Species III (2004)

Thanks for the memories!

Such a frustrating disappointment

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Third "Species" film is a definite step-up from Part II,(an appalling waste of celluloid). Story picks up at the end of that sequel, as Sil is abducted by a college professor, who wants to perfect the Species for his own reasons, and how he enlists the help of a talented student to make this happen, only to find them pursued by other (previously unmentioned) aliens who also want to continue the original plan of reproduction as a form of conquest over the Earth.Two beautiful actresses on display here(Sunny Mabrey & Amelia Cooke) who are certainly appealing, but the story serves no real purpose anymore, with highly variable F/X, and an overlong plot that has quite a few lulls, though a smattering of thrills. Thoughtful final scene cannot save this otherwise routine film.

A college professor somehow convinces military personnel that he's one of them, so he can rescue Eve's offspring(how did he find out about it in the first place? You're not bothering to answer that either? *sigh*... OK). He intends to win the Nobel prize by cultivating a perfect, physically attractive killer alien(ow, my head hurts just from typing that out). Oh, and he wants it to be resistant to *all* vira and the like. *Somebody* didn't take basic Biology in high school(or didn't pass). Anyway, he needs a student for this, mostly because that is apparently the same as a scientist, and he deems it smart to choose the one that made a smart-ass comment to him in class, clear negative towards the goal that he has in mind. I'm really not making this up. The plot is the focus here, and if it wasn't dumb, predictable or a partial retread of the original(yet without the tension... whose idea was it to make the main extraterrestrial so non-threatening?), maybe that would work. There are elements to it that don't suck(like the Half-Breed concept, arguably). They simply usually aren't utilized. This follows up on the sequel-baiting ending of II, and there is a bit of continuity with what came before this(then again, other things are kinda thrown out the window). The cast are younger and so is the appeal, and unfortunately, that means lesser performances(at least than those of Species). This is very much a direct-to-video release. Everything is TV quality. There is not enough character development(if we do care for Sara, somewhat, as we see her grow up). This has a lower budget than the predecessors, and while they definitely tried to hide that, they weren't entirely successful. The FX aren't bad. This has less nudity and sex(with that said, one of these sequences is fantastic) than the earlier two. We do get hot chicks. At the half-way point, this changes drastically, and though we thus get 2 halves of film(that don't fit together), neither are that compelling. There is a little strong language and moderately graphic bloody violence in this. The DVD comes with an interesting and fun commentary track by the male lead, the writer and the director, a pretty good featurette(with big spoilers) in four chapters, totaling at 33 minutes(going over what's new to the franchise in this, the choice of actors, the effects and the designs(those are decent)) and a nice, large photo gallery. I recommend this only to those who are in love with this series. 3/10

I decided to watch this movie because the first two were pretty good, OK with diminishing returns. However this movie is absolute garbage, no plot movie all over the place rubbish special effects, how i wished i'd not bothered to waste around two hours of my time on it. This is a straight to DVD movie, when realistically it should be a straight to the dumpster, the alien (Sil) as we used to know here now looks like a 50's guy in a rubber suit, characters are thrown in at random for no reason to pad the movie out. This kind of film is of the Soft Porn genre and thats been complimentary of it. Points in the film offer no premise or explanation, our Alien can play chess just by touching a book!!! Utter drivel, Garbage Please Please Please don't make any more.

The honour of getting a strait to video release is kind of degrading, but in the b-movie industry in doesn't automatically mean that a film is without merit. Take for example the three tremors sequels, fans love those. I'll give Species III a little credit for rejuvenating the concept pioneered in the first movie. This material feels much more fresh than Species II. It manages to continue the story, without getting increasingly shallow as a side effect. What made species so unique was that the film was designed as a bug hunt, but for a while it makes us sympathetic to the bug, rather than repulsed by it. Species III has a similar effect at times, which I must say I didn't expect. It ends on a nice note for a horror film, something which may actually get you interested in Species IV rather than annoyed with the idea. The first thing to like about Species three is, that there is no more Michael Madsen or Natasha Henstridge, both of whom were rather useless in the sequel. Last time we saw Eve (Henstridge) she was in an ambulance on her way to the morgue. That's pretty much where we begin here. Next thing you know she comes alive, if only for a moment to give birth. the military escort Dr. Abbot runs away with the baby, raises her in secret, names her Sara, and once she is old enough formulates a plan to mutate her DNA. He takes on one of his students as an apprentice, who Sara falls in love with. This sums up the basics of the first two acts. The final half hour takes a weird and unnecessary turn, as the film tries overly hard to surpass, its predecessor. Apparently one bomb-shell alien chick is not enough. Why do so many films have climax trouble? being convoluted works in books or TV, but doesn't enrich a movie experience.In the end though, Species III, delivers more than you might expect, even if it lacks a moment of intelligence.