Another sequel? (Alien 3 (DVD))

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Product:	Alien 3 (DVD)
Date:	19/11/00 (3 review reads)
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ALIEN 3

FOX
Sci-Fi
Widescreen 2.35:1, Anamorphic - Enhanced for 16x9 viewing
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Color
115 minutes


COMMENTS
Sometimes a third try is a ‘charm,’ others - it’s a strike out. Director David Fincher’s installment in the ALIEN series wasn’t a jewel or a charm - it was a swing and a miss. The fledgling Fincher was in the unfortunate position of following up two of the greatest sci-fi pics released in the past twenty-five years. Both Ridley Scott and James Cameron are tough acts to follow. Fincher would go on to demonstrate great skill with his horror/thriller, SEVEN. Fortunately, he was given a second at bat after his disappointing lead off with ALIEN 3. The money folks recognized that, given a good script, Fincher could wield his considerable talent to produce an intense piece of work.

ALIEN 3 was an ill-conceived project - one of those films studios commit to before having a good, complete script in hand. The writing here is uninspired. There are a couple good set pieces in the pic - for example, the slicing and dicing scene in the vent shaft, but tension and suspense
never build, and the finale, centered around an attempt to lure the alien like a dumb fish into a trap, runs too long, is implausible, and confusing, should one try to follow the action through the passageways.

Apparently, Fincher’s alien creature is a different strain from those seen in Scott’s original pic in that it has eyes to see its prey. We know this because we get several ‘alien point of view’ shots during the finale. The implausibility of this sequence comes as we note how swiftly the alien gives chase, yet it can’t nab many prisoner. From the creature’s point of view, we’re really cruising through the passageways, right on the heels of them ‘vittles,’ but we just can’t snag ‘em. Perhaps a small detail to some,
but it demonstrates a lack of imagination on the part of the filmmakers. Once we realize this bit of silliness, the finale simply plays out - one chase after another, rounding
corners, flying down passageways, and slamming against doors.

This creature chases and kills - apparently mindlessly. It doesn’t have time to eat what it manages to grab, and it doesn’t seem to be leaving enough of the bodies intact for nesting, should Ripley’s little urchin ever ‘hatch.’ It’s certainly not killing in self defense ,since its the one doing the chasing! It’s too lame-brained to realize it’s being lured into a trap. Both Cameron and Scott dealt more ‘respect’ to the aliens. Their’s were intelligent, highly evolve creatures - killers yes, but killing for a reason that made sense - protect the nest, and harvest bodies for incubation. The finale of ALIEN 3 is nothing more than a take on the ‘mouse chasing cheese through the maze’ routine - and it is quite ‘routine.’

Sigourney Weaver is the one bright spot in this incredibly dark, laborious picture. She turns in another strong performance as Lieutenant Ripley. She has many moments of vulnerability in this script, and perhaps that’s what drew her to it - the opportunity to play someone with still more
sensitivity than what we’d seen in the second Alien flic. Ripley is without a doubt one of the unluckiest women in all science fiction - probably one of the oldest as well. She still looks great, even with the shaved head. In this third installment, Ripley learns she’s carrying an alien within her - just as Kane did in the first film. However, the maternal instinct doesn’t kick in here as it did when she found Newt on planet LV-40. Instead, her instinct is to find the biggest, baddest inmate and ask him to slaughter her. Weaver is quite an actress. I hope after four alien flics it’s still pos
sible for her to break out of the mold and play different characters. She’s tried over the years, but only with moderate success.


SYNOPSIS
Apparently an alien managed to stow away on the Sulaco at the end of Ripley's adventure in ALIENS. The creature causes a malfunction which forces the human and droid cargo into an EEV which crash lands on Fiorina 161 - a prison planet for hard core offenders. Only Ripley survives. She awakens to find herself in a bleak, dark, and dingy hole surrounded by men who've not seen a female in years. They've all taken a vow of celibacy, but Ripley's presence disturbs the established order of the facility. The superintendent, Andrews (Brian Glover) is concerned.

After seeing her wrecked EEV, Ripley’s convinced that an alien was aboard. She urgently requests that the prison doc, Clemons (Charles Dance), performs an autopsy on little Newt, but nothing is discovered.

An alien did in fact make it into the prison - by incubating within an inmate's pooch. It's bursted out, and is now prowling the maze-like passageways of the facility - bumping off inmates. At one point, the creature has the opportunity to chow down on Ripley, but it backs off after a just a
sniff. This initially puzzles the Lieutenant, but then she correctly surmises that she must be carrying one in her chest.

There’re no weapons within the prison so the surviving inmates devise a plan to lure the alien into a giant mold and pore molten lead over it. It's important to pull this trick off quickly before a ‘rescue’ ship arrives and grabs both the alien and Ripley for weapons research.


IMAGE
This is an impressive anamorphic transfer - surpassing the quality of that seen on the DVDs of the first two films in the ALIEN quartet.

This is a very dark, gloomy, often 'misty' film with nearly all scenes having dark corners and large shadows. O
n weaker transfers this could be problematic, but here the image remains solid - free from 'grain' and image break up. The picture remains very sharp and detailed throughout the
presentation.

The color scheme for the film is limited to blues, grays, and some bits of hot orange and red. These are very well rendered and fully saturated. During the shots displaying the glowing hot, molten metals and furnaces, the colors are radiant, but natural looking - exhibiting no blooming.
Despite the numerous shots having bright glowing colors against blacks and dark blues, we noted no bleeding between fields.

Contrast and brightness levels and very good and uniform throughout the feature. Edges are sharp and distinct even in the dense shots. We noted no 'shimmer' or 'ringing' from edge enhancement. Flesh tones look natural throughout. The 'print' used by Fox is very clean and free from nics, scars, and scratches. By all counts, this is an outstanding anamorphic transfer from the folks at Fox.


SOUND
This is a very good Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The forward soundstage is deep and wide, and on many occasions it reaches around to merge with the split surrounds. Panning effects and sound effects placement are smooth and accurate.

In many scenes, a great deal of bass can be heard not only from the front left and right speakers, but also from over the shoulder. Full range speakers in all corners are a requisite to hear all this track has to offer. The .1 FX channel has but a few opportunities to toss out some low octave punch.

The surrounds also carry a fair amount of effects - not simply echoes and rumbles, of which there are plenty, but the clanking of metal, screams, crunches, and other sounds of mayhem during the action sequences. There are also a number of instances where panning effects carry sound
smoothly over the shoulders and into the forward stage - or vice versa.

Elliot
Goldenthall's music is well recorded and rises up nicely from all positions to fill the room. Dialogue is also well recorded and nicely integrated across the forward stage. Voices sound full and natural. Only on two or three occasions did we note a bit of distortion. This is a very good DD 5.1 mix.


FEATURES
Scene access menu with links to 29 chapters in the film
Theatrical trailer
Alternate French language track (Dolby Surround)
English and Spanish subtitles
The Making of Alien 3
English closed captions

Summary: