Alien3 "reboot"?

i think that they had to show more respect for the previous movie ..was sufficient that an escape pod ( with ripley ) from the sulaco was eject for fire aboard or alien intrusion ..that would have lead to an unknow fate for the others and the ripley stranded on an unknown planet ...

Personally, I am a bit tired of the hatred towards ALien3 (and Resurrection, for that matter). Aliens was great upon release but to me it has not aged well. The humor is too sophomoric and the entire "tough guy" aspect of it is tiresome. I am not saying I dislike it by any means but I do actually prefer Alien 3 over Aliens and here is why. Ridley Scott created an uncompromisingly bleak and terrifying film that was based on tension and incredible designs. The movie moved at a snails pace (compared to todays ADD inflicted jump cuts and edits) and when the payoff scenes came, they were really effective. You saw very little of the Alien and it was extremely hard to kill. Flash forward to Aliens. The tension was replaced with action. The character development was replaced with humor and one liners. The aliens themselves were reduced to ants and easily done away with using a few rounds of bullets. It also ended with what has become a somewhat boring standard of Cameron films. Then Alien 3 comes along and goes back to the single Alien format. They kill the remaining characters from Aliens...why? because this series as it was, is about Ripley. Not about her becoming a mother to some annoying kid. Not about her being a girlfriend to some Marine, but it is about the link and story of her and this alien race. Alien 3 introduced a prison planet that seems like it fits right in with Scotts bleak universe. You get to know enough about the characters to almost like a few (just like the original......the only completely likable character to me was Dallas and then Ripley). I may not agree with how the cgi looks and some of the set-ups but I enjoy the film. Especially the extended version with the re-inserted effects as opposed to all of the cgi stuff. The film is bleak, sad, depressing and claustrophobic . It also has an incredibly understated, yet perfectly dramatic score. Anyway, I ranted long enough. I like all four films in this series a great deal. I am excited beyond words for Prometheus. I just get tired of people acting like it is an automatic thing to hate Alien 3 and Resurrection. I haven't touched on the 4th film but I do enjoy it as well.

For me Alien3 was disappointing but not rubbish. I believe the script was rewritten about 100 times and directors came and went like bees to a hive. By the time it got started it was doomed. Apparently during the production it was also ravaged by changes. I read several of the original screen plays and they were quite different to the film. It also came after one of the best action films of all time Aliens. The director was a rookie and the CGI was not convincing. Some good characters in it though.

Miser!!!! Did you just say Aliens has not aged well???? Are you insane? The film is nearly 30 years old and still looks amazing. The DESIGN alone in this film is monumental. Its every prop and model makers bible and that’s just one tiny aspect. The cast and script have sent shock waves through every sci-fi medium from video games to comics. The film is arguably THE defining sci-fi film of the 20th century and easily Cameron’s magnum opus. It cannot be compared to Alien 3 and btw I actually like A3 and loved Resurrection but they simply to not operate at the same level as the first 2 films. You say the franchise theme isn’t about Ripley becoming a mother - it's ALL about her being a mother. You say it shouldn't be about her having a marine bf - what about Clemmens?? You're seriously mixed up man and you've actually upset me a little bit, I'm blowing into a paper bag as I type ;-) Point is - Yes I agree A3 and Resurrection get a bad rap when they shouldn’t but this is no reason to elevate them to comparison with the greatest movies off all time Alien and Aliens.

Ender: Get a grip buddy. I was just stating my own opinion as to how I felt about the films and why it is annoying that people just toss aside the last two films. It is how I see it. So take your upset and irritation elsewhere. I will be honest here. I know way more people who feel the same as I about Aliens than don't. Once again, it is the thought that everybody automatically agrees with these sentiments that is bothersome. You do not have to agree with me....such is the object of free thinking but you cannot criticize my feelings for these movies either. You are missing the point though, I love all of these films but in order of liking for me it goes Alien (above and beyond all of the sequels), Alien 3, Aliens and the Resurrection. See? the key words used here are "for me". BTW, Aliens is not really sci-fi. It is more action/adventure since there is very little science involved in the film. I wont disagree that some of the work in it was groundbreaking.....but so was work on Avatar..and THAT is a pitiful excuse for a film. AT least Aliens has substance and characters (albeit thinly developed).

