Alien 3: The Definitive End of the Franchise 

I'm glad someone likes Alien 3. It's my favourite Alien film and terribly underrated.

Always loved Alien 3 and fell in love with it even more when I saw the Assembly Cut. Such a grim film. Glad to hear you give Dillon some love! Such an underrated character. Gotta give him props too, for standing his ground against a xenomorph and shit talking it as it rips him apart. Legend.

Alien 3 is an appropriate conclusion to Ripley’s hero journey. The universe of these films is dark and bleak, and it’s unreasonable to expect a happily ever after. Ripley couldn’t change human nature, but she could prevent us from destroying ourselves this time.

Alien 3 was the faitful successor to Alien. It was back to horror. I love the aesthetics, the music was great, the dialogue and the characters were well developed considering how short lived most them were. I always felt bad when they were killed compared to the characters in 2. And yes the only way to watch it now is with the Assembly Cut.

This is the best movie franchise of all time by far and yes Alien³ is my favorite, cant beat the score and acting

The finale of Alien 3 is awesome and I've been saying for so long that it's the perfect end to a franchise. The shots of everyone leaving the prison, the locking of the doors, the sun setting on the planet, all to the score from Elliot Goldenthal. Amazing

I loved Alien 3 from when I first saw it in the early 1990s. That said, The Assembly Cut is far superior than the theatrical cut. It fixes a lot of the pacing issues & also reintroduces a lot missing scenes….oh & it rectified the problem with the toxic waste disposal that’s seen / mentioned but never used. Alien 3 is something of a flawed masterpiece & I think after the upbeat ending of Aliens with Ripley, Hicks & Newt being almost a family people found the dystopian vibe of Alien 3 hard to get their heads round. Hicks & Newt needed to die, to continue to keep Ripley isolated. Throughout the films Ripley lost everything; the crew of the Nostromo, her daughter, the marines. From the moment the Fox fanfare starts to end & distort, it helps set the tone for the film. This isn’t a pleasant film & I think Fincher did incredible even though the studio fucked his vision up so so badly. Not to mention his DP; the legendary Jordan Cronenweth had to leave the shoot due to his advancing Parkinson’s. The cast is absolutely incredible; Brian Glover (Andrews) played some awesome roles in his time. Then throw Ralph Brown, Charles S Dutton & Charles Dance into the mix & it’s just excellent. Fun Fact: I went to art college not far from where they filmed the EEV impact & Ripley washing up on the beach; Blast Beach in Seaham, North East England. Also parts of the blast furnaces that are on the Tees Estuary feature in the matte paintings; although they filmed some scenes at Blyth Power Station. It’s worth noting that the same area of the Tees Estuary was the influence for the opening sequence of Blade Runner. Ridley Scott attended the same college I previously mentioned. Due to him growing up in the area, he took a lot of inspiration from the blast furnaces & oil refineries that dotted the landscape. During filming Tom Woodruff from Amalgamated Dynamics spent up to thirteen hours inside the creature suit for certain scenes.

I watch and enjoy the Alien 3 assembly cut more than Aliens.

I don’t know if I can put my finger on any one reason, but I have always loved Alien 3. The amazing Fincher direction, the Elliott Goldenthal music - which to me is one of the best of the entire series next to Jerry Goldsmith’s Alien score - WONDERFUL characters and the actors that brought them to life……so many different aspects. Bringing focus back to the horror elements instead of all the action as in Aliens (which I love), but it was good to get back to more of a cosmic horror feel which A3 does. I know people were very upset about Newt and Hicks getting killed off, but to be honest that made the emotional impact of this film all the more visceral for me at least. Thanks for your review, I’ve been getting back into the Alien films, especially with the announcement of new projects, so I’m always into talking about this franchise. Thanks for a great vid!

I love me some Alien 3. Just so grim and grimy and has some of the best dialogue and imagery of the series.

