create her again, but how does that create a clone that has a Chest Buster...
If say you had a wife who dies in accident while she was pregnant.... if you could do a (The 6th Day) and clone your wife back to life.... i cant understand how that clone from using her DNA would be pregnant...
Just as if you cloned a uninfected Fifield.... his clone would not come out with Ginger Mohawk and Tattoos...
But like this
[img]http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ1NzQ2NTI0NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjkyMzk4NA@@._V1._SY314_CR128,0,214,314_.jpg[/img]
That was my gribe with Alien Resurection..... take away that i also felt the movie had not lived up to expections but then its hard to beat those left by Alien and Aliens.
R.I.P Sox 01/01/2006 - 11/10/2017

85
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 5:28 AMI didn't mind Alien 3, sometimes the effects were better, like the scene where the alien bursts out the oxen in the directors cut, sometimes they were worse with regard to the alien looking completely different in some of the cgi scenes. Still it was early days for that kind of effect I suppose.
What really soured it for me was the weak link between Aliens and Alien 3. How or when did the facehuggers get on the Sulaco? Was it Bishop? I never really found that part of the plot acceptable. I liked most of the characters, thought Charles Dance was excellent as usual, shame they killed him so quick but all adds to the shock effect I suppose.
Still looking forward to Prometheus anyhow. I love sci fi films first for their effects more than anything and this doesn't look to dissapoint (except maybe if there is a giant squid in there lol). I only have to wait until this weekend now so....

NoXWord
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 3:12 AMI have a soft spot for Alien 3. It saddens me that it was a miss rather than a hit. It could have been far better, it is lacking in several departments, it doesn't match the greatness of Alien, nor the tension of Aliens, but I find its beauty to be in its darkness.
And what I like most (though it was shocking at the beginning) was the destruction of Aliens' happy ending. As much as I love Aliens, I find the ending to be too cheesy, too much of a cliché.
Alien3 is a well deserved slap in the face, the Assembly Cut a hint of what could have been (though still light years away), and a great ending for Ripley who, in the end is just a human being, not a god and certainly not someone who can single-handedly defeat a corporation.
It's not a great film, but I love it nevertheless.
And I love the soundtrack
Ridley Scott will eventually tell us how the Queen was born.
Right now we have the Deacon; coming soon the Mercury, the May and the Taylor.

Svanya
AdminPraetorianMay-28-2012 3:08 AM@private problem; Only CGI were a few shadows and the crack on the Aliens head, that is it. Watch the links I posted. It's puppets that were badly rendered against the background, it looks horrible but it's not CGI. :P

private problem
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 3:03 AMhi ,i think there ar bits of cgi in it particulalry on the corridor chase bits. its mixed in with the puppet bits. i love the film by the way !

Svanya
AdminPraetorianMay-28-2012 2:49 AMPeople don't like Alien3 for many reasons, it's a matter of personal taste IMO. I didn't like it much because the story was garbled (I found out later this was due to numerous re-writes), the deaths of Newt and Hicks was a shock, and the special effects looked very bad. I much preferred Alien Resurrection over Alien3. I LOVED the soundtrack though, especially the "Angus Dei" track.
[url=http://youtu.be/vQbd0t34WYY]Alien 3 Score ''Agnus Dei''[/url]
@Simon, there is no CGI in Alien3, it's puppets.
[url=http://youtu.be/Qi7aQ8f7oyw]Visual Effects Part 1 [The Making Of Alien³] [/url]
[url=http://youtu.be/BljJgfJGOtU]Visual Effects Part 2 [The Making Of Alien³] [/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEg85k9UEL8&feature=BFa&list=PL81BBCACF07F9ABDA]Visual Effects Part 3 [The Making Of Alien³] [/url]

Mark Cawley
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 2:33 AMPrometheus will be whats known as a turning point.....a fork in the path. Alien franchise gos one way and is still safe for those that love it. And Prometheus takes a different path.....same universe, just a different path. A bit like SLIDERS if ya like.
The beauty of it is.....that even if just made to make money for fox....all the sequels and different stories give us more to watch. Alien must be the biggest movie franchise out there.....the only other one i can think of right now is Friday 13th franchise.
You make em.....ill keep watching em lol

Mark Cawley
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 2:28 AMIts just a continuation of the same story init......just a bit lower key, which makes a change than having all the best weapons tech in the universe.
Gets a bit boring if you can just point a nuclear weapon at someones face.......doesnt give the elk much option lol.

