Alien 3 isn't bad. If you watch it for the first time today, you will go in with lowered expectations. In my opinion, it was kind of nutty to ever think it could "live up" to the first two films. You want a description? Solid, not spectacular, and it's still the third (heck, maybe even second) best movie in a pretty decent series.
Similar to how Aliens was totally different than Alien, Alien 3 is different from its predecessor. It's closer in tone to the first movie, relying more on tension and the sense of isolation than on the visceral thrills of Aliens. That's simplifying what each movie brings to the table, but I think we can agree it is approaching the truth: the first and third movie are all about creeping about and building tension, and the second movie is all about milking the adrenal gland like a puking cock.
So the third movie is like the first one? Sort of. It's clearly not as good as the first movie, but then again, what is? What's it do right? Sigourney is still motherfucking on. Again, set and production design are out of the park. The movie looks like its own. Also, don't forget that it's an earlie Fincher movie, and while it is clearly not the gem he would have made later on, it is still quality.
What does it do wrong? Let's get the messiest shit out of the way. If you are a stickler for continuity and seeing the story from the previous movie continue, let's just say you're going to be shaking your head a few minutes into the movie. DO NOT BE MARRIED TO THE CAST OF ALIENS. I am telling you that now, forget about them. They're gone as soon as this movie starts, and for a lot of people, the diehards, that prevents them from ever giving the movie a chance. Do me a favor and don't take that out on the movie. The movie had a troubled production history, it took forever to make, and well, they couldn't get the gang back together, so they had to conveniently address that issue, and they didn't quite do it with finesse. And you know what? That's the only real problem with the movie. It's a biggie, but I think if you go in knowing that this is more like a relative to Aliens than it is a direct continuation of the story, you'll be in good shape.
This is all ancient history, more than a decade ago--you know, we know, we all know that Alien 3 isn't as good as the two that came before, but I think enough time has passed that we can judge it on its own merits. It's not a bad movie at all. It's a good movie. If you want a bad Alien movie, watch the one after this.