I always like Alien 3. It definitely belongs in the original trilogy. Also thanks for throwing in a song from the goat Deus Ex.

Alien 3 feels like your Pet Rabbit's funeral.

It rounds out Ripley's story arc perfectly.

David Fincher dragged this film through the eye of a needle... Still one of my favorite theatrical experiences in my life. This is horror, through and through. It's sad that it took 2 decades of ceaslessly defending it for the masses to finally see it for what it is...

If they did the Assembly Cut with a upgrade of CGI this movie has mad potential.

The Assembly Cut takes this movie from subpar to a worthy entry in the franchise. Also Charles S Dutton deserves his flowers for his role in this. Plus the script had some fucking great moments.

The assembly cut is my second favorite behind ALIEN.

The characters, the set, the looks and man; the music! (you didn't even mention that). Yes I'm a fan of alien 3. Thumbs up for making this video!

I definitely prefer the much longer Assembly Cut of the film over the original theatrical version! Fincher's _Alien 3_ is one of the greatest horror monster movies of the 90s and it's also one of the greatest horror monster movies that's ever been produced in the history of cinema.

Always liked 3. Glad to hear I'm not alone.

Did my dissertation on Alien 3, absolutely love it - it’s easily my favourite Fincher film and favourite out of the Alien series 💪

Very good points.

Alien 3 is not only my favourite alien film, it’s my favourite film. It may be bleak but that’s what ripleys story is!

Thanks youtube for recommending ya channel ❤ I love the trilogy as much as a hate resurrection haha

I actually prefer Alien 3 - Assembly Cut to Aliens- I like that there's more existential horror and that the Alien isn't just shot up with ease. Aliens kinda made xenomorphs feel disposable.

“Alienses” made me laugh

Alienses sounds solid. Would watch

I despised Alien 3 when it came out. Aliens was one of the most-watched videotapes in our house, along with The Predator and The Terminator. All the years of anticipation and then in the first few minutes they throw away the previous movie completely, it was quite a shock. Then to top it off, the main character dies in the end, in the exact way she always feared the most. It was just soul crushing and I already as a kid even liked movies without a happy ending (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) but this was too much. Over the years though and especially in light of the ridiculous sequels I've come to appreciate it and even use the exact words that you do: it is the DEFINITIVE end to the story of Ellen Ripley and the Xenomorphs. Like it or hate it, it closes the book completely.

I’ve been toying with the idea of making a video exactly like this for a long time. Thank you for relieving me if that responsibility 😂

Excellent point about the dialogue, i agree the dialogue in alien 3 is excellent, especially conversations with charles dance and the warden

This video was so needed. I loved the nihilistic tone of the movie. It changes it up from aliens, and goes back to the horror aspect of the first movie and turns it to 12, I would also say it’s probably the scariest of the 3 movies. The assembly cut is brilliant. Simply brilliant, I just wish the could totally fix the shady effects and composites of the alien, and it would actually be my favourite entry.

I like Alien 3 as well, and I agree with almost everything you said. Regarding the call-out for the dog in the Assembly Cut, it's an error that came up with the Blu Ray-Version and I think all versions after that. Before that, in the DVD-Version, the voice line was muted here. That makes sense, because the dog doesn't exist in that version. I hope this will be fixed if we ever get a 4K-Version :)

Best score (I think Elliot still considers this one his magnum opus), best set designs, best assemble cast, best dialogues in the franchise. And still many so-called Alien fans look at this one as the shittiest of them all. Oh, they killed Newt and Hicks off the screen...get the f...k over it. I still don't know exactly why, but for me, Alien 3 is the most rewatchable flick in the franchise, especially the Assembly Cut. Maybe because I'm a sucker for these kinds of dark, bleak and hopeless movies. It just was the perfect way to end Ripley's journey, production problems aside.

Reference to Mr. Plinkett. Subscribed!