Simon
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 2:26 AMI think Alien 3 is a fantastic film, highly underrated. Yes the CGI effects are shite BUT its highly atmospheric, looks great and has some great characters. It is INFINITELY better than Alien Resurrection.

mr_Z
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 2:28 AMI like Alien 3, and 4 for the that matter.
Not exactly oscar worthy movies no, but good enough additions to the Alien franchise.
People got their standards up sky high for movies these days. They question why movies like Alien 3&4 get made, but then when put in the right hands you get (what Im sure will be an intense movie experiance) Prometheus.

Kane77
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 5:12 AMDrake
I dunno what budget they had with Alien3, but I´m sure they USED it. The special effects in ´92 weren´t compareble to nowadays ( just remember Terminator 2) but I think Alien3 ´s whole concept was a different take, more psychological, and thats the reason why some dont like it maybe. Its about an enclosed envirenment, filled with only male criminals that got infected. Ripley does a quite good job in it.
´storywise a step backwards´ ?..no I wouldnt say that, its moodier, in a more spiritual sense. I like it. Plot is fine, Ripley death..

Gavin
MemberTrilobiteMay-28-2012 5:07 AMAlien 3 needs to be finished, Fox need to persuade Fincher to return and finish the film he started because..
1. the Theatrical Release is brandywines version of the film.
2. the Assembly cut is Fox's interpretation of what they assume would have been Fincher version.

Ender
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 4:21 AM
I remember going to the cinema to see A3 on my own when I was 13, I was experiencing the same sort of excitement that I am now. In those days there was no Prometheus-Movie.com for me to share my anxiety with loads of other nerds!
I was disappointed and I remember leaving cinema thinking, what a waste. However over the years I have learned to appreciate the photography and the acting, and the soundtrack!
So I think Alien 3 is a worthy film and adds to the spice of the franchise.

Drakeequation
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 4:06 AM@Kane77 why would I compare Alien 3 against Terminator, AVP, or Star Trek 4? If all one did was compare movies to worse movies then any movie could be considered amazing. I could compare all those films to Battlefield Earth and say they are genius. The point here is, that Alien and Aliens came out earlier which means that special effects were harder to do, the directors had much less resources, and that studios were not as optimistic about lending them support. Alien 3 had no excuse not to surpass those films because it had a bigger budget, more studio support, and the availability of better special effects techniques. Instead, what we got was a mess of a film that had a tired "gritty" look and a story that took a step back (basically copied the original Alien in terms of the people trapped in a structure with one Xenomorph plot) INSTEAD of evolving further into something more.

Drakeequation
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 3:44 AMI thought Alien 3 was terrible because the story was a mess, it was not fun to watch like Alien and Aliens, and the special effects were sub-par even for the time it was released. It had a production budget of 50 million and it squandered it (in comparison Aliens had a production budget of 18 million).

Kane77
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 3:54 AMjust compare.
compare Alien 3 against Terminator 3, AvP or maybe Star Treck 4..
it is by far more interesting IMO. People may have Alien I in mind and unconsciously comparing it to it all the time..but it is really a nice movie.
It no use comparing the Alien films against each other because they all evolved, like the tech..the death of Hicks and Newt was a kilier idea, very dramatic..
Svanya, right, its all nicely done miniature puppets, but the rendering is kinda goofy..
( ..well ´92)

Cypher
Co-AdminMemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 4:21 AM@Big Dog 1, I only use Alien: Desecration (my name for the 4th abortion) as a drink coaster ;-P Alien 3, the more I watch it, really is growing on me, and Svanya is right, I'm not as enthralled by Aliens as I used to be........ But it's still fun to watch, heaps more than Desecration........
[url=http://www.robocopmovie.net/][img]http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/snorkelbottom/NewRoboBanner.jpg[/img][/url]
"Is it dead this time?" "I dunno, poke it with this stick and see."

