Rank The Film Series: Alien

[Mitch Henessey]

It's been one week, and I'm still in a trance after watching Prometheus, so I thought I'd use this thread for more Alien talk. The idea of this thread is pretty simple. You can rank the Alien film series from best to worst (#1-#5) or worst to best (#5-#1).

The Alien film franchise is loaded with some memorable films, and unfortunate disappointments. Technically, Prometheus IS apart of the Alien universe, so I will include this film in the list of rankings. Although, I won't include the Alien VS Predator films, and both films are not eligible choices for this thread. These films were more of a crossover promotion, and they don't solely focus on the previous Alien films. And most importantly, both films were massive pieces of shit (especially Requiem), so we'll do our best to forget them.

Okay, Here we go!

#1-Aliens

Spoiler

"PUNCH IT, BISHOP!"

I might take some heat for this pick, but Aliens is my #1 choice for the best film in this franchise. The action is more intense and thrilling, the atmosphere more threatening and spooky, and Aliens features its fair share of awe-inspiring visuals. Sigourney Weaver delivers a strong performance, and Newt is one of those characters, who you really want to care about. You're constantly rooting for her survival, and the relationship between Ripley and Newt is one of the major highlights of this film.

Sigourney Weaver is the true star of the cast here, but Aliens features a great supporting cast. Jenette Goldstein was just great, as the tough rebel of the crew, Lance Henriksen nailed the Bishop character, and Michael Bien provided another solid performance. And Bill Paxton delivers some good comic relief as usual. The acting in Alien wasn't bad, but besides Weaver, nobody really delivered another memorable performance.

James Horner is known as one of the more famous composers, and he produced a great soundtrack for this film. Horner provides some truly memorable scores for Aliens, including this timeless classic:

[YOUTUBE]uatyX2PkK8E[/YOUTUBE]​

Ripley's fierce fight with the alien queen, Bishop's nail baiting rescue mission, and the constant close-call battles with the xenomorphs. Ripley must face tougher challenges this time around, and Weaver's transformation into this ass-kicking, fearless heroine is just phenomenal to watch. Alien was a true gem, and a classic entry in the sci-fi genre, but James Cameron took everything to another level with Aliens.

#2- Alien

Spoiler

Over the years, Ridley Scott earned tremendous praise for his work in the science fiction genre, and Alien will be remembered as one of the all-time great sci-fi/horror films. The freighting atmosphere for this film can provide some great chilling, spooky moments and tension. Alien features some impressive visuals, the acting is very solid, and Scott's slow pacing really works for this film. Alien STILL outshines most modern sci-fi films, and the Alien legacy has endured the test of time.

#3-Prometheus

Spoiler

Ridley Scott's career needed a spark, and Prometheus gave him that important boost. Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron continue the pattern of strong female characters in Scott's films, and the rest of the cast provided a good amount of high quality performances, especially Michael Fassbender.

Thrilling, suspenseful, pulse-pounding action and tension, and impressive, awe-inspiring visuals. Prometheus packs a powerful punch, but the unanswered questions continue to bother a lot of Alien fans. Prometheus will give you some clues every now and then, but this film doesn't follow the path of a traditional prequel. But I actually enjoyed this approach, because the unanswered questions added genuine feelings of mystique and intrigue to Prometheus.

#4- Alien 3

Spoiler

Ugh, now we're nearing the bottom of the barrel.

Alien 3 isn't horrible, and David Fincher really tried to save this one on the directing side of things, but Alien 3 was a major disappointment. Sigourney Weaver is sharp as ever, and the shaved head was a nice touch for her character here, but Alien 3 can feel so dull most of the time. The story features a few twists and turns, some gruesome kills, and the fight scenes are enjoyable, but the mediocre screenplay just kills this film. Alien 3 doesn't provide any true memorable moments, and unlike the first two entries in the series, this one doesn't give you the strong urge to see another Alien film.

oh, and WHY DID THEY HAVE TO KILL OFF NEWT??? She's one of the more memorable characters in the Alien franchise, but Newt doesn't see any real screen time here. Just an autopsy, and the announcement of a death caused by drowning, that's it. They could've given Newt a fighting chance here, and sometimes I skip the autopsy scene, because it annoys me so much.

