Of the first four original Alien movies, Alien 3 (1992) has been the most underrated and under-appreciated by critics and audiences. Directed by a debutant David Fincher, this third film in the franchise has been mainly judged as lackluster in comparison with Alien (1979) by Ridley Scott and Aliens (1986) by James Cameron. But can a closer look through the eyes of a literary critic make a case for this movie in the franchise to be a better movie than its predecessors? Can we see it even as the best in the series?

Recently Screen Rant ranked Alien 3 as the third best movie of the original four in the series and at No. 6 in the entire franchise to date. This reviewer begs to differ and by no small margin. The remaining 5 movies in the franchise are not considered here as they don’t further the original story, doing away with Ripley’s character, and essentially keeping the “Alien” connection weak and uninteresting. So what are some of the key features of Alien 3 that emulate and/or exceed the merits of the first two movies by Scott and Cameron?

First and foremost, Alien 3 offers the most mature and developed plot of the four-movie series. It’s more accurate to call it a compelling final chapter in the original story that started with Alien since the story of Ripley’s perilous adventure continues across the series. Whereas Aliens relies on action and more filler material – muscle, guns, and runs – Alien 3 brings the plot back onto the classic hero’s journey track. Ripley’s struggle to overcome the loss of Newt and continued fear of the fierce creatures is paralleled by her discovery of being accompanied by and impregnated by a Xenomorph.

The dialogue and character conflict in this chapter of the series are at the peak. Unlike the first two movies, where Ripley’s conflict is nearly all external (fighting the creatures), she faces a four-front conflict – with the hostile inmates, with the fear (and later presence) of the Xenomorph, with herself (internal conflict) for having lost her fight against the alien invasion, and finally against the authorities heading the space mission. No more fighting to save a child, herself, or a select group of people, Ripley now faces the ultimate fight – that of saving humanity even when it implies her own end. The dramatic nature and level of this conflict would lead to an end which, contrary to the judgment of Screen Rant, is climactic and heroic.

Alien 3 also stands out among its fellow Alien movies by the uniqueness of its setting – a penal colony in space with dangerous inmates, all men. With Ripley as the sole female who accidentally crashes on the colony, the plot is set for good dramatic tension. From a gender-based point of view, this is the most feminist chapter in the story: with of all the men around, a woman set to save humanity. Painfully, for the garden-variety feminist, she has to kill herself as she is the one now carrying the death penalty for humanity inside her body. Too much for the female commando fans to swallow, yet very impactful and inspiring.

The visual mood, sound, and tone dominating the course of Alien 3 are dark, rather claustrophobic, and complementing the conflict and fateful turns in the plot. More interaction between human characters and less reliance on combat to thrill the audience offer more food for the mind and soul than adrenaline – the latter being the major strength of Aliens. Accordingly Alien 3 is more for fans of thought-provoking narratives than lovers of warriors in the battlefield.

There are a lot of behind-the-scenes tales of disputes and conflicts during and after the production of Alien 3. Fincher reportedly refused to participate in creating a director’s cut because the studio had interfered so much with his vision for the film. But the “assembly cut” version of 2003, which is longer than the theatrical one of 1992, is better and offers more substance to beef up the story by another half hour.

Alien 3 has been an underdog in the franchise by majority of critics and ratings on movie sites. A number of factors play into the making of an evaluation or judgment, including the taste of the audience or critic. To this scribe, it stands alongside Alien as the best of the series. In fact, with some minor adjustments, the two complete the series without needing Aliens and Alien Resurrection.