When I saw the assembly cut of this film. I forgot the dogs name was spike, so when Murphy tried to communicate with the alien I thought he gave the alien a nickname like spike for the spiky shape head, it wasn’t till I saw the theatrical version I realized he is calling for his dog. Thank you for this review, I love alien 3 too, specially assembly cut 🙏🏻

That Neo Tokyo track in the background is class Also, since i've considered Alien 3 to be the end of the franchise Resurrection was a fun watch to me because it feels like a non-canon wacky offshoot of the franchise that's focused on having fun more than anything else

The assembly cut is the only way to watch it. Brings Ripleys arc to its logical conclusion, whilst harking back to the original with the one xeno. While not as good as the first two, it's streets ahead of Resurrection, Prometheus, Covenant (which is terrible with a capital T). And, I'm sad to say, will be better than the upcoming Romulus movie

I agree with you bro, ive always loved alien 3, used to watch it all the time as a kid in the 90s on VHS

Completely agree that Alien 3 is a good original horror movie and was a fitting end to the original alien trilogy before they started to dumb it down and make it less serious in tone. Its certainly not perfect, particularly the tunnel chase sequences towards the end being repetitive but the bleak remote gothic prison setting like some gulag of the future and intrigue for the first half of the movie are all well done. The only reason the mainstream audience didn’t like it was because it wasn’t aliens 2 and was too nihilistic for those that were expecting a more Hollywood happy ever after movie with lots of over the top action sequences and less of a horror focus. Alien 3 is by far the most ambitious in terms of the themes it covers such as the religious themes of purgatory, redemption and christ like sacrifice to save mankind, along with existential nihilism of a godless uncaring universe that kills people indiscriminately. Clearly the first two movies are superior but they caught lightening in a bottle, Alien 3 fell short of their perfection but hit the mark as a uniquely atmospheric big budget arthouse horror movie

I have to say i never noticed him calling out spike. I saw the theatrical first. Because i know the character had a dog, in my head the dog was just in his kennel or something, and avoids death in this cut. I've never checked if all his prior scenes are cut or if he's in the background anywhere tbh.

i can't wait to go see Alien Romulus 2024❤️

I really dont know why people give this movie so much hate. It’s actually pretty awesome

A great watch

I have to agree with you, it only took me about 30 years to figure it out. I saw this when I was a kid on HBO and was unimpressed at the time. Years later with the assembly cut I was more accepting to it and now I'm more on the side of this being a really good movie(assembly cut). Is it a good follow-up to Aliens? No, but it is a good alien movie even if it wasn't what we wanted.

Very well put. I say that in essence, ALIEN 3 is the last film so far that takes the premise of ALIEN seriously. Dan O'Bannon created and wrote ALIEN inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, and ALIEN 3 embodies the nihilism of it. Indeed ALIEN 3 makes the ALIEN franchise complete as the end of Ellen Ripley's story, and as in Lovecraft's stories, there are no happy endings in real life most of the time, nor loved people always survive. I also described ALIEN and ALIEN 3 as the adult films within the franchise, while ALIENS is the family friendly adventure for the kids, hence its ending. ALIEN 3 showed exactly more what the previous films we're told about the Company, Weyland Yutani was all about with their appearing at the end. And Ellen Ripley sacrificed herself to a world that didn't even know about her, as well as convicts that looked for redemption for their past crimes. Then the most unlikely survivor made it at the end, and his laughter was not of mockery for the dead, but for that whole irony of his survival and their sacrifice. Indeed ALIEN 3 and mostly The Assembly Cut are great films in the franchise, again, the only film so far after the first 2 to take the essence of ALIEN seriously, and in fact it was not even a flop at the theater at the time.

Perfect ending to the trilogy.

I liked the theatrical version - but struggled with the dog-birth thing, and especially where Ripley cuddled the chest burster as she fell into the furnace. I loved the assembly cut though as it was much more fleshed-out and it didn't have Ripley cuddling her baby alien at the end!