The acting isn't bad, and David Fincher held up his end of the bargain with the directing, but Alien 3 is too bland and dull, and this film doesn't deserve any sort of recognition, especially when you compare it to the first two Alien films.

#5- Alien Resurrection

Spoiler

Was this really necessary? The Alien franchise was already dead in the water with Alien 3, and they just had to force the issue with this poor attempt of making a quick buck. I can understand capitalizing off of name value, but Resurrection sinks to new lows for unnecessary money-making sequels.

Sigourney Weaver tries her best here, but she couldn't save this one. Alien Resurrection features too many unlikeable, loathsome characters, and Ron Perlman is the worst one. Johner is a dick, but he never reaches the level of a loveable jerk, because he's...well, he's just a real dick. And Winona Ryder is SO annoying. I genuinely rooted for the death of the Annalee character, while watching this film for the first time.

Alien and Aliens are known for providing plenty awe-inspiring visuals and set pieces, but Resurrection doesn't feature one scene of enjoyable eye candy, not one.

The gore and violence is pretty disgusting and graphic, but the story is a complete mess. Jean-Pierre Jeunet's directing didn't help this film, and Resurrection deserves all of its harsh bashing. Unfortunately, Resurrection was the last official Alien film, and this travesty should be remembered as the worst film in the entire franchise.

Well, that's my list, and I'm interested to see the rest of your choices!

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Alien films gradually decrease in quality with each subsequent entry, much like the Indianna Jones series.

Alien is easily the best, there's no getting around it really. There seems to be a debate between which is better out of Alien & Aliens, and while both are five star classics Alien is still significantly better. Aliens is about 20 minutes longer than it should be and it starts to sag because of it.

Alien 3 is flawed but it's still a decent film. Incredibly girm so it's understandable why some people don't like it, but if it was a trilogy it would've been the perfect way to end. It didn't really stand much of a chance after two brilliant first entries. Blame those two for its flaws, not Fox.

Alien Resurrection is half-genius, half-dogshit. Promoetheus is 1/8 dogshit, 7/8 genius.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I included the AvP films anyway. They're more legitimate entries than Resurrection.

I've always struggled with why Alien 3 is so despised. Some rank it below Resurrection. Some rank it below Alien versus Predator. David Fincher would more readily talk about where he dumped that hooker's body than Alien 3. It's all so bizarre to me. It's fine. No, it's good. The alternate cut - note: not the director's cut - is even better. Alien to Aliens to Alien 3 is a solid trilogy, even if each film is worse than its predecessor (which they are). My top three, therefore, is easy:

1. Alien
2. Aliens
3. Alien 3​

I know the decision to kill of Newt and Hicks off-screen was unpopular with some fans, but the ensuing film is suitably morose and dark - and the ending is what I consider the "true" ending to the franchise. People dismiss it as "too similar to Alien", but I think it's a sensible evolution. Alien is the claustrophobic horror with the one terrifying alien, Aliens is the action film where the Aliens are a smothering hive of ants, Alien 3 is the more psychological film - Ripley might survive the alien, but she'll get raped by the convicts before a queen bursts out of her chest. The aesthetic is even very Fincher - very pretty, very precise, very rusty and industrial; it's like Se7en in space - and I can barely see all the horrible 'studio interference'. He should be more ashamed of Panic Room, frankly.

The next four is a toss-up. For me, they're all varying degrees of a bit naff. After much consideration, I'd have to say:

4. Prometheus​

Prometheus isn't tense. It isn't thrilling. At times, it struggles to make sense. It's full of so much ambiguity and ******ed characters and convoluted plotting. It earns number four for two reasons. 1) It's very pretty, like any Ridley Scott movie. 2) One scene which threatened to be comparable to the chestburster scene in Alien. It's a beautiful mess. Promises of only having strands of Alien DNA proved totally unfounded, and were blown out the damn airlock by the final twenty minutes.