Cypher
Co-AdminMemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 3:19 AMNo.
:-D
[url=http://www.robocopmovie.net/][img]http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/snorkelbottom/NewRoboBanner.jpg[/img][/url]
"Is it dead this time?" "I dunno, poke it with this stick and see."

Cypher
Co-AdminMemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 3:20 AMNah just kidding Mark :-P I actually have come to appreciate Alien 3 more as time has passed. The extended edition was better than the theatrical one, though I reckon they should have had the queen burst outta her in both versions.
[url=http://www.robocopmovie.net/][img]http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/snorkelbottom/NewRoboBanner.jpg[/img][/url]
"Is it dead this time?" "I dunno, poke it with this stick and see."

Svanya
AdminPraetorianMay-28-2012 3:22 AM@Cypher, I know the feeling, strange how we perceive the same movies over the years. The older I get, the less I enjoy Aliens. Probably appreciate Alien more now as well.

Kane77
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 6:01 AM[url=http://www.avpgalaxy.net/alien-movies/alien-3/deleted-scenes/]ALIEN 3 DELETED SCENES[/url]

PUNX
Art DirectorMemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 10:08 AMI love Alien 3, once it was restored it made sense (I WONDERED AT FIRST WHERE THE REST OF THE FILM WAS, BECAUSE i HAD READ THE BOOK FIRST... AND THAT MADE SENSE).
It was an artist's nightmare to have his work butchered like that (David Fincher still won't talk about it). And taking out the Capture of the Alien just stilted the story that was being told, My only concern with the acting (I'm in the U.K and I've sat, talked and smoked the "peace pipe" with Brain Glover (funny man) was Paul McGann's (Golic) disappearing accent. It was a sterling cast and director... doomed from the start by working at a release date rather than a film. It was an ode to Scott's Alien and it moved back away from chattering guns and focused on how people with little to lose (In prison all you have is you life, and they also had a wonderfully twisted semi-faith) deal with being threatened. It was different from it's immediate predecessor and more like the original... people don't like change I guess, even though it showed the DNA evolution of the Alien!
I think it was a true nightmare, in every sense. From the Producers down, everyone on board suffered at the hands of money being more important than anything else. I would not like to be inside with those guys let alone unarmed with a sleek, Giger designed horror, with no weapons and the sexual threat being moved to some of the other humans at Ripley (which is very scary if you consider that she has no way out).
All in all my 2nd favorite Alien film and so atmospheric, moody and it's a fact... it's there and I'm so glad.
Thank you Mr. Fincher!!!
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv50/sariefaerie/random083-1.jpg

Hesjustagrunt
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 10:08 AMI think Fincher nailed it when he tried to explain why Alien 3 get's a lot of negative feedback (not counting the behind the scenes drama he endured). It is so darn depressing. It came out at a time when we were dealing with AIDS, the Gulf War, etc. People wanted to escape from society's problems for a couple hours...not pay money to see an even more depressing metaphor of what they were already dealing with.
People were really excited to see the next chapter in a beloved franchise, and they basically saw some great characters that most people had really bonded with in "Aliens" killed off, then sat through an extremely depressing movie where the one decent character that you connect with get's killed early (doc), and then of course Ripley takes the the Nesley plunge. It was frustrating because it seemed unnecessary. Whether you liked Aliens or not (I love it), the characters were great and Cameron really got you to root for them and care when they lived or died. It felt like they wanted to churn out another movie fast to rake in the money, didn't have a good script yet (a fact nobody denies), so they killed off the leftovers and through Bishop in the scrap pile until they needed him to explain (confuse people) how they crash landed.
With that said, believe it or not, I appreciate many things about Alien 3. Like most people, time has healed the wounds I originally felt when leaving the theater. The few characters who I was allowed to connect to were interesting, and the "personality" of the Alien was MUCH better than the bug drones in Aliens. The atmosphere may have been depressing, but it definitely created a feeling of dread (liked the candles blowing out). The effects were definitely poorly executed, and I wish they had used more "guy in a suit" shots (like in the basement, crawling out of the pipes in the ceiling)...if that scene wasn't a guy in a suit, then I tip my hat, because that was a great, SCARY scene where I felt like I was seeing a real monster and not a puppet effect.
In the end, I think they achieved their goal...it just wasn't goal worth pursuing in my opinion...which nobody really cares about (my opinion that is) ;)