Never bothered to watch alien 3 because of its reputation - You convinced me to give it a try, so that's what I'll do. Also mad props for alien rhombus, big ups.

Before now, I’m the only person I was aware of who kept commenting on the fact that Murphy still calls out to Spike in the Assembly Cut

Alien 3 was a mixed bag, it dialed back on what made the first two so good, and honestly surpassing Aliens was impossible. It didn’t have the isolating atmosphere of the first one or the horror element, and it certainly didn’t have the action or pacing of Aliens. Resurrection was imo the worst of the franchise, that one was just trying so hard and failing, that movie completely got away from even Alien 3. For me the Alien series has always been Alien and Aliens, that’s it. Not Alien 3, Resurrection, AVP, Prometheus, none of these movies have come even close to what was accomplished in those first two movies did. One’s a horror movie set in outer space, and the other is an action/horror movie also set in space.

My favorite Alien too! We don't all have to like the same thing thank goodness. A great score by Eliot Goldenthal too

Its bin a while since i saw the movie. Saw the assembly cut first which definitly was the right choice. It just looked so distinct with its asthetic even within the franchise. And just as you said the unarmed nature of the prison made the alien feel like a real threat again (the marines in the second one always just felt so incompetent that i couldnt take the threat serious at times).

I remember watching every movie back-to-back as a teenager. When I saw the ending of Alien 3 it made me really sad. Not because I didn't like the ending but becaues I knew that this wasn't the real ending but I wished it was. It would have been one of the best horror trilogys ever made if they stopped at 3.

I love Alien 3, I love the dreadness & bleakness of it. Alien Saga is always just a trilogy in my mind. The first one is a claustrophobic horror, the second is action packed war movie, the 3rd one is just a pure depression in a movie ( and I like it!)

ALIENSES . god no . That would be awful. A very good point well made . I love ALIEN3 . TOP WORK FELLA.

The fact the theatrical release is in any way watchable is testament to the talents of Fincher, Weaver and the cast and crew.

I'm glad the fight back for alien 3 exists. It is a good film.

Finally some justice for this film :)

Out of all the movies that the Aliens appeared in, Alien 3 is my favorite

Ive always had a soft spot for Alien 3. Yes, it's flawed with some poor creative choices but there are some great ideas: the bleakness and desperation of the prison setting, Ripley's badass look and the lack of fire weapons is such a great plot twist after the gun slinging Aliens. It tried to be different by taking the story in a particular direction. It deserves more credit.

Glad to see so many others appreciative of _Alien³._ Killing off Hicks and Newt was obviously its biggest gut-punch, and one that I can appreciate was too much for some people, but otherwise this is a tremendously atmospheric movie and a perfect bookend to Ripley's arc. Personally I treat everything after _Aliens_ as alternate "What if...?" variations, so everything from this movie to _Book One_ has equal validity (and yes, even _Colonial Marines_ which became something of a guilty pleasure for me after many of the issues were patched). If getting hung up on "the" canon means having to hate this perfectly good film *and* make the ending of _Aliens_ bittersweet, why would you do that to yourself?

I love alien 3 it’s a damn good movie once you accept the Hicks and Newt part you can truly enjoy this dark grimey nightmare 👌

Alien 3 is the best Alien movie in my opinion. It has the most symbolism out of all of them. I love it because of the fact that its all just a dream of Ripley that started after the end of the second. Its her last battle agaisnt the Xenomorphs. The worst situation possible has happened. Newt and Hicks are gone (The Xenomorphs in her head made sure no one could help her this time). And she is carrying the next generation of Xenomorphs, the race she tried to eliminate. Yes, she destroied them in real life, but they still exist and torment her in her head. Remember how she was waking up in sweat at the beginning of Aliens?! They still existed inside of her. A wonderfull Methaphor because in the movie she had a Queen inside of her. And then the prisoners... I have a theory about them. I belive they are souls of condemned persons that died. Assassins, rapists, thieves. Now they are in front of the gates of hell and search for forgiveness. They are in purgatory and accepted God of their only saviour. Now they are given a chance to go to heaven. Help Ripley fight this demon. The Xenomorph, the worst demon those souls from purgatory had ever seen. This movie is a pure and beautifull masterpiece ❤

The three Alien movies are very good.

