Round 1: Aliens vs. Forrest Gump

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Round 1: Aliens vs. Forrest Gump

Polls will close on Saturday, October 20 at 12:00am(ish) ET.​

 

[Loveless]

Forrest Gump was a dreadful film, a shameless Oscar grab, a dangerous ode to blind servitude and a monument to the idea that ignorance is bliss. It's badly acted, badly written, chocolate-box schlock bullshit. Go back and watch it with your adult eyes, it is not a good film.

Aliens was entertaining and effective enough to win this matchup. It's not a smart film but it still has Ripley and the Xenomorphs and that instantly makes it better.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I really want to vote for Aliens here but I just can't. Forrest Gump is one of my all time favorite movies. Some find it boring and I get that but I absolutely have loved this movie since I saw it when I was 9 years old and it still holds up in a big way. It's funny, its deep and its well acted and was most certainly deserving of its best picture Oscar.

If Aliens was against any other movie I would have voted for it but not Forrest Gump.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Tom Hanks will go down as one of America's best actors due to the variety of roles he's undertaken and excelled at. Even his directorial debut, 'That Thing You Do' is a great nostalgia driven film that deserves some more love. Having said that...

Sigourney Weaver IS the quintessential action heroine, and Aliens is her finest moment. James Cameron also did a great job in producing a sequel that was on the same level as the original, which was no easy feat.

While Forrest Gump is an entertaining film, Aliens is simply better. Few sequels match up to the preceding film and also expand its story in a plausible and well thought out way. Plus it gave us one of the best lines in the entire history of cinema which just shits in Gumps chocolate box.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Think about the pressure James Cameron had to deal with. Scott's 1972 original is praised as a groundbreaking entry in the sci-fi genre. Alien is a classic, but Aliens matches Alien in quality. Hell, 'till this day, Alien fans still argue over which film is better. More thrilling action, more extravagant set pieces, and as Dowds already mentioned, Aliens provides one of the most quotable lines in the history of cinema. Plus, Sigourney Weaver became the prime example of a tough, ass-kicking female hero, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

Forrest Gump isn't a bad movie, but Tom Hanks has delivered better performances in other films. Cast Away, Philadelphia, Road To Perdition, and The Terminal are a few examples. And after watch the TV spots and trailers, you might be able to add Cloud Atlas to the list at some point.

Movie fans have a soft spot for Hank's character. Forrest Gump is slow, but he has an endearing and charming personality, and his junkie/hippie friend (Jenny) constantly abandons him throughout the film, so it's easy to feel sympathy for him. But in the end, Forrest Gump is a long and drawn out comedy/drama. Along with Hanks, Gary Sinise delivers the second noteworthy performance, but is the rest of the cast really worth mentioning?

Gump has coasted off of the "it's okay to be stupid, as long as you try" message for years, but Aliens is remembered as an action/sci-fi classic.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Forrest Gump was a dreadful film, a shameless Oscar grab, a dangerous ode to blind servitude and a monument to the idea that ignorance is bliss. It's badly acted, badly written, chocolate-box schlock bullshit. Go back and watch it with your adult eyes, it is not a good film.

He's right, you know. Forrest Gump is just, well, grating. JENNAY. Give me Rain Man in the "That boy ain't quite right" category any day. Or What's Eating Gilbert Grape. I could go on. I won't.

There are only two rivals to James Cameron in his category - John McTiernan (Die Hard, Predator) and Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers, Robocop). He's since grown beyond that, to a degree, and developed an uncanny knack for knowing what will make eleventy bajillion dollars.

Aliens is a great movie. It's nothing like Alien, which is a more intimate, suspenseful film. Basically, it's a horror film and Aliens is an action film - no great insight needed to see that. I'm finding it so difficult to compliment films I watched as a kid. "I watched it as a kid." There, put that on a box.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

I'm so glad to have been the tying vote in this one. Aliens is a good movie and so is Forrest Gump, neither is truly great, but Gump's focus on the sociopolitical culture of American civilization for its greatest and most controversial 40 years period (barring the Civil War and fight for Independence) is awe-inspiring. Life changes so much around Forrest, the people and the places evolve, yet Forrest remains unchanged by his love. It can get cheesy at times, but its commentary on American culture really is wonderful. It's a movie hipsters will be showing their grandchildren to explain the culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s.