It's been more than 40 years since audiences first watched the unsuspecting crew of the Nostromo open a Pandora's box of unheard screams, gaping chest wounds and death in the film that spawned a four-decade saga -- Alien. Initially inspired by the mind-blowing success of Star Wars, Alien has itself been referenced countless times. In recent years, two of the heroes of Infinity War turned to one of the movie's scenes as a blueprint for vanquishing an enemy. In an ironic twist, the Star Wars saga's comeback movie, The Force Awakens, features a comedic riff on Alien's climax. And 2017's Life is an outright -- uh, let's just call it an homage. Forty years is a long time and its a great time at which to look back at the story so far in order to rank the series' eight theatrical releases in order of quality.
8. Alien: Resurrection
In a series full of dumb ideas, Alien: Resurrection is the dumbest. When you kill off your main character -- and CGI technology is still in its infancy -- you don't get a do-over with the same actress who brought her to life years later. You just have to move on. A Ripley clone? Smh.
7. Alien: Covenant
The suggestion of robot incest; the near-total absence of the preceding film's lone surviving human character; the EXTREMELY early death of the guy who was marketed as the hero. Bad ideas abound in this sink-full of dishwater.
6. AVP Requiem
5. Alien v. Predator
In 2004, it was pretty shocking to see a big Hollywood sci-fi flick (from an established series at that) spotlighting an African-American heroine. And it's pretty f'd up that there hasn't been another one in the 15 years since -- not even in the MCU.
4. Alien 3
Shaving the heads of all of your characters is a bold choice. This ugliest entry in the Alien series is easily one of the most suspenseful. It also serves as a cautionary tale about limiting an unbelievably popular franchise to a trilogy. You've killed everyone and the fans are begging to spend more money. Now what?
3. Prometheus
It's a shame that the Alien folks didn't realize that people would be more than willing to watch an Alien movie without Ripley (and without Predators) until after Alien: Resurrection was made. And released. And hated.
2. Aliens
As harrowing an ordeal as the events that transpired in Alien was for Ripley, the follow-up continues her suffering almost from the start, as she learns that her daughter has died during the 57 years that she was adrift in cryosleep.
Aliens managed to accomplish the Herculean task of competing with it's predecessor by not even trying. While the original Alien is a horror film, it's sequel is a military/action movie. And come on, who didn't try that knife-between-the-fingers trick, albeit at a much slower pace?
Aliens is just hands-down the best showcase of marines in space -- period.
It features one of the most visually-striking spacecraft ever seen, in the marines' U.S.S. Sulaco. The rest of the military vehicles, such as the APC and the dropship, aren't too shabby either. Much of the movie was clearly inspired by Robert Heinlein's 1968 novel, Starship Troopers (for instance, the cargo-loader exoskeleton utilized by Ripley). But, Aliens is way better than the movie adaptation of that book -- which was released 11 whole years after Cameron's movie. Check this out: Director Paul Verhoeven hated what he considered the book's pro-war and fascism stance, so he made the movie as a satire of its own source material. How sick is that? Speaking of films influenced by Starship Troopers, Bill Paxton hilariously returned to his future infantry-versus-aliens roots 18 years later in 2014's Edge of Tomorrow as a squad commander who wouldn't have cut Private Hudson (his Aliens character) one bit of slack.
You know, given the Weyland-Yutani corporation's continued and extreme disregard for human life, maybe the movie should've been titled, The Business Empire Strikes Back. Maybe not. The biggest takeaway from Aliens: Never trust a big corporation.
Aliens managed to accomplish the Herculean task of competing with it's predecessor by not even trying. While the original Alien is a horror film, it's sequel is a military/action movie. And come on, who didn't try that knife-between-the-fingers trick, albeit at a much slower pace?
Aliens is just hands-down the best showcase of marines in space -- period.
It features one of the most visually-striking spacecraft ever seen, in the marines' U.S.S. Sulaco. The rest of the military vehicles, such as the APC and the dropship, aren't too shabby either. Much of the movie was clearly inspired by Robert Heinlein's 1968 novel, Starship Troopers (for instance, the cargo-loader exoskeleton utilized by Ripley). But, Aliens is way better than the movie adaptation of that book -- which was released 11 whole years after Cameron's movie. Check this out: Director Paul Verhoeven hated what he considered the book's pro-war and fascism stance, so he made the movie as a satire of its own source material. How sick is that? Speaking of films influenced by Starship Troopers, Bill Paxton hilariously returned to his future infantry-versus-aliens roots 18 years later in 2014's Edge of Tomorrow as a squad commander who wouldn't have cut Private Hudson (his Aliens character) one bit of slack.
You know, given the Weyland-Yutani corporation's continued and extreme disregard for human life, maybe the movie should've been titled, The Business Empire Strikes Back. Maybe not. The biggest takeaway from Aliens: Never trust a big corporation.
1. Alien
Alien is a phenomenal achievement on more than one front. It's a horror film that actually manages to scare people, and considering the true agenda of the corporation that employs the crew of the Nostromo -- the alien isn't the only monster.
Originally Posted 9/19/19
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