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Add to FavoritesRemakes of films can be justified for a variety of reasons; from updating special effects or to bringing an older film's concepts into a more contemporary setting. Alien 3 is a film that should be remade for no other reason than to correct a mistake, and that mistake is that it denigrates the Alien franchise and specifically the movie, Aliens.
Alien 3 is the direct sequel to James Cameron's Aliens, and tells the continuing story of Lt. Ripley and her dealings with the lethal Alien life forms that have ruined her life. Picking right up where the movie Aliens ends, Alien 3 proceeds to destroy the groundwork that Cameron had constructed so well by killing off the characters Hicks and Newt within the first 5 minutes during the opening credits. The film then counts down the last few remaining days of Ripley's life, giving the audience no reason to cheer.
While there are fans who do like this film, they are truly in the minority. There are more fans of both the original Alien and Cameron's Aliens who are not happy with the treatment that the characters receive in Alien 3 and truly deserve a remake to correct this. After viewing Alien 3, it makes any repeated viewing of Aliens almost bittersweet, because now everyone knows what's in store for them in the future.
Alien 3 was a problem project from the start. Searching the internet will uncover several stories and news articles of the many writers and directors hired and fired in the process of making this film. The script was rewritten several times by several people, and while this isn't unusual for a Hollywood film, it excessive in this film's case. There is no way that the proper attention to a story line could have been given. It is amazing that director David Fincher was able to do as well as he did with the mess that he had inherited.
If Alien was about survival and Aliens was about redemption, then the only message you can get from Alien 3 is hopelessness. This is a no win-win situation for Ripley, the Company, the Alien and definitely not for the fans, who were blind-sided by the grim nature of the film. Adding insult to injury are the performances by Charles Dutton and Charles Dance who are overshadowed in the fog of despair.
Where Alien 3 is most guilty is in the fact that it's mere existence invalidates the film, Aliens. All of the sacrifices of the Marines and struggles of the characters of Newt, Hicks, Bishop and Ripley endure are for naught. Ripley is determined not to let Newt suffer the same fate as the other victims, and is willing to die trying. All she has to do is give up; give in to the situation of the betrayal, the vast quantities of foes and the frightening Queen of her enemy, and it would all be over. But she does not. She has let that nightmare rule her life for too long and she won't let them win. Alien 3 makes all of Ripley's effort a supreme waste of time.
A remake to correct a flawed film? If you find that hard to believe, please examine 2008's The Incredible Hulk. If not a remake, then a "reboot" of an earlier film that failed to catch on with the audience. Much better than the 2003 Ang Lee film because the studio saw their mistake and learned from it. A completely different cast didn't impact the movie at all, it in fact probably helped. It is the characters that people care about and if they are written well it makes the fans gravitate to the performance easier.
Hollywood will continue to spew out remakes, some good, some unnecessary, but wouldn't it be nice if they actually spent some money and creativity on a worthwhile project that people would appreciate? Alien 3 can be fixed and there is a whole bunch of fans willing to see a better version that doesn't require Prozac.
Learn more about this author, Chuck Hoodak.
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No
There is a worrying trend appearing in the Hollywood film industry - the remake. Originality is hard to find with so many movies released from week-to-week. Plans are afoot to remake cult classics like "Robocop" and "Escape from New York" for a new generation; justifying the expense and trying to find what is wrong with these films in their original state is a mystery?
Films should be allowed to exist as they are, they were made with a specific vision in mind at the time. Remaking films that are not as old as their current fans is a ridiculous concept - we liked them for a reason, trying to change the feel of an original will never work - you cannot convince fans of the previous incarnation that the remake can improve on it.
So "Alien 3" continues to be the much-maligned entry in the "Alien" series of movies. It suffered through numerous script changes and ideas while shooting - so much so that director David Fincher felt the final theatrical cut wasn't worthy of his name and he disowned it - another version with 30 extra minutes was re-released in 2003, still without any of Fincher's input.
"Alien 3" is a solid piece of Sci-fi story-telling; the Alien is re-imagined with some surprising results, the atmosphere throughout the film is extremely grim, and overall the production presents the cinematic world of Alien in a new and exciting perspective. The very idea of "deleting" this very effective work of suspense and horror for a CGI-infested next-gen movie isn't a nice thought.
Despite all the problems behind-the-scenes, you never get the sense of this on-screen - all the acting is fautless, many of the support characters are well-known british actors (maybe this was detrimental to the film's success in the USA) and gives the film a raw edge that possibly wouldn't have been such with American actors?
"Alien 3", according to IMDB.com, cost an estimated $50 million dollars to make, returning around $150 million from the box-office and DVD, so this proved that there was interest in the premise of the movie despite some less-than-enthusiast ic critical reviews. The subsequent release of "Alien Resurrection" would show that there was a healthy future for the franchise.
You could see the relevance of updating films and stories produced close to 70 years ago or so - many are almost lost to us through film degradation - but spending millions on redoing a perfectly decent movie (from the 80s or 90s) is a nonsense. Producers need to realise that a good idea is just that, someone else got there before you, try and think up something new for a change.
Another term used in the realm of remakes is the "re-imagining", films like director Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Tim Burton. They used a model of the original and made it into something closer to our way of life. In their defence, they have worked out rather well; although they must be considered a small minority of good ideas though.
"Special Editions" are also a common tag now with the DVD revolution in full-swing, never have so many films had "director's cut" splashed across their covers as we have now. Now that is the best way to re-sell a franchise, add something worthy to an already established product and fans will snap it up.
The best example was George Lucas and his "Star Wars" original trilogy, not only did he re-invigorate the original print with a clean-up, he added scenes he thought were missed during the initial days of production, some not available due to technical restraints of the time. Now all four of the "Alien" movies have added scenes on special editions, in the main for the better.
With rumours now circulating that a fifth "Alien" may be on its way, the talk about pointless remakes may just disappear for a while. Would any real fan want a remake of a favourite film? You wouldn't really think so. To remake any film is to kill off what made the original great - it's Hollywood fraud at its most blatant.
Learn more about this author, Wayne Reeves.
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