Ender
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 8:30 AM@ Otto, Yeah Aliens was a "little kid" movie - that's why it's rated R.
Oh and all the "non thinkers" must have nominated it for 7 academy awards.
This thread is about Alien 3 btw - there is plenty of other threads about Aliens - perhaps you would be better posting there.

SaintsSinphony
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 8:25 AMAlien 3 was a good movie IMO. To me, it gave the alien a bit more of an intelligence like in ALIEN. It had personality, sure it went around killing everyone but it "decides" to go kill Dillon in the mold rather than bolting, it was like it wanted to answer Dillon's challenge. There are some parts where it seems to size people up and there is an out take where Ripley finds the alien in "the basement" and it knocks the pipe from her hand and has another stare down with her. Maybe I'm giving it too much personality LOL but it seems less like an insect in 3 as opposed to ALIENS.

Otto
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 7:44 AM@Svanya...totally agree with you there. Aliens is really a "little kid" movie, isn't it? One for non thinkers to just glaze over at and be drummed over the head with "action"...

deadcell
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 7:37 AMAlien 3 was ok, its just that it went through so many directors and when they finaly get going on a script, they fire the guy and hire david fincher. not to knock fincher but it was his first movie, he didnt have a script for the longest time and for all intents and purposes he used the previous directors sets that were already developed for his script. it was a decent movie especially compared to resurection and hell of alot better than any avp garbage

Newts brother heathcliffe
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 8:35 AMAlien 3 was the first of the franchise I saw as new (Alien and Aliens were old movies by '92) and thought 3 was epic! First off as is mentioned 3 starts with a very humbling reality check, I loved Aliens for what it was, but it leaves you with that "Ripley is untouchable" feeling, give her a flame thrower, a few grenades and maybe even a forklift suit if a queens involved and she'll take you alien hunting a bring you home in time for your alien soup. 3 squashs this feeling in a heart beat when you establish these aliens are not for extinsion after all and not just that they are smart and wait for the optimum time to strike (like when everyones asleep).
After that the film for me is Ripleys finest hour, yeah there are plot holes all over the place (but there are in all of them) but this film depicts ripleys battle against the alien in its rawest form her vs xeno (mono on mono). Loved it from super-depressing start to stalemate end!

Batchpool
MemberFacehuggerMay-28-2012 8:46 AMGoing back in time to the release of Alien 3, there was no internet and movie news did not get updated and analysed by the minute. Back then I remember an interview with Ridley Scott, and even back then he mentioned that it would be interesting to explore the background of the Space Jockey. When I went to watch it on the big screen I must admit I was disappointed in the fact that it was not quite what I was expecting. Over time I have come to appreciate Alien3 more. Given what I knew back then, and this may sound a bit odd, but Prometheus in my eyes is the Alien3 that I was anticipating all those years ago.

robeeb_v
MemberOvomorphMay-28-2012 8:42 AMIn an attempt to pass some time and get a little Alien "fix", I watched Alien 3 again last night for the first time in a few years. There were elements of the story I really liked, and there are some interesting characters. I like Dillon, Clemens, and 86. I also liked the up close practical shots of the dog-xeno- very wicked looking. I also loved the dark and gritty look of the environment.
However, the film was also a disappointment on many levels. As nice as the close-up practical shots were, the other effects shots were awful. Storywise, In the second half of the film the story just seemed to lose focus and became a disjointed mess. I found Dr. Clemens to be a very interesting character, but they killed him off just as the story tried to gain a little traction.
A3 isn't the worst movie ever, but it did miss the mark unfortunately.
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