I would go even further and say Alien 3 is in fact considering the GARBAGE that Fincher was put through by the suits at FOX, an Incredible accomplishment. It bothers ME to no end that people knock the last 2 films simply because they didn't like the plot...too bad...fact is, they're BOTH very well made movies and unique in their place in the Alien Franchise. Please Do not lose site of the fact that this is a Franchise of 4 Films we are discussing here. Not 4 Stand Alone Films, I mean come on, how many Franchise Films do you know of where there are 4 Academy Award quality Films made out of 4? And in all cases, isn't it true that the first one was always the one we say was the best? The other 3 just couldn't have been made without it right? How many of these groups of films do you know of that people FLOCK to go see like we all did for ALL 4 OF THESE !!! Alien Resurrection was a whopping success financially speaking!!! I have personally always accepted the 4 films for what they are on their own. I also am being serious when I say that 3 and Resurrection added some very unique ideas and even more so, some things were done with camera work in both films that was both ground breaking at the time, and still quite remarkable to see today, and even more so on the Special Extended Editions on the Quadrilogy Box Set !!! You cannot really be a true Alien fan if you haven't, by now, found some really cool things to like about Alien 3 and Resurrection, at the very least they gave us all something, more of this universe Ridley and Giger created and that we all love so much to this day !!!

Agree that A3 is much better than many allow and remarkably good considering the circumstances of its tortured production - in fact I'm incredulous that such a prolonged flip-flopping process can occur, given the apparent calibre and pedigree of the principals. It also has one of the creepiest moments in the series: the arrival of the "rescue" team - the Alien itself might be a fantastic mercifully-non-existent extrapolation of Zoology and biological imperatives, but that group of cold-eyed, ruthless, white-clad monsters (or people very very like them) is likely plotting together even as we speak. AR has some wonderful scenes: the Queen and her progeny in their 'cages', nominally under the control of another evil "rescue" team, still make me shudder. Re 'Alien'vs 'Aliens': watching the first film recently for first time in YEARS I was struck by how anti-climactic the ending is, and how the totally-berserk flashing-lights hooting-sirens countdown is the template Cameron used for his own film's climax, complete with false ending too. Quite at odds with the coldly-clinical quality of the rest of Scott's film.

i will agree with "Miser" 100% about Cameron's "Aliens", i was really enthusiastic when articles began to surface that an "ALIEN" sequel was being planned, then all the articles that followed leading up the eventual release of the film back in he mid 1980's i saw it the day it opened (twice) the first screening i was interested and somewhat sated, but as i was waiting in line for the second screening, i realized this film was N O T on the level as Scott's "ALIEN" was... not even close. for me, it has not aged well at all, in fact, it's in the same company as that "AvP" garbage, the alien species was reduced to a "space bug" and that is merely the jumping off point for what turned out to be an almost parallel story line from Cameron of Scott's film (auto-destruct strobe-lights / aliens aboard the escape craft and all) those who can not create - - merely replicate all the copyright / legal trouble Cameron has gone thru (and continues to go through) effortlessly validates this point with Alien3, at least Fincher didn't resort to a countdown, or low-brow humor, or letting heavy arms fire drive his film, i do think that Alien3 had it's obvious flaws, but i give it it's due credit for not having a Xeroxed story line like the film it followed... i scoff at ANY reference to "Xeno-morphs" "Hyperdyne" and "LV426", all of these things call to my mind all the things Cameron helped to do to chip away at the ALIEN mythology i grew to love i'm hoping that with "PROMETHEUS" (fingers croxxed) Scott rewrites all the damage Cameron did with his commercial sequel effort, and sets to right, all the ALIEN lore i've not only come to love, but respect time will tell....

I would love Ridley to rip-up the history created by the sequels. I think it's the only way the Xeno can be saved...as if everything we thought we knew, was horribly wrong - which really is the case anyway. There's very little in the sequels that truly builds on what RIdley started. In regards to Alien 3 being rebooted - it would really be wonderful to rework Vincent Ward's concepts, integrating them with Ridleys themes of sexual dominance, forced reproduction...

