Yep, it's much better than people give it credit for.

What people seemed to hate most:

• Its beginning is brutal, killing off any hope for a Ripley/Hicks/Newt "happy family". But, that they died off-screen seemed to give them no respect.
• the prominence of religion and Black people no doubt rubbed entire swaths of the audience the wrong way. It will be easier for those who don't religion to say so, harder for those who haven't come to terms with their anti-Black racism, but I'm of the firm opinion that this one-two punch is a primary driver of this movie's low ratings.
• the harsh reality of who/what Ripley was, the clarity of the solution, and her willingness to do what had to be done, was not a happy ending.

But, to me, it took a lot of courage to make this movie honestly, and NOT pander to a nifty, neat and clean Hollywoodized story arc. The truth is, these alien critters are horrid, have no place on earth and should be left alone, out there. Every effort by humans to corral this creature will not end well, and this installment makes that utterly clear.

I've stated this here before: Ripley's "abortion" of the alien inside her, which ends up taking her life too, sits well with me. It is simply badass, and the scene holds so much more significance today than it did when the film was originally released.