Movie Defense Force: Alien 3
- Thread starter Jimothy Sterling
- Start date
Fun episode. Never really had much of an attachment to the alien series as a whole (kinda liked them, not a rabid fan by any stretch of the imagination) but this seemed like a reasonable argument why 3 shouldn't be overlooked.
Was that...Repo! the Genetic Opera in the intro? Aka 2008's attempt to make a new Rocky Horror and thereby creating yet another unwatchably lame 'controversial' musical? I think we'll have to agree to disagree as to whether or not that movie is garbage (hint: it's garbage).
Was that...Repo! the Genetic Opera in the intro? Aka 2008's attempt to make a new Rocky Horror and thereby creating yet another unwatchably lame 'controversial' musical? I think we'll have to agree to disagree as to whether or not that movie is garbage (hint: it's garbage).
The man bring up a great many redeeming points about Aliens // Stuff i would have dismissed away // Granted I never hated A3, but for me it was not my fav (that was A2) but after this I now look back and go "ah yes it does have some very good parts"
The only thing that bugged me with the review was the low level music playing through out, very distracting
-M
The only thing that bugged me with the review was the low level music playing through out, very distracting
-M
Really happy to see this, I was just the other day telling a few people in the Brovengers chat why I thought it was so hard done by.Jimothy Sterling said:
Although I must admit, I'm surprised you didn't talk about Assembly/Director's cut vs. regular release.
Thank god for you I guess.
P.S. Good idea for a new series, looking forward to seeing more.
P.P.S. You have released a lot of stuff recently... Not that I'm complaining, but it must be hard work.
Or the queen laid the eggs while she was there waiting for them at the landing pad.Reduced_Silver said:
What I do love about Alien 3 is that it's the first (and last) character movie of the franchise. This doesn't just come through the prisoners and their keepers, but through Ripley as well. For the first time, she's an inherently interesting character in her own right, with or without an Alien or twenty threatening her. Where the first film was a haunted house movie in space and the second was an optimistic Reagan-era military thriller, Alien 3 is first and foremost about people and about the redemption of those many of us dismiss off hand. Turning murderers and rapists into sympathetic characters isn't easy, but Alien 3 pulls it off.
Another thing I really enjoy is the Alien as something implicitly supernatural or paranormal, or at least as a creature experienced as supernatural. The first film was rife with this, through the Jockey ship to the bizarreness of the creature itself, but the second film brought a hive-like structure and a firmer biology to the creature that demystified it to some degree. In turn, this paved the way for a lot of awful expanded universe media that is only somewhat redeemed by the Alien vs. Predator games. But Alien 3 knows what horror is and I fully support the notion that the Alien always wins. Throughout the arc of films one to three, Ripley's victories are Pyrrhic at best. After all, this is not an American horror franchise as such, but the brainchild of Dan O'Bannon, Ridley Scott and H.R. Giger, and there is no cultural requirement that the good guys truly "win" -- unlike many purely American horror franchises and films.
So I appreciate Alien 3 for being true to the potential of the Alien as a monster, but also its attention to characterisation. It's not a movie in which a lot really happens, as such, but there's a lot of character interplay that lifts the potential of the series, and it does that without losing sight of the horror of the Alien itself. And most of all, it leaves much of the details of the Alien up to interpretation apart from its strength at environmental adaption. It's not clear how conscious the Alien is of its actions, nor are its intellectual or physical limitations made perfectly clear. A monster without mystery is no monster at all, and that's what a lot of Alien-related stuff has forgotten since Alien 3.
Another thing I really enjoy is the Alien as something implicitly supernatural or paranormal, or at least as a creature experienced as supernatural. The first film was rife with this, through the Jockey ship to the bizarreness of the creature itself, but the second film brought a hive-like structure and a firmer biology to the creature that demystified it to some degree. In turn, this paved the way for a lot of awful expanded universe media that is only somewhat redeemed by the Alien vs. Predator games. But Alien 3 knows what horror is and I fully support the notion that the Alien always wins. Throughout the arc of films one to three, Ripley's victories are Pyrrhic at best. After all, this is not an American horror franchise as such, but the brainchild of Dan O'Bannon, Ridley Scott and H.R. Giger, and there is no cultural requirement that the good guys truly "win" -- unlike many purely American horror franchises and films.