I am glad this discussion has been posted. I agree Hybrid Vigor Alien 3 was just not right for the series. I even remember in the teaser when I saw Point Break it said something about the Alien coming to Earth and the egg above Earth. I bet its on youtube. Anyhow even in the interviews on the Alien 3 special features Michael Behn was so upset that they killed off Hicks, he loved that role! I think we all love Hicks! I even remember the Dark Horse comics in which Hicks, Bishop and Newt story continued onward to the point where the Xenos were undergoing training to be weapons for the military and Newt was all grown up. Its was a real good read! Same with AVP comics they were so cool! The stories were just spot on and worked so good with both universes. If these comics were the screenplays for the continuation of both series 20th century fox would have GOLD! But they had to just render everything they way they wanted it. Alien 3 unfortunately was the demise of the series. The story was just too weird, I mean a penal colony? I think a farming community would've been better. But it was so DUMB to kill of Hicks and Bishop. Newt I am cool with her being killed off. But didn't Ridley have a sequel drawn up for Alien or some stills indicating that there was another Xeno crunched down somewhere on the outer portion of the Narcicuss

I'm going to state my opinion. But first I’ll state some critical, critic’s facts: Alien: 96% "Fresh" Rotten Tomatoes Aliens: 100% "Fresh" Rotten Tomatoes Alien 3: 39% "Rotten" Rotten Tomatoes Alien Resurrection: 55% "Rotten" Rotten Tomatoes For all I care there are only two movies. “Alien,” was ground breaking and appeals to those who find acting performances important. It’s because of its superb suspense, horror and acting that made it so powerful. Ridley Scott really did take a B-Movie and turn it into a class act memory and source material for film history. For those who love 80’s action movies, “Aliens” is one of the greatest action movies, and the one of the greatest sequels ever made. In all fairness, there's plenty of character development in both, and the writing is superb, but they each fit the tastes of different audiences; however, I it’s fair to say that both movies are great on their own. I think Aliens still challenges even modern day standards of sequels. The film is brilliant in that it takes previous concepts and ideas and builds on them, while still paying homage to the original. That’s why I love them both! Shardy: We can agree that James Cameron is now a big money man. But his early films which he wrote/co-wrote, AND directed: “Terminator,” “The Abyss,” and “Aliens,” are and always will be his best because that's when he challenged himself, as a filmmaker, for films' sake. It’s very clear because he really wanted to make great sci-fi movies, which he did! In conclusion, those of you that dismiss “Aliens” are crazy to me. It’s a sequel that many see as a separate film. Those of you who love those last two movies, “Alien 3” and “Alien Resurrection” I will not understand. Maybe because David Fincher is the director of “The Social Network”/ “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and you guys are Fincher homers, or maybe it’s because you like how he took you back to the same feelings as the original, albeit not for it’s thespian attributes (epic fail). Let’s be real though, the writing, the direction, and overall production of these last two films, especially Alien 3, were very poor, and many, many film critics think so as well. Fox still wanted to capitalize financially while the franchise was still relevant, any way that they could, even if it meant big budgets with poor scripting. With a slew of seasoned actors and actresses, I hope Prometheus at least takes us back to the thespian standard set in 1979!

Hi all, newbie here. I have a strange appreciation for Alien 3, on one hand I cannot abide by how the perfect ending to Aliens was so carelessly undone and Hicks and Newt were killed off-screen, but on the other hand I do enjoy the film in its own right and have seen it more times than I care to remember. It is (many many) leagues below Alien or Aliens but if I consider it a standalone film I can enjoy it, as a continuation of Ripey's story from 1 and 2 I hate it. If they announced one day someone like Cameron would be helming a new "Alien 3" that carried on from Aliens I would be over the moon, but if it never happens I'll just consider 3 a film I can enjoy but not personally consider the real sequel to Aliens, more like a "What if" story.

