History YMMV / Alien3

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Hoo boy. Although abruptly killing off Newt, Hicks, and eventually Bishop is ''very'' unpopular to say the least, especially considering [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot how interesting it would potentially be]] to see Ripley and three of the most morally well-adjusted characters in the franchise survive in a prison alongside some of the franchise's very worst—that part is at least forgivable due to RealLifeWritesThePlot. What's not forgivable is killing off Clemens and the Warden, two of its ''own'' most potentially interesting characters, before they get much chance at development—in Clemens' case, he just gave a heartfelt account of his BackStory. It would have been far more interesting seeing Andrews keeping the prisoners in line as everything is falling apart than a disposable 86, who is thoroughly dull as a character.

** The confrontation with the xenomorph is ''not'' the finale of the movie. While the ''Assembly Cut'' at least has a reason for it and adds few bits and pieces that make it work, the theatrical cut simply drags out for an extra 12 minutes, with the whole sequence involving Bishop II feeling tacked in.

* CriticalBacklash: A common reaction to the film after all the criticism of it.
* EndingFatigue:
** There are six or seven "endings" in quick succession, as if David Fincher couldn't decide on what closing shot would be coolest. The eventual editors certainly couldn't narrow them down.

* AMoltenDateWithDeath: In this case, a vat of molten lead.

** Again, how awesome would it be to see Ripley working together ''with'' the small Hicks-Bishop-Newt family unit she developed in the previous film inside the hellhole that is Fiorina Prison? Considering that said group of characters is 1) an attractive woman, 2) a military authority figure, 3) an android, and 4) a little girl, watching those four fight for their lives in a prison full of violent rapists and criminals would arguably be ''scarier'', in some ways, than having Ripley on her own hunted down by the Xenomorph, not to mention that their presence would make [[spoiler:Ripley's eventual HeroicSacrifice]] that much more moving, meaningful, and a satisfying conclusion to her story.
** The fact the Xenomorph came from a non-human host and the intriguing revelation that they take on attributes of their hosts doesn't matter at all to the overall story, and aside from being somewhat skinner and running on all-fours more often than prior aliens, it's hardly noticeable in a movie so visually dark. This is especially so with the version that has it emerging from an ox, since the alien, rather disappointingly, doesn't look anything like an ox. A lot of supplementary ''Alien'' franchise media like comics, novels, and ''Film/AliensVsPredatorRequiem'' did further expand on this concept, however.[[note]]Though some of those expansions are pure, gimmicky NarmCharm, like Bull, Shark, Bat, and Snake Aliens that just look silly.[[/note]]

** The film's opening 5 minutes kills off Newt and Hicks. What's left of Bishop later asks to be shut off. And Ripley without anyone left in her life [[spoiler: has her worst nightmare come true: she's "pregnant" with an alien queen.]] Her eventual [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice]] is a ForegoneConclusion to the audience and even ''that'' is rendered meaningless by the sequel. The fact that Ripley is forced to deal with both an Alien and a bunch of criminals who aren't happy with her presence [[TheWoobie just makes audiences feel more for her]].

* UncannyValley: While the use of a rod-puppet to portray the alien in certain scenes is very unconvincing due to poor optical composition (see SpecialEffectsFailure above), the way that it '''moves''' is actually rather creepy, due to the physics mismatch that results from inserting a 1/3-scale puppet into full-scale environments.

** The Alien design in this film, dubbed "The Runner," and to an extent the revelation that a gestating Alien takes some information from its host to influence its mature form. The Runner in particular has gone on to be a staple of the franchise (mostly in assorted games), and the possibilities of Aliens hatched from bizarre alien animals has led to some rather creative Alien hybrids.

* {{Narm}}: Ripley's line about the alien being in her life for so long, she can't remember anything else can become this when you realize that if you take away the 57 years she spent in cryosleep between the first two films, her total time dealing with the aliens amounts to a couple weeks at most.

** While the AttemptedRape of Ripley is a very serious scene, the part where Junior puts on his goggles and does a warriors yell to the sky is guaranteed to bring out many laughs despite the fact the scene and subject matter before NO laughing matter.

