Alien 3(a)

Caught a bit of Alien Resurrection on cable the other night. Kane is rolling over in his infinite space-grave.

I like the idea of having scientists mess around with the aliens on a biochemical/molecular level, but they really took that idea and went nowhere with it. Instead we get a bunch of macho characters we don't care about (including Ripley, in this context) who try to out-moron one another while queuing up for the slaughter.

But the real problem begins earlier with Alien 3. I remember seeing it in the theater and actually enjoying myself. Thing is, with each subsequent viewing I found myself liking it less and less, and then disliking it more and more. The things that made the first two so fantastic were the strength of the stories and the well developed characters. I remember reading a review online a few years ago that asked the reader to name three non-Ripley characters from the first two movies. Piece of cake. But try doing that with the third and fourth. I don't even know Roc's or Winona's names in these movies. How are you supposed to care about these people? The wonderful thing about the first two movies is that, beginning with Kane's death, you know that anybody could be killed at any time. And you are concerned! Except for Burke (eventually), you root for them to live because they are genuine, frightened and funny people. You like them. 3 and 4? Throw them all in a pit of molten steel, for all I care.

So back to the reason I'm writing this. Alien 3 could have been amazing, and here's the rejected script to prove it. Too bad William Gibson got the shaft, because Hicks and Newt (two of the aforementioned Aliens characters we care about) are actually part of the story! They weren't killed off during the opening credits! That's good writing!

One nice twist that surprisingly works in his script (and is probably the reason this movie was never made) is that a comatose Ripley is barely in it. But she's the Ripley we loved from the first two, before she got all smug and weird, so we're still concerned about her survival. Anyway, without giving anything away, Gibson's script enters great new territory of politics and genetic experimentation. And it left things open for a fourth movie to take place on Earth, which is something the producers had been trying to do for years. Shamefully missed opportunity, but for a fan of Alien and Aliens the availability of the script rights a couple of bad wrongs.

While we're at it, this is marvelous.