So I appreciate Alien 3 for being true to the potential of the Alien as a monster, but also its attention to characterisation. It's not a movie in which a lot really happens, as such, but there's a lot of character interplay that lifts the potential of the series, and it does that without losing sight of the horror of the Alien itself. And most of all, it leaves much of the details of the Alien up to interpretation apart from its strength at environmental adaption. It's not clear how conscious the Alien is of its actions, nor are its intellectual or physical limitations made perfectly clear. A monster without mystery is no monster at all, and that's what a lot of Alien-related stuff has forgotten since Alien 3.
I still like the first film best. I like the stark lack of sci-fi conventions its has and the seemly random nature of who survives. I found Aliens to be too much of a pop-corn movie, too much cowboy and too little thought. I can appreciate what Aliens 3 does, but I still enjoy the creep some what straight-played 'killer on a train' story...just because the killer is a bug doesn't take away from the classic story trope of being trapped on a moving vehicle that has a killer on it with you. JMO Thank Jim, a nice new show.
Waitwaitwaitwait... we get Jim Sterling multiple times a week now? Good god, I don't know if the world is ready for that.
Seriously though, I think more than a few valid points were raised. I never understood the hate Alien 3 got. Yeah, Newt and the marine guy getting killed off screen was kind of disappointing, but overall it was a much better movie than people gave it credit for, and really did tie up a nice little trilogy with the others by going back to the series' roots one last time. It was about Ripley and the alien, Ahab and the whale, and the inevitably hopeless struggle against a force of nature. And that is how a movie series like this should go out
It really is a great thing that they've let the series retire since then. I am so glad they didn't screw everything up by making a bunch of half-assed sequels and prequels that really only mess with up established canon and basically throw the main themes of the series out the window. I mean, geez, that'd be about as bad as if they went and made another Terminator movie after the second one.
Seriously though, I think more than a few valid points were raised. I never understood the hate Alien 3 got. Yeah, Newt and the marine guy getting killed off screen was kind of disappointing, but overall it was a much better movie than people gave it credit for, and really did tie up a nice little trilogy with the others by going back to the series' roots one last time. It was about Ripley and the alien, Ahab and the whale, and the inevitably hopeless struggle against a force of nature. And that is how a movie series like this should go out
It really is a great thing that they've let the series retire since then. I am so glad they didn't screw everything up by making a bunch of half-assed sequels and prequels that really only mess with up established canon and basically throw the main themes of the series out the window. I mean, geez, that'd be about as bad as if they went and made another Terminator movie after the second one.
I get the feeling I'll like this show quite a bit, great first episode at any rate.
So I gotta admit, Aliens will always be my absolute favorite from this series of movies. Although over the years I've slowly come to like 3 for what it is, it is a decent film but I will never love it after it slaughtered Hicks and the team behind the project basically told Michael Beihn to go fuck himself. I get that Hicks isn't an extremely well-developed character but he is so perfect at what he is, someone who is in way over his head but manages to hold it together.
The simply fact that people are coming up with insane conspiracy theories involving how it was a clone in the cryo-pod and he'll appear alive in the new game is proof enough that killing him was a questionable, if not a moronic choice, even if it made sense to an overall theme. If he really does come back in the game, does that invalidate Jim's argument? Randy Pitchford has actually said that the game would make Alien 3 a better movie, so what happens if you already like it?
I for one would welcome the return of Hicks...
After all, it is about time somebody woke this guy up.
So I gotta admit, Aliens will always be my absolute favorite from this series of movies. Although over the years I've slowly come to like 3 for what it is, it is a decent film but I will never love it after it slaughtered Hicks and the team behind the project basically told Michael Beihn to go fuck himself. I get that Hicks isn't an extremely well-developed character but he is so perfect at what he is, someone who is in way over his head but manages to hold it together.
The simply fact that people are coming up with insane conspiracy theories involving how it was a clone in the cryo-pod and he'll appear alive in the new game is proof enough that killing him was a questionable, if not a moronic choice, even if it made sense to an overall theme. If he really does come back in the game, does that invalidate Jim's argument? Randy Pitchford has actually said that the game would make Alien 3 a better movie, so what happens if you already like it?
I for one would welcome the return of Hicks...
After all, it is about time somebody woke this guy up.
Thank you Jim!
I honestly thought I was in a minority here. Aliens 3 was first movie of the franchise I saw, so i guess you could say that the previous movies didn't color my view of it.
Could you maybe shorten the intro though?
I honestly thought I was in a minority here. Aliens 3 was first movie of the franchise I saw, so i guess you could say that the previous movies didn't color my view of it.
Could you maybe shorten the intro though?