|
Intro:
Well, half the week is gone and the weekend draws nearer. Soon it will be Halloween
Friday and I’ll be getting very drunk in the pub. It also means that ALIEN: THE
SUPER SPECIAL DIRECTORS EDITION will be released in theatres on your side of the
pond and mine. And to celebrate that fact (the second one, I get drunk with no
fan fare) I’ve been reviewing the Alien saga this week. So today I bring you
number 3.
Review:
The third installment starts in a similar way to the second. We find Ripley where
we left her, in deep freeze. Something goes wrong and a fire starts, initiating
the emergency eject system that places the cryo-tubes in an evacuation ship which
then launches itself in to space. Somehow a pair of face huggers got on board the
Salaco (the Marines ship, no I never saw them do it either) and make it safely with
the tubes. The pod crash lands on Fiorina ‘Fury’ 161.
The inhabitants find the craft, with Ripley being the only survivor. They are
custodial inmates, of a double Y prison (many violent male criminals have two
y-chromosomes rather than one) who have created their own take on Christianity.
The place was abandoned but they have nowhere to go so they decide to stay and
keep the place on skeleton crew. The face hugger impregnates one of the inmate’s
dogs, so we get a slightly different beast this time.
When the resulting Alien starts killing prisoners, Ripley and the motley crew
team up to take the beast down. They are against the clock as the Alien is lurking
in the giant facility and the “company” is on the way to “take care of the problem.”
So, not the worst plot in the world. Originally the prison was going to be a monastery,
an idea I actually preferred. I believe this idea was dropped due to budget constraints.
The concept art I’ve seen was pretty grand and would have called for some expensive sets.
They seem to have tacked the original idea on, as the prisoners are basically violent monks.
It does have a big hunk of holes in it though. The first indication that there is Alien
activity about is an acid burn on Newt’s tube. The face hugger didn’t make it in, but
somehow it got around with no indication of how it did so. It must have learned how to
work the controls. It also got out and disposed of itself without leaving any evidence.
Pretty good for a beast! There’s also nothing in Aliens to show the two huggers getting
onboard the ship. We see the Queen getting there, but that’s it.
It is a pretty tight movie though. The opening sequence is poorly edited, but this is
David Fincher’s first real movie. This is a couple of years before Fight Club but he
does a fine job. Having an Alien from another species is a nice touch too. It answers
the question of what would happen if they implanted something not human. If Ridley Scott
does make the prequel story I reported he might in Hollyweird a few weeks ago I would
love to see what the ones from the giant beings in the first film looked like. Freakin
huge probably...
Acting and such:
Sigourney Weaver knows Ripley pretty well by now. She should, this is the third movie
with the character. She’s evolved from her experiences and has a tougher attitude to
go along with the buzz cut (you’ll see). We also finally get to see her have a kind
of romance with someone, as brief as it may be.
There are a lot of British actors in this one. I don’t know why to tell you the truth.
For some reason English people generally play bad guys or convicts in US films.... As
most of the work over here is on stage they all put in a pretty solid performance as
scumbags. And there isn’t really a pretty boy in the bunch. Like Aliens I’ll only focus
on the major players, as the rest of the cast could really be considered general scum...
Dillon (Charles Dutton) should be good in this; he’s done time. He must have reformed
pretty well too as he’s a nice guy for a “murderer and rapist of women.” Every prison
population has a guy who is in charge. He’s earned it, so no one messes with him. That’s
Dillon. He takes his convictions very seriously and is kind of the priest for the prison
population. He seems pretty gentle for a violent criminal, but when he has to kick some
ass he has the goods.
Clemens (Charles Dance) is the prison doctor. Like the other men he’s done time, and
has the bar code to prove it. However, it was for malpractice so he’s not all bad. He’s
also the love interest for Ripley. His character worked out well as you do think of him
as more of a staff member, but then when his record is revealed you wait for him to do
something really bad. He’s a classical actor generally so seeing him in something like
this is a bit of a surprise.
Andrews (Brian Glover) plays one of the two non-prisoners. He’s the corrupt looking
governor of the facility, and a truly despicable looking character. He has a career
filled with teachers and bosses, and he’s a good pick for it. Think of any loud, fat
boss you’ve ever had who thinks he is better than he actually is, but no one would ever
tell him, and you have Andrews. His second in command 85 (Ralph Brown) is the good cop
to his bad cop, well sort of. He’s a bit dim, and couldn’t get a job anywhere else if he
wanted (the nickname is his IQ) but you can’t help feeling sorry for him.
And finally, Lance Henriksen is in it again in 2 roles. A messed up Bishop briefly has a
role helping Ripley out, and he has a later role as a company rep (the guy who made the
Bishop series). Bishop is the same as before, and the guy is Bishop with a nastier streak.
Lance must have suffered with the Bishop make up in this...
David Fincher does well here, especially for a man who mainly did music videos before hand.
It’s not a stunning piece of directing, but he doesn’t fall in to the trap of trying to be
too clever. Every shot could easily have been an attempt at ‘cool’ but it’s cleanly shot.
The budget was $50 million, which is pretty high for a movie shot in the UK, and most of
it is up on screen. While the monastery sets would have been colossal, the prison isn’t
exactly small. Some of it must have been 50 feet high and it never really looks like someone
just found a disused warehouse.
Conclusion:
If only this had been the last one... While not a masterpiece, this is not a bad movie. By
any means. It’s a bit more like the original in scope (with bigger sets, but small cast and
one alien...) which is fine. The acting and script are relatively solid, and the ending is a
definite end. No loose threads. So why have I got another one to review tomorrow?
MacGyver Rating:
3.5 out of 5 Planets
Talk about
Alien 3>>
|
Game News