I love that film as well and have said before that considering how much Fincher was put through by the studio and it's executives and even people on the set at times during the making of that film, it's extended director's cut which was made without his input but completely in his Honor, is a remarkable Film and quite a cinematic achievement.

I must say I'm really surprised at the criticism thrown at Aliens, I didn't really know there was such dislike for it, I've never been able to find fault with it, I think its genius from beginning to end. Miser: You obviously didn't sense the humour in my shocked reply. I wasn't irritated I was simply surprised at your opinion, there was no need to ask me to go elsewhere. Maybe you're feeling a bit menopausal ;-) Or maybe we're talking about different films? I say this in response to your last comment "Aliens isn't really Sci-Fi". I fear we might have drastically different views on what is science fiction and what isn't. Shardy: How can one film be described as "a mythology" ?? also I ask you to retract the comment that Aliens is in the same company as AvP - that sir..... is unforgivable :-)

I don't think they'd reboot Alien 3 HOWEVER, the first Aliens comic books written by Mark Verheiden (and the novelization in three books, written by Steve Perry) take place after Aliens, assuming Alien 3 never happened. They were written prior to Alien 3 and, if you ask me, are freaking fantastic! The original comic was in black and white and actually featured Hicks and Newt as the main characters 10 years after ALIENS. After the release of Alien 3, the names in reprints were changed to Wilks and Billie so they could still be relevant to the established movie universe. These stories are amazing and you definitely owe it to yourself to check them out. If you are lucky enough to come across the original versions, well, you are lucky lol If not, just change the names Wilks to Hicks and Billie to Newt in your mind. Ripley actually comes in in later stories as well. But yeah, it's basically about an alien queen being brought to earth, a cult of humans who believe the aliens are gods, androids, the military, Weyland-Yutani... definitely worth the read. I enjoyed Alien 3 (save for the effects), but these stories are top notch.

@Enderwinggin: if not a "mythology" then definitely a mythos (semantics i know) "Aliens" in the same company as " AvP ", now you know how i feel when folks mention "Aliens" and ALIEN in the same context. just sayin'..... @Tromatizer: LOVE your avatar. WOW!

Simply put: I despised Alien 3. Resurrection I took with a grain of salt. Alien and Aliens are the best to me. I loved Alien for its superior acting cast. I will never forget that woman's scream (I forgot her name) the red head who was so scared. You hear her panting for several minutes as the alien is slowly killing her and then one final scream before she dies. That rattled the senses. Aliens was great because it took the fight to the Aliens. We were scared of the xenomorphs at first but now we got some bad ass devil dogs to take them on, only to lose hope when each one except Hicks is slaughtered. It was a nice one two punch IMO I have no comment for the terrible last two films made in the series. The mystique was gone...not even a prison could replace the dirt, oil, sweat, machine and grime of the first two.

enjoyed reading all these comments. My 2 cents summary: Alien is the brilliant original we all love. Aliens is an action film - another director's artwork - not the original's style but a very good film in it's own right. Some of the classic frnachise scenes are from this movie. Alien3 tried to return to the original style although it was not crafted successfully (the word "FUCK" does not always substitute for emotion, suspense, or character development). But marks for continuing the franchise. Alien Resurrection was enjoyable in it's own right but really Josh's "Serenity/Firefly"... Prometheus promises to be the first true sequel/prequel to the original.

I agree with OzX. Alien3 was an attempt at getting back to the feeling of isolation and helplessness. The prison backdrop was just that piece to pull that emotion. And now that you mention it, it was a Firefly with an alien on board. Good observation.

I'm referring to Resurrection, in the last sentence of my statement.