7:25 It is NOT the only time Xenomorph Gorilla concept was used. The *Aliens Infestation* for DS also featured Gorilla Aliens.

Great to see this film get some love, it's one of my favourites of the franchise. Quirky, bleak, and with a great cast. More enjoyable than Cameron's action flick imho. Mind you I really like Resurrection as well, except for that dumb bit with the flamethrower

I liked A3- dark depressing but good!

I just watched it last night and I had a blast! 🔥 Edit: I watched the special assembly edition, I only got one question, so was there two facehuggers aboard USS Sulaco in the cryo room? one that impregnated Ripley and another one for the ox?🤔 the one was found dead next to the ox, but why didn’t they found the other one dead on the floor of EEV? the movie shows only one egg the queen left behind, and chat gpt 3.5 says it was actually only one face-hugger aboard the EEV, this hugger initially targeted Ripley and impregnated her with the alien queen embryo, after the ship crashed on the prison planet Fiorina (Fury) 161 the hugger detached from Ripley and later found the ox leading to the birth of the quadrupedal Alien creature. Then I asked can a hugger impregnated multiple hosts? No, typically each facehugger has one embryo to implant into a single host, it replied back. I’m like WTF then?? The lifespan of a facehugger after impregnation it varies, it’s usually depicted as a matter of minutes to perhaps an hour. My question is then could it have carried two embryos? It’s a little misleading on that matter. They never really mention in the movie, how? isn’t it more understandable that it was two facehuggers aboard the EEV? then where was the other one, should have been found dead next to Ripley’s pod. Then I asked can a hugger carry more than one embryo? Then it replied: “No, tipically, a hugger can only carry and implant one embryo at a time. Each facehugger is designed to impregnate a single host with a single alien embryo. In alien resurrection there is a scene where multiple facehuggers are used to implant multiple embryos into a single host. This was a departure from the typical depiction of facehuggers in previous films, where each facehugger typically implanted only one embryo into one host. The cloning process in alien resurrection resulted in some variations and enhancements to the typical Alien lifecycle.” I’m still left with a WTF?! face. This happens before Alien resurrection, before the enhancements, it should only carry one embryo, not two! 😣 Offc you might say yeh well, the alien queen laid a special egg aboard USS Sulaco, and it carried a special facehugger, with special capabilities, it was carrying two embryos, not one. 😝😒

Alien Cubed is the most adult of the trilogy... and it ended correctly with Ripleys death.

Yup.

Agreed on all points. I actually watched 3 after Resurrection because I'd only heard how bad it was and decided to skip it. Resurrection was abysmal (though I've recently kind of grown to like it) so when I finally watched 3 it was such a breath of fresh air. The tone and atmosphere are on point and I'd argue the score as well as Sigourney Weaver's performance are the best in the series. I will say though that it's a much more interesting film given the production history; without that context, I can kind of see why the average viewer finds it underwhelming, especially after the first two.

I’ve always enjoyed this movie and watch it just as much as the Alien and Aliens. The world building and cinematography is first class. The score is also the best of the three. The Dog Alien is my favourite Alien design. The assembly cut is the better movie but I do prefer the dog buster scene and the Queen bursting out of Ripley at the end. Whenever I re-watch the theatrical cut, you can just see how butchered the second half of the movie is after Clemens and Andrew’s death.