Marginally below Prometheus, we find:

5. Alien versus Predator​

Glorified fan fiction. More importantly, glorified fan fiction which knows it's glorified fan fiction and plays to its strengths. It's not cloying or desperate - it contains the right amounts of winks and nods, chucks in some fanservice fights, parades Lance Henriksen about for twenty minutes and gets out of there. Unfortunately, it's not as pretty as Prometheus and it doesn't have anything as good as that scene, but there's more similarities between the two than fans would care to admit. At least AvP is coherent, you know?

Interchangeably shit are:

6. Alien: Resurrection
7. Alien versus Predator: Requiem​

Resurrection is a hot mess with no redeeming qualities. It's just... bloody mental. All the performances are shit, all the ideas are shit, the aesthetic is shit, the script is shit. It's sort of fun in a "What the fuck is even going on?" sort of way. How this has the people responsible for Amelie and The Avengers behind it is beyond me. Then again, if you combined Amelie and The Avengers, you'd probably find something just as nonsensical and appalling.

The second Alien versus Predator is the first without the restraint, without Lance Henriksen, without anything approaching a decent premise. "How about Alien versus Predator... versus Predalien... versus The OC?" "How about fuck no?" Best part of the movie was when the love interest got unexpectedly speared against the wall.

Edit: The list without the AvP films, in case you couldn't figure it out:

1. Alien
2. Aliens
3. Alien 3
4. Prometheus
5. Alien: Resurrection

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Uncle Sam already explained all of the problems in the AVP films, so I guess I'll return to the dark place in my memories, and throw in my two cents as well.

The first AVP film didn't do anything for me. Alien and Predator films are known for their graphic gore and violence, but the PG-13 rating just kills that film. Everything felt so tamed and the lame fight scenes really didn't do anything for me. In the end, seeing Lance Henriksen was a nice treat for Alien fans, but the entire film is very forgettable.

I was expecting something different when the "unrated" version was released on DVD, but this version was a gigantic disappointment. Like most unrated DVD/Blu-Ray discs, AVP didn't bring anything new to the table, and everything just felt the same, unfortunately.

AVP: Requiem was supposed to be better, right? The promise of a Predalien added a sense of intrigue to the film, and this fight should've been something to remember:

[YOUTUBE]wKbzEe_JHB8[/YOUTUBE]

Sorry, but seeing the Preadtor remove his armor kind of loses its shock value after a while. We've all seen it before, and the exposed Predator routine kind of reached its peak after the first Predator film (Arnold's "You are one ugly mother fucker" line never gets old).

Yeah, this showdown didn't provide the epic battle I expected. Like the vast majority of Requiem, this fight was one steaming pile of shit. Requiem delivered graphic gore and violence, but the R rating couldn't save this film. The acting was pretty bad, and everything else was horrible, especially the screenplay.

I didn't learn anything new after the AVP films, and both films didn't give me the desire to watch another Alien film. In fact, both films almost killed my desire for any future Alien films.

 

[ner0]

This is one of my favorite series's for sure. I agree with the original post with one exception.

I would swap Resurrection with Alien 3. For some reason I enjoyed the creepyness and sci-fi setting of Resurrection more. The screwed up lab scene, the chestburst through someones skull.

With me watching Alien 3 gives me a feeling of what could have been had they not screwed David Fincher (who is coincidentally one of my favorites) out of the film. I recently saw the "workprint" version included with the Quadrilogy and I do feel as if that version improved upon it but unfortunately due to the drama with the Director he opted out of making a directors cut (the only of any of the directors to do so) so it too was unfinished.

For the AVP films (since they weren't mentioned in the original post) it's a toss up to ones personal preference though both we're not good. AVP had the better storyline and narrative but making a PG-13 movie out of two R rated franchises was such a beyond awful idea and it killed that film. AVP:R opted to be a gore fest due to those complaints but the story was such an awful B-Movie with the AVP characters thrown in. Another common complaint and one I mirror is with AVP:R the film is way too dark in a lighting sense and in a lot of scenes you have a hard time making out just what the hell is happening. Despite this I still liked AVP:R more because I really couldn't stand the toned down nature of the first and I liked the Predalien character and Wolf Predator character but it's just choosing the lesser of two evils regardless of which.

1. Aliens
2. Alien
3. Prometheus
4. Alien Resurrection
5. Alien 3
6. AVP: R
7. AVP