Alien 3 (1992) - Trading Card #1

Datalog: Date and Time Unknown

All seemed well. Hicks' injuries were serious, but not critical. And Bishop was in need of major repair. But we were finally heading home. Our ship. the Sulaco, was fully operational when Hicks, Newt, Bishop and I entered the cryotubes for an unknown length of hypersleep. But it didn't stay that way.

Although neither version of Alien 3 comes close to "sticking the landing" of following-up or concluding the events and ideas of the far superior Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). I do think that there are some admirable creative big swings taken in this compromised and unfocused film.

The major problem here, much like with the equally flawed and maligned Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), is that the story feels unfinished. The script really needed to go through a few more drafts. One that would whittle the number of prisoners down to a level allowing for a roster of more memorable, or at least identifiable, characters and, in theory, allow the film's themes of faith, suffering, and free will (i.e. choice) to be better contextualized.