Alien³

Der Stoff ist gut, Sigourney Weaver wie immer großartig, die Tricks mit der Kamera und ihren Objektiven in den Tunneln des Gefängnislabyrinths sind perfekt. Der Film hat auch einen markanten depressiven Charakter, der für Fincher typisch ist. Dieser hat aber nicht das bei Fincher übliche Level erreicht, welches dafür sorgen würde, dass der Film so beeindruckend wie seine Vorgänger ist. (27.05.2002)

The Alien franchise is remarkable for the fact that every director has made his mark on his episode. Scott's imagination and Cameron's belligerence have been replaced by the heavy blanket of depression master David Fincher. Welcome to the bleak world of ex-convicts from which there is no escape. The third episode is not worse than the previous two, it’s just different. (13.04.2003)

Alien is a unique film saga where each entry is different and each is excellent. Fincher’s third part is no exception. (30.12.2010)

Fincher's feature debut was clearly plagued by the studio's pansy wallet and promotion, which is quite visible even years after the film managed to reclaim its well-deserved reputation. Regardless, this goes hand in hand with the trend for each director to approach it radically differently, which is also done here to great effect. The atmosphere of a penal colony, where nothing works, is definitely something to behold, especially when you look at the local population, who have clearly done a number of unpleasant things in their lives. As an added bonus, there’s also decent Goldenthal music, great camera tricks with the FPS look, and a cut-out Ellen Ripley. 4 ½. (The rest I leave to the possibilities of the expanded edition.) (28.05.2009)

Ich ordne dieses Werk etwas unterhalb von Scotts Originalwerk ein. Fincher hat Talent, das ist unbestreitbar. Leider behandelte das Studio den dritten Teil der Serie angeblich als Nicht-Startup, so dass es eine Herausforderung war, ihn in das Budget einzupassen (was man an einigen Stellen sehen kann). Doch nach Camerons spektakulär militantem Shootout ist dieses psychologische Spiel in einem absolut abstoßenden Weltraumkrimi-Setting für die schlimmsten Übeltäter buchstäblich eine Offenbarung. Der schleichende Terror ist heimtückischer denn je, Waffen sind Mangelware, und Ripley muss an zwei Fronten kämpfen - gegen einen hungrigen Eindringling und gegen abartige "Mitbewohner". Vielleicht ist "Teil drei" etwas, das man erwartet hat, aber im Nachhinein gefällt es mir besser als Camerons Beitrag zu Alien Family. (27.01.2004)

As an audio-visually powerful, toned-down, existential drama about seeking forgiveness and God in a God-forsaken place, this movie is excellent, but half way through it’s like out of nowhere Fincher remembers (or more likely the producers forced him to remember) that he is filming the new Alien and not a sci-fi adaptation of something by Dostoyevsky. So, all of a sudden he forgets about everything that came before and then launches into an absolutely regular, uninventive kill-fest that loses all of the atmosphere built up in the first half. And this goes for both the regular version and the director’s cut, which is the better of the two, but just a better version of the same and not “something completely different" as many reviewers suggest. (13.01.2010)

A hesitant chapter of alien mythology that significantly undermines the efforts of the producers. In their edit, the film is a play on effects that throws Ripley in the way of a bunch of tough guys (a la Aliens) in a depressingly themed environment (a la Alien). Although Fincher didn't direct the special edit, according to his original notes, a surprisingly more sophisticated version was created, with more references to older installments in the dialogues, exploring the gloomy planet... and the alien does not hatch from a dog. Nevertheless, I don't particularly like the third image of the Alien mosaic. Strange supporting characters, unnecessary religious subtext, and downright bad tricks cannot overshadow even the strong ending. (21.04.2005)

Umsätze mies, unzufriedene Zuschauer und ein Regisseur, der dank der unerträglichen Einmischung des Fox-Studios sogar verärgert ist. Das dritte Alien hat es von allen Seiten abbekommen. Aus diesem Grund ist es ziemlich überraschend, dass aus dem Ergebnis zumindest ein Stück ehrliche Filmkunst geworden ist anstatt eines riesigen Durchfalls. Es ist nicht so atmosphärisch wie Scotts erster Film und nicht so actiongeladen wie Camerons zweiter. Es ist einfach anders: zwar intimer, aber auch härter und voller Depressionen. Ripley verliert ihren Sympathieträger Hicks und das kleine Mädchen Newt und rasiert sich den Kopf, wird zum Ziel sexueller Abweichungen und auch wenn sie zum ersten Mal in der Serie Sex hat, hält diese Liebe höchstens 5 Minuten. Außerdem ist ihr alter bekannter Xenomorph wieder da (und es spielt keine Rolle, ob ihr ihn Stachel im Hintern oder Regenfreund nennt - er wird immer da sein). Das Weltraummonster gibt es diesmal nur einmal, aber das reicht ihm locker aus, um ein Gefängnis mit 50 Insassen zu vernichten. Und wie allgemein bekannt ist, endet auch Ripley nicht besonders gut... nun, vielleicht berühmt, aber sicherlich nicht gut. Und die Tatsache, dass dem Alien in vielen Szenen digital ist, trägt auch nicht gerade zur Zuversicht des Publikums bei. Zum Glück gibt es die Special Edition. Diese entfernt einige Unsinnigkeiten, ersetzt den Hund durch eine Kuh, erweitert die Beziehungen zwischen den Kriminellen und fügt ein paar blutigere Bilder hinzu. Schlagt mich mit einem Stock und schreit "Er ist ein Rebell!", aber ich kann nichts dafür, mir gefällt dieser Film. (19.03.2017)