** While the AttemptedRape of Ripley is a very serious scene, the part where Junior puts on his goggles and does a warriors yell to the sky is guaranteed to bring out many laughs despite the fact the scene and subject matter itself is NO laughing matter.

* {{Sequelitis}}: Thanks to the TooBleakStoppedCaring and having the ToughActToFollow of the previous two ''Alien'' films, ''Alien 3'' is not viewed very fondly. If it weren't the sequel to two of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, both of which absolutely ''dominate'' their niches and were the TropeMaker of [[SpaceMarine god]] [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong knows]] how many things, it might've been seen as SoOkayItsAverage. See ExecutiveMeddling, TroubledProduction, and WhatCouldHaveBeen in [[Trivia/Alien3 Trivia]] for more details, and how the film could probably have avoided this trope.

** Again, how awesome would it be to see Ripley working together ''with'' the small Hicks-Bishop-Newt family unit she developed in the previous film inside the hellhole that is Fiorina Prison? Considering that said group of characters is 1) an attractive woman, 2) a military authority figure, 3) an android, and 4) a [[AdultFear little girl]], watching those four fight for their lives in a prison full of violent rapists and criminals would arguably be ''[[AdultFear scarier]]'', in some ways, than having Ripley on her own hunted down by the Xenomorph, not to mention that their presence would make [[spoiler:Ripley's eventual HeroicSacrifice]] that much more moving, meaningful, and a satisfying conclusion to her story.

* EightDeadlyWords: One of the biggest criticisms of the film is that it is hard to feel any sympathy for most of the alien's victims when they are, by their own admission, a bunch of violent murderers and rapists. The fact that they're all bald and sometimes hard to tell apart in the darkened lighting does not help matters. This is somewhat alleviated in the ''Assembly Cut'' however, which dedicates a fair amount of screen time to exploring the prisoners' religious beliefs and how they each come to terms with their past sins and imminent demise.

** Did Dillon stay with in the lead mold with the Alien because he needed to keep it at bay, or because he was afraid of having to keep his promise to [[spoiler: Ripley and kill her prevent the new Alien Queen from being born?]] Dillon, used to be a murderer of women, but since becoming a religious man he obviously took a vow to become a better person and never turn to such evil again. Plus at this point in the film Dillon has [[spoiler: lost all but one of his friends, and has come to see Ripley as a second]], so his is sacrifice selfless or selfish, or a mix of both? As he wanted to die a good man and not be forced to kill again.

* SignatureScene: Two to be exact. The opening for infamously killing Hicks and Newt and finally [[spoiler:Ripley's death.]]
** Make that three (see Money-Making Shot).

* MoneyMakingShot: The canine Alien menacing Ripley with its mouths. [[http://cache.reelz.com/assets/content/repFrame/52723/alien-3-trailer-01.jpg You know the one.]]

* AngstAversion: It's telling that most people arguably remember this movie most for killing off Hicks and Newt immediately, and that's enough to put them off watching it. It doesn't help that the movie only gets more depressing from there.

* EightDeadlyWords: One of the biggest criticisms of the film is that it is hard to feel any sympathy for most of the alien's victims when they are, by their own admission, a bunch of violent murderers and rapists. The fact that they're all bald and sometimes hard to tell apart in the darkened lighting does not help matters. This is somewhat alleviated in the ''Assembly Cut'' however, which dedicates a fair amount of screen time to exploring the prisoners' religious beliefs and how they each cope with their imminent demise.

* EightDeadlyWords: One of the biggest criticisms of the film is that it is hard to feel any sympathy for most of the alien's victims when they are, by their own admission, a bunch of violent murderers and rapists. The fact that they're all bald and sometimes hard to tell apart in the darkened lighting does not help matters.

* EnsembleDarkHorse: Dillon and Clemens, even amongst people who don't like the film. Their actors capture the dignity of two past criminals who both committed horrible crimes they have sincere remorse for (it was AccidentalMurder in Clemens' case), and are trying their damnedest to atone for them. [[spoiler:Dillon especially, who gives a RousingSpeech to the other inmates so Weyland-Yutani doesn't get a hold of the Xenomorph, and he even directly pulls a HeroicSacrifice in the end so Ripley can destroy it with molten lead.]]