Alien 3 (1992)

Given that the first two films stand up as sci-fi classics in their own right, 27-year-old rookie director David Fincher – best known for making Madonna videos – had a virtually impossible act to follow with this second sequel.

This grim, murky mess cost over $50 million and made about half that much. It’s up there with the third Exorcist and Godfather movies for being overall wrong.

Sigourney Weaver returns (with a shaved head) as Ripley who, this time, crash-lands on a prison colony planet (Fiorina “Fury” 161).

“We’re 25 prisoners in this facility,” says warden Andrews (Brian Glover). “All double-Y chromos. All thieves, rapists, murderers, child molesters. All scum. Just because they have taken on religion doesn’t make them any less dangerous.”

The injured Ripley survives her crashlanding but naturally, an alien egg was aboard the escape pod. It duly hatches and grows before proceeding to pick off an eccentrically cast collection of British thespians (including Charles Dance and Paul McGann) for alien food.

It would have been interesting to see what second-choice New Zealand director Vincent Ward would have made of it – apparently, he was brought in when Renny Harlin left after script disagreements but was himself replaced when it emerged that his version of the movie would be set in a monastery and the alien itself wouldn’t be appearing . . .

With Ripley’s death at the end of Alien 3, it seemed the franchise had come to the end of the line. But both the franchise and Ripley were resurrected courtesy of a screenplay by Buffy The Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon.

Set 200 years after the events of Alien 3, Alien Resurrection (1997) revolved around the successful cloning of Ripley so that scientists could extract the Alien Queen that she had been impregnated with.

Warrant Officer Ripley
Sigourney Weaver
Dillon
Charles S Dutton
Clemens
Charles Dance
Golic
Paul McGann
Superintendent Andrews
Brian Glover
Aaron
Ralph Brown
Morse
Danny Webb
Rains
Christopher John Fields
Junior
Holt McCallany
Bishop II
Lance Henriksen
Murphy
Christopher Fairbank
David
Pete Postlethwaite
William
Clive Mantle
Kevin
Philip Davis
Newt
Danielle Edmond
Corporal Hicks
Michael Biehn

Director
David Fincher

Video