To be honest I prefer Alien and Alien 3, then Aliens then Resurrection. Fincher was put through a lot by Fox and still managed to produce a good looking film that ended up being butchered. Fincher is also a big fan of Ridley's, so much so that Ridley actually visited the set of A3 to meet him. Aliens was an action film that reduced these unstoppable killing machine Aliens down to so much cannon fodder in a rather blatant retake on the Vietnam war. In fact while working as freelance and my weekly chats with Dave Hughes, most of the Alien 3 naysayers came across as whiners who wanted another Aliens. Suitably annoyed at such petulance and ignorance of how a film series works, I suggested in a letter in the magazine that they should just take their video copy of Aliens off the shelf, stick that in their VCR's and watch that instead.

alien 3 sucked///hated it..when the alien chest burst as ripley is falling is laughably bad yeah they really should let us vote for them to remake a movie for the sake of the franchise...hicks should have survived and it should have ended with ripley and hicks having a kid and returning to earth...hell ripley lost her famly after being frozen for so long that would have been a nice resolution..they could have adopted newt..but instead they kill off newt and hicks..WHAT THE hELL

to ME, anyone that says the words, "Alien 3 Sucked" is Not a Fan of this franchise! To be a fan you had to have found at least 1 thing to like in each of the 4 films!!! BUT ALL OF THAT ASIDE.... The simple fact IMO is that ALien3's restructured and extended directors cut which had zero input from it's director, YET WAS MADE WITH RESPECT FOR WHAT WAS DONE TO HIM ON THE SET BEHIND HIS BACK DURING THE FILMING OF THE THEATRICAL RELEASE AND EXPRESSLY IN HIS HONOR AND AS A TRIBUTE TO HIM AND THE PROFESSIONAL MANNER IN WHICH HE HANDLED IT ALL AND AS WELL AS BECAUSE OF PUBLIC DEMAND... ... is a FLAT OUT MASTERPIECE !!!

ALSO NEWT AND HICKS BEING DEAD MADE PERFECT FUCKING SENSE!

The problem with alien 3 is that it was never finished... If the special edition of alien 3 was recut by fincher with improved SFX and sound and possible new scenes then it would be finished and finally be recognized as the gem it is.

BLA BLA BLA, SHOW ME THE SCRIPT THAT ANY OF YOU MADE THAT'S BETTER, BETTER YET, SHOW ME THE FILM YOU SHOT THAT'S BETTER THAN THE DIRECTORS CUT OF ALIEN 3 ...ALSO IMO...THE DIRECTORS CUT OF ALIEN 3 IS TEN TIMES BETTER THAN "ALIENS".

m a huge fan of the franchise...i love alien and aliens...i had the toys and the comics and am fascinated by the alien universe...and im sayng that ALiEN 3 SUCKED and so did alien resurecction...the franchise went from great sci fi to being directed by assholes that can barely direct an mtv music video

AND THAT RIGHT THERE IMO DISQUALIFIES YOU AS A FAN OF THE FRANCHISE BECAUSE ALIEN 3 CLEARLY DID NOT SUCK AND THERE WAS LOTS TO LIKE IN THAT FILM !!! MANY MANY MANY THINGS TO LIKE IN THAT FILM ACTUALLY !!! ALSO, AND THERE IS JUST NO QUESTIONING THIS ONE, ALIEN3 WAS, OUT OF ALL 4 ORIGINAL FILMS, THE ONE THAT HAD THE VERY BEST XENO KILLING HUMANS SCENES!!! BY MILES AND MILES AND MILES...IT ISN'T EVEN CLOSE!!!

and again, if you know your stuff so well and it sucked as you say than PLEASE RIGHT NOW show me the film you wrote and made that's better, cause that would be just about the ONLY THING ON THIS EARTH that would give any credibility what so ever to what you have been saying here!!!

[quote] Member Posts: 841 Snorkelbottom › Posted 01/18/2012 The problem with alien 3 is that it was never finished... If the special edition of alien 3 was recut by fincher with improved SFX and sound and possible new scenes then it would be finished and finally be recognized as the gem it is.[/quote] This is why I LOVE being here with all of you...guys like the one that posted the above. He and I do not see eye to eye all the time, but we RESPECT each other enough and these forums enough to be HONEST with each other and to everyone else even if it does not make anyone in particular feel all warm and fuzzy, even if it hurts. If I go over the edge in your opinion tell me, and if I can see where I was wrong I will be the first person to admit it. But just being here, for any of us, has to mean that we all saw something redeemable for all these years in the Alien franchise or we would not be here at all. To me that has to include all 4 films.