"1993 wouldn't change anything" If what I saw in another Alien 3 YT video is correct, Sigourney Weaver's contract was expiring. That's a reason the rushed it and would be a big difference if they waited and released it later, however, as a personal note, I would've they let her contract expire and move on without her so both including her and rushing to keep her both helped ruined.

if this were 2012 maybe we'd be getting Alien Romney. Mitt Romney. remember him? he was mormon or something

'Alien' and 'Aliens' have been copied so many times that it can affect their lore at times, is so unique - religious lifer prisoners, no weapons to fight, Ripley dying by xenomorph, the atmosphere, the depth of dialogue, etc. It's my favorite in the series (Assembly Cut), and Charles S. Dutton is one of the baddest characters in Any movie - he basically steals the show! And he has the most boss sacrifice scene in any movie - knowingly fatally facing a xenomorph with nothing but guts, attitude, and "harsh language," lol.

There is nothing after the 2nd movie.

No, it isn't.

good to see love for alien3. i also like it and the bleakness fits the franchise perfectly, a great way to end the trilogy. i would completely ignore the theatrical cut in favor of the "assembly cut". (on the other hand, t3 is hilarious, guilty pleasure for sure)

I like it

Never thought about it, but A3 does have really good dialogue. Would need to rewatch the trilogy to have an actual opinion, but I'm leaning towards it having the best dialogue too. But was Fincher closer to a no name director at the time of A3? He'd done what, two music videos? Did Fox hire this guy because of his name? Since they thought they could push him around, it doesn't sound like they thought much of him. Who knew how great of a director he'd be, then, esp. before being hired for A3? I don't see him as being a star hire at the time.

Couldn’t agree more FD. All the criticism the movie got also set me up to try and dislike the movie but ultimately came to love it, especially the assembly cut. It teaches you to actually watch something and make up your own mind rather than make decisions based on others opinions.

I always liked Alien 3. I favor the Assembly Cut to the theatrical version, and I wish Nute and Hicks had a part in this film. But it's not that bad.

Okay but what happens if a xenomorph becomes host for a xenomorph?

Also apparently Weaver pushed for her to remain the solo star of the series, she really didn't want to share the spotlight with Beihn or anyone else it seems. Biehn was understandly salty about it and i think she has apologised for it in recent years but don't quote me on that. The whole no guns in the movie was also something she demanded as far as i can remember.

Would also like to see Alien: Rombus

Ich habe die Version wo das Alien in dem Ochsen heranwuchs erst ein mal gesehen. Diese Version hatte auch eine andere und erheblich längere Bergungsszene am Anfang, wo der Facehugger eben den Ochsen erwischte und nicht den Hund, diese Version hat mir persönlich viel besser gefallen als die ich denke Kinoversion. Ich mag den 3 Teil aber so oder so, von der Geschichte dahinter und den verschiedenen Versionen erfuhr ich erst viel später, das ist aber kein Grund warum ich den Film jetzt auf einmal nicht nehr mögen würde.

End of a trilogy* the franchise can still expand on lore in other movies like upcoming Romulus.

I’ve also always loved Alien 3 but somehow, I prefer the Theatrical Cut to the Assembly Cut. Maybe it’s nostalgia but I find the AC too slow. Don’t crucify me pls

Alien 3 might be my favorite but I also love Resurrection BECAUSE it's campy and I love Covenant BECAUSE it's so all over the place. The only ones I can't watch are Aliens and Prometheus

Alien 3 is a magnificent film. The theatrical release is good, but the assembly edit is absolutely fantastic, and what they should have done in the first place. I've never bought the "shouldn't have killed Hicks & Newt" argument - the Alien movies are set in a bleak, hopeless universe ruled by faceless corporations, who won't hesitate to fuck over their employees or humanity in general in pursuit of the mighty dollar. Much like reality, in fact. Nobody in Alien films is safe, and the only constant is that the companies will screw you, and the Aliens will always win. Even if you beat them, they'll come back. They're is no place for Hicks and Newt in the script they went with. Also, Outland takes place in the Alien universe, and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.