After the phenomenal success of Cameron's Aliens, it was clear that we would be getting a third installment, and it was only a matter of time before it was made. However, as it sometimes happens, the third Alien sequel was a victim of confusion in the production studio, the story was passed from hand to hand, rejected scripts filled entire drawers, and many directors were approached. For the film to be made in the end, Sigourney Weaver had to step in as a co-producer, as the funds for running her theater activities were running out. But this only brought more people, who all had their say, so the film certainly didn't come easily. The choice of director eventually fell on David Fincher - not so much because he was considered a great talent, but rather because he was appropriately cheap as a starting director. Money was saved on the set design, and it can be seen in the film despite all of Fincher's efforts. Alien 3 is not a blockbuster where a huge budget is visible, but rather an intimate film that has to make up for what is missing in set design with cleverness. And surprisingly, it succeeds, because Fincher is truly skilled. He replaced bombastic special effects with clever editing and sophisticated camera shots. The film also certainly has atmosphere, but it is fundamentally different from what Cameron or Scott served their viewers. When Fincher lacks money, he uses a pessimistic gloom and play of shadows. It is not an action war drama like Cameron's films, but Fincher can perfectly evoke a gloomy mood, tension, and a horror premonition of impending doom. I hesitated between four and five stars, but the positive ultimately prevailed. The film is slightly weaker than the previous two, but the difference is minimal considering the circumstances under which the film was made. Its release in the United States was a big flop, fans couldn't get over the deaths of little Newt and Ripley at the end of the film, and they were expecting entertainment of a different kind after the previous action-packed chaos. The third installment of Alien is primarily a case of clever filmmaking, good performances, and a horror atmosphere of which even much more experienced directors would not be ashamed. Overall impression: 90%. (09.12.2007)

The last 15 minutes was the first thing I saw of the Alien saga and now, after all those years the circle finally closes. Fincher’s (probably) depressed soul made its rather significant mark on this part and even though the story is a little slow in places, there is no shortage of nerve-wracking moments. P.S.: I have never had a bigger jump-scare moment than I did during the final credits. (06.07.2009)

The first time in this cult franchise we have two key elements playing the main role. The first one is undoubtedly the Alien itself, and the second is the depressing and oppressive setting along with the morality and psychological profiles of the convicts – serial killers, violent criminals, pedophiles. David Fincher doesn't waste anything in his debut and his camera escapades (the Alien’s POV) are already a signature. Unfortunately, the monster is again only one and also annoyingly computer-generated when shown in full. Compared to the second installment, there is a slight downgrade, but the atmosphere is brilliantly depressing, and the play with lights is amazing. For example, the lighting of the background during the autopsy is worth mentioning. The emphasized faces alternating with short shots of the scalpel's sharp macro details are incredibly suggestive. Likewise, the prisoners have very well written characters, and the ending, as presented by Fincher, is not particularly surprising. Definitely a progressive and the most peculiar Alien. (01.11.2003)

The first one was (and still is) a formidable claustrophobic machine for mining nerve-wracking atmosphere and suspense; the second one is a militant feast in honour of the most terrifying monsters in modern cinematic history that doesn't let us get away from aliens in the right sense of the word. The third one wants to take something from each by using a single bloodthirsty monster and involving a group of seemingly twisted characters, setting the action in the vast, depressing labyrinth of a prison where life as a symbol no longer has any intrinsic value. The cast is once again perfect and the characters are quite diverse, and it’s not possible to guess who will end up as a bloody spot on the wall and with whom the script has longer-term plans. And as for Fincher's debut, it's a well-known fact that the studio tried to repeatedly rape and control his work, which is unfortunately noticeable: the depressive barrage is at times on a similar level to its predecessors, but partly due to the very choice and nature of the setting, where even a brain-dead would get depressed; and on the other hand, it has a rather fading tendency: the performance of the intruder, like in the first one, is based on suggestiveness, but fails to generate intense flamboyance during its advances (also due to his strange digital form), and mostly doesn't even act as a highlight of the film – that would be the skilful subjective camera work, the effective soundtrack and the already mentioned actors, led by the excellent Weaver, who is more dominant from part to part. It's worth watching, it doesn't offend or fail, but it still makes me sad to think that there could have been a pure Fincher version that would have shown his narrative genius and fulfilled the potential of a great subject into something grander and more distinctive. (22.03.2017)

Fincher proved his talent for atmospheric depressing renditions of anything and set the third installment in an utterly industrial setting full of filth and wasted lives. He added the absence of guns, a good dose of explicit violence, an excellent idea with the similarity of the alien to the hostiles, and brought the whole concept back to the first installment, making the third installment the best of the series. (28.04.2004)

David Fincher had a hell of a time with his third Alien – following up on basically Scott's and Cameron's then-already alien classics was next to impossible ("some sucker Fincher, who made music videos, wants to make a sequel to Alien...") I certainly wouldn't consider the third Alien to be a "typical Fincher film", although the camera tweaks and that sleepy-depressed atmosphere are already there. Even so, Fincher already confirmed his VIP status in the 1990s with two other immortal films, and he certainly has nothing to be ashamed of for this contribution to the Alien saga. It's certainly a "different" 5 stars than the first and second, but Fincher definitely deserves it for his debut. (05.08.2013)