David Fincher’s Alien 3 has some cool moments and it’s a fun concept, but it ultimately ended up being one of the big disappointments in the Alien franchise, and it sparked a bit of controversy among fans.
The production of this film had a ton of issues and Fincher himself has pretty much disowned the movie.
In the film, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) crash-lands on Fiorina 161, a desolate, prison planet inhabited by former violent offenders. The facility’s residents, all men, live under a strict, religious code, and Ripley’s arrival disrupts the fragile peace.
Unknown to the prisoners, Ripley carries an alien embryo inside her, and soon after her arrival, a facehugger has also stowed away on her ship, leading to the birth of a new xenomorph.
This alien begins hunting the inmates, who lack the weapons to defend themselves, forcing them to rely on their wits and Ripley’s experience with the creatures.
As the alien terrorizes the prisoners, Ripley discovers the horrifying truth that she is carrying a queen alien inside her. This knowledge sets up a grim battle for survival, not only against the xenomorph stalking them but also against the approaching Weyland-Yutani Corporation, which seeks to capture the alien for their bioweapons division.
In the end, Ripley sacrifices herself by leaping into a molten furnace, ensuring that the alien inside her dies with her, thus preventing the corporation from using it for their sinister purposes.
Weaver recently reflected on the film saying that she could feel the lack of studio support Fincher received.
The actress said: “Well, I could feel that David had to get on the phone and fight every day for us to shoot what he wanted to the next day. And I’m sorry that he didn’t get a chance to make the script his own before we started.
“That makes filmmaking very difficult. I recall that Vincent Ward’s original script had been about monks in a monastery and Ripley was in a coma for half of it. So, I keenly felt the lack of studio support.
“That was a transition moment where studios stopped being about ‘let’s make great films’ and started being about ‘let’s not lose money.’
“They had the great idea to put David Fincher aboard for his first film, but then not to support the guy was very idiotic. It helped shooting in England so we could get on with things to an extent.”
She went on to say that she working with Fincher and feels that they made a good film: “I heard recently that David has disowned the project and I’m sorry about that because I loved working with him, and I think we made a good film. I’m glad he got a chance to do his version. It was a great ensemble.”
Maybe she’d change her mind if she rewatched the film after all these years because there were some pretty awful creative decisions made.
Source: ComicBook
