Alien fans will want to check out HBO Max this April, because the streamer just added the best version of the most underrated Alien movie. The iconic sci-fi horror franchise has been going strong for over 40 years, releasing six more films in the main series ever since Ridley Scott’s 1979 original, but not all of them have been well-received by critics and fans.
When it comes to the Alien franchise, Alien 3 gets a bad rap. David Fincher’s 1992 entry into the franchise scored just a 44% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes to rank as the third-lowest in the franchise, and it didn’t manage to perform much better with the general audience, only securing a 46% rating. While the movie solidly rests as an underrated film in the larger franchise that some may prefer not to revisit, Alien 3: The Assembly Cut is arguably a far superior version that fans need to check out. Originally released on the 2003 Alien Quadrilogy DVD set, the Assembly Cut quietly joined HBO Max on April 1st alongside a roster of other Alien movies.
Alien 3: Assembly Cut Is Worth Watching
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If you’re on the side of the fence that believes Alien 3 is one of the worst movies in the franchise, the Assembly Cut may soften your opinion. The movie fixes many of the mistakes in the theatrical release to create a superior, more coherent version of the movie, which follows Ripley after she crash lands on a desolate prison planet and must unite with a group of convicts to battle a deadly Xenomorph stowaway. Den of Geek’s Ryan Lambie even said that “compared to the messy, curtailed theatrical release, the Assembly Cut of Alien 3 is undoubtedly the better one: a clearer expression of Fincher’s original intentions, and a more coherent rendering of a script that was flawed to begin with.”
The Assembly Cut adds roughly 30 minutes to the runtime, added time that allows the movie to focus on more character development and world building. Scenes are extended to flesh out the prisoners’ religious, almost cult-like existence and provide more depth to characters like Dillon, while adding clearer information about the storm and locations. Other scenes are replaced or removed entirely to improve the theatrical cut’s pacing issues. The Assembly Cut also features an alternate opening and restored subplots, with the biggest change being with the alien’s original itself, though we won’t spoil that. The Assembly Cut is overall just an easier-to-follow, more fleshed out version of the movie, and something that is definitely worth watching.
What’s New on HBO Max?
HBO Max has plenty of great streaming options this April, especially if you’re an Alien fan. In addition to Alien 3: Assembly Cut, the streamer stocked the first four Alien movies, as well as their special editions and extended cuts and the crossover Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem movies. Alien: Romulus joined the mix on April 3rd. Outside of Alien, HBO Max’s April arrivals include Maze Runner: The Death Cure, The Hole in the Ground, and The Mummy movies.
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