On April 6, NASA’s Artemis II spacecraft broke records by traveling further than any humans ever have before, clearing an estimated 252,756 miles from Earth during its historic lunar flyby. As this real-life space drama played out, HBO Max was expanding its collection of fictional space drama, adding the previously hard-to-find extended “Assembly Cut” of the much-maligned 1992 movie Aliens 3.
By all reports, Alien 3’s earnings ultimately exceeded its $50-60 million budget, but critical reception was a different story. Everyone from Siskel and Ebert to James Cameron and director David Fincher himself panned the film. In 2003, for a theatrical re-release, 20th Century Fox consulted Fincher’s notes and pulled together the Assembly Cut, which adds more than 30 minutes of deleted, alternate, or extended scenes. Though this version received kinder reviews, it hasn’t been widely available on streaming, until now.
The lore of Alien 3
For many fans, the behind-the-scenes strife of Alien 3 is as well-known as its on-screen excess: This is the movie that almost permanently pushed David Fincher out of Hollywood. Fincher inherited a monkey’s paw with Alien 3, his first directing assignment. The sequel to one of his favorite films was in chaos after multiple script and crew changeovers left the film rudderless. He later described a troubled production that dragged on for two years: “I had to work on it for two years,” he said at a BFI appearance in 2009. “Got fired off it three times and I had to fight for every single thing. No one hated it more than me; to this day, no one hates it more than me.” After the movie’s release, Fincher went back to his career making high-end music videos for the likes of Madonna, The Rolling Stones, and Michael Jackson. He didn’t make another movie until 1995’s Seven, over which he had greater creative control.
James Cameron’s 1986 Alien sequel Aliens ends with a borderline happy ending. The film’s only human survivor, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) gets her adopted family, space marine Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn) and young orphaned space colonist Newt (Carrie Henn), safely aboard a ship and in space, away from the latest xenomorph infestation. All three of them enter hypersleep for a voyage back to safety on Earth. Alien 3 kicks off by violently ripping away this dreamy final scene: Ripley is the sole survivor when an alien attacks their ship and the escape pod crashes. Newt and Hicks are both killed. Ripley is on death’s door herself, beset by the large, aggressive life native to the prison planet where she crashed, Fiorina “Fury” 161. And the xenomorph that caused the crash in the first place might have stowed away on the pod as well.
Much of the film follows a traumatized, cagey Ripley fighting against time to find and destroy the elusive stowaway before corporate interests can wrangle it back to Earth. The film ultimately ends (spoiler ahead) with Ripley, implanted with a xenomorph queen, choosing to die rather than allow the xenomorphs to fall into the wrong hands. (It’s OK, she returned to the franchise five years later for Alien Resurrection.) Nonetheless, both the start and the end of the film remain controversial. Newt’s off-screen death is at best mean-spirited, but it’s driven home with a visceral autopsy scene that is not for the faint of heart.
What’s in Alien 3’s Assembly Cut?
While some viewers may prefer the theatrical cut’s significantly faster pacing, the Assembly Cut gives a greater glimpse into Fincher’s overall artistic vision for Alien 3, fractured though it is. The film’s opening is now full of disturbing, almost surreal visions of the inhospitable Fury 161, complete with an unflinching shot of a half-drowned Ripley being feasted on by insects, which was originally almost completely cut from the film.
Other restored footage assists plot cohesion, such as the scenes establishing animal agriculture on the planet. The theatrical cut featured a dog as the host for the growing xenomorph, while the extended version offers more context by showing the creature gestating in a bloody ox corpse being prepared for food. The gory reality of a slaughterhouse setting provides a suitable temporary home for the xenomorph, drawing uncomfortable thematic parallels between the predatory savagery of humans and the franchise’s aliens.
Other character changes get new context in the Assembly Cut, like the mysterious disappearance of Golic (Paul McGann), a murderous prisoner who inexplicably vanishes in the theatrical cut. In the Assembly Cut, we learn that he escapes captivity, releases the captured xenomorph, and dies, which makes some bumpy plot points a lot clearer.
And what might be the theatrical cut’s most egregious moment — a hatching xenomorph queen emerging from Ripley’s chest during her final heroic sacrifice — has been removed in the Assembly Cut. That’s great news for the film’s artistic integrity, but bad news for fans of over-the-top 1990s camp.
Assembly Cut for the win
Regardless of where you fall on the theatrical vs. Assembly Cut preference meter, the latter offers a moodier, lengthier experience that gives an audience a bit more to chew on. Ripley’s character is rarely more pronounced than it is here, as her distrust of her new companions keeps her apprehensive about sharing her true thoughts. This allows for a cagey, nuanced performance from Weaver, who certainly has more room to shine in the extra minutes.
Sure, maybe the CGI xenomorph won’t be your cup of tea, and the added 30-plus minutes probably won’t endear you to the film if you weren’t already game. But if you’re here to watch Ellen Ripley outclass some xenomorphs for nearly two and a half hours straight, then the Assembly Cut will give you that and more.