All the hate for this film really irritated me. Glad to see some love for it. It’s not perfect, especially compared to the first two but it’s a good looking, well made film made under difficult circumstances. Lot to like about it. And the soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous.

Couldn't disagree more. One of the worst movies of all time. I HATE this movie for basically destroying all the really, really sympathetic characters from the Aliens movie, killing off Newt, Hicks, Bishop, and Ripley (only to clone and revive Ripley for yet another Alien 4 movie). This was a dark and dreary, dreary movie, devoid of any human feelings. I wish Neill Blomkamp's version of Alien 5 with Hicks and Newt retconned back to life would have been made instead of all the other garbage that's been tacked onto the Aliens Universe.

I love Alien 3. Especially the Assembly Cut. I know it's depressing and dreary but I find that it works and wraps up the story of Ripley well. Ripley's story should have ended with Alien 3 though. the 4th one was kinda dumb.

No shoutout for Alien Isolation?

Alien 3 is my favorite of the original 4 films

i wish they shouldn't I've never kill Off Newt and Cop Hicks and Bishop and Turk and Burke and Jones The Cat off in Alien 3 😢😤

Here's the real fuckery with Alien3: its opening sequence is logically impossible and contradicts what we can see at the end of Aliens. To start with, we're shown that there's an alien egg placed somewhere on Sulaco that we know the queen alien never visited, because her whereabouts on Sulaco are entirely accounted for in the fourth act of Aliens. Go back and watch Aliens to refresh your memory. You'll see that after stowing away in the dropship's landing gear well and emerging from it, the queen never left the hangar bay except by being blown out of the airlock. There's no opportunity to plant an egg where we see it at the beginning of Alien3. To make matters worse, a facehugger somehow enters Ripley's cryogenic capsule and embeds an embryo in her. How is that possible for a character who is in cryogenic stasis? We see Ripley moving around inside the capsule too; again, how is that possible while in cryogenic stasis? As the cryo capsules are moved from the cryo bay on Sulaco into the escape pod, we see that sometimes the cryo capsules are frost-free, sometimes they are frosted over, inconsistently. When the escape pod lands in the sea, we discover that Newt has drowned, presumably because a facehugger cracked her cryo capsule and it became flooded. Somehow Ripley survives that flooding, although there must be rather large hole in her capsule in order for the facehugger to have made entry. I can't overlook these continuity errors and absurdities. They are fatal flaws, making Alien3 an oddity that I can't accept as a proper sequel to Aliens. Whatever happens after the opening sequence to Alien3 is immaterial as far as the Alien-Aliens stories are concerned, because there's no coherent narrative connecting them to Alien3.

You can say killing off the characters from the second movie was a good choice but that doesn't change the fact they did it in the worst way possible. You can, like, incorporate that into the story instead of just doing an off-screen opening. Show and tell. creating a connection to the characters do add to the effect, maybe use it to influence the other character's perspective or feelings, adding emotional depth to them and affect the audience maybe. A tragic scene of Newt dying in Ripley's arms or hicks drawing his final breaths to speak his last words, there's a million ways to do that better. EDIT: Sorry if the tone sounded hostile, that was not my intention.

I like Alien 3. Can't really comment on the theatrical version, as I don't think I've even bothered to watch it, but the assembly cut is a pretty good movie. Just as most people, I'm not a huge fan of Newt and Hicks being killed off right at the start, but I think your reasoning around this makes sense. It would have been a very different movie with those two following Ripley around. Also, Carrie Henn was around 15 years old in 1991/1992, so she wouldn't have been a good fit for the role of young Newt, and I'm not so sure anyone at that point wanted to cast a different girl in that role. I do understand why a lot of people don't like Alien 3, as it is very bleak, but I think it's a bit unfair to call it terrible or even bad. Alien Resurrection on the other hand... Now THAT'S a movie that never should have been made. 😄

Strong disagree on the assembly cut being better tho. The birth scene with the dog is so much better looking than the one with the ox