Alien movies..which ones were worthy...

[Ttam Legacy]

I remember seeing Alien when I was 10 years old. Snuck out of my room while my parents were watching it. My Dad actually saw me, my mom contested, and my dad said "let him watch". I had nightmares for 2 weeks. LOL

Of all the movies, Aliens was my favorite, but as for the others, Alien Resurrection was the best. How about you guys???

 

[gizmo]

Only 1 and 2 for me.The others sucked for me.I watched 3 and 4 recently to give them another chance but they get worse as time goes on.They do have some cool things about them but just not enough to warrent continued watching.

My absolute favourite would be 1 as I`m a huge Giger fan and 2 is a close second.

My dad let me watch 1 when I was about 10 as well and for weeks I just couldn`t get over the chest burst scene.It still to this day has such a dramatic impact.Awsome.

Ben

 

[Jediguy]

Part 2 for me. Absolutely badass!

 

[Ttam Legacy]

As I've watched them progress over the years, I can't help but notice how the people that make them have become numb in a sense. Alien, the way that it opened, was a symphony of sorts. The others kind of jumped into the story too quickly. Strange.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

What are Alien Moves? Do you mean how the actors moved around in costume? like ninja alien fighting moves? or movies?

If you are talking about which Alien movie out of the Aliens franchise is worthy then 1 and 2 only......I think after 2....everything went down hill....Alien 3 sucked.....resurrection was okay.....AVP was horrible...AVP 2 was horrible....

 

[Apollo]

Only 2 movies in that Franchise for me 1 and 2.

Everything after is an insult.

 

[Solo4114]

First one is a terrific horror film.

Second one is a great war movie.

Third one I barely remember, but I remember walking out of the theater with a feeling of real disappointment.

Fourth one I remember sort of rolling my eyes at but feeling less disappointed than the third one. Still, I think they sort of dropped the ball with the series after #2.

 

[cayman shen]

First and second. Three was ok but didn't stick the landing, four was...?! I enjoy it well enough on its own, but it doesn't hold a candle to the first two.

 

[Mola Rob]

Love the first. Second is great even though I would have preferred it to be a little more original and not a scene for scene action remake of the first. I seem to have more tolerance for the third than some and I didn't mind the fact that Ripley kicked the bucket. The forth is an abomination.

 

[Angelus Lupus]

First one is a terrific horror film.

Second one is a great war movie.

Third one I barely remember, but I remember walking out of the theater with a feeling of real disappointment.

Fourth one I remember sort of rolling my eyes at but feeling less disappointed than the third one. Still, I think they sort of dropped the ball with the series after #2.

QFT. #1 works brilliantly as a Haunted-house movie and is one of he only 'horror' films I actually like.
#3 Just completely ruins the drama of the end of #2
#4 has a few nice points such as the hybrid clones and the android humanity. Seeing the Alien swimming was neat.

 

[dualedge]

Ditto the common sentiment. First is simply a classic. Second one is awesome. Third and fourth... well, if some folks like them, that's cool by me but I thought they were pretty abysmal.

 

[Scapey]

Depending on mood, Aliens is my favourite, then Alien.
Alien probably could be classed as the "Better movie", but Aliens certainly took the ball and ran with it faster than any sequel before it save possibly Empire.

Alien 3 is a flawed masterpiece - Especially in the Special Edition format.

And Resurrection should have been excellent, and does have some brilliant bits - But overall is a failed experiment IMHO.

AvP and AvP2 were interesting, and would no doubt seem pretty damn cool if they'd come FIRST.
But they didn't, so they seem even worse than they are in comparison to the excellence that came before.

 

[SSgt Burton]

Alien Resurrection was the best.

Okay I'll start by saying I'm glad you liked it.


Having said that... did I just logon to Crazyland? :lol

(Kidding.)


For me- I've been a fan of the franchise since I was 9 years old in '79, when someone brought a photostory book of "ALIEN" to school. I didn't get to actually watch "ALIEN" until it was on tv in the early 80s, where it scared the ever-loving crap out of me! The scene of Dallas in the airduct is pure horror gold with no blood and gore whatsoever!

My favourites are the first two films with either one taking the top spot depending on my mood. "ALIEN" is a horror film while "Aliens" is an action film.

To me the third film completes a trilogy of Ripley dealing with the Xenomorphs, ultimately resulting in her death. The workprint version is far superior to the theatrical version, but I won't deny both films suffer with the theatrical version being a complete mess. However knowing what Fincher went through to complete Alien3, I can appreciate the film for what it is worth.

Sigourney Weaver agreed to make Alien3 on one of a few conditions that Ripley be killed off putting an end once and for all to her starring in these films.

However she did a 180 and made Alien Resurrection... so I guess money does talk. :lol


Personally I thought that A:Res was the weakest of the films. It turned Ripley into an anti-hero character with superpowers. Cool/fun to watch, but removes a lot of the dramatic element from the film. It was no longer a horror film... I really don't know what to call it other than a Chronicles of Riddick style film.

And the aliens themselves are pushed as far away as possible from the biomechanical beings (weapons?) they first were. Now they are mammals? :wacko


Don't get me started on the AvP films- they went the way of "Frankenstein meets the Wolfman." :lol



Kevin

 

[frosty]

1 and 2 for me, Fincher took a big dump over three as far as i'm concerend, i know there was a lot of intereference, but the story just didn't work.
4? well it had some good visuals

 

[cayman shen]

I agree with the Reverend that the Special Edition of 3 is superior. In fact, I enjoyed the movie a LOT more once I saw that version.

Part Four:
Swimming Alien
The Betty
Thong
Ripley sinking into the nest

That's about all I got...I like it, but man it doesn't fit.

 

[Flagg]

Aliens is my favorite movie of all time so that gets top honors in the franchise for me.

Followed by ALIEN.

I originally HATED Alien Cubed but over time, and repeated viewings of the special edition, I have grown to not despise it. I hate how they killed off Hicks and Newt right at the start. I still wish they would of used the version of the script where both of them were involved through the whole movie.

I thought Resurrection was mostly a mess but it did have a few neat moments. The swimming aliens were cool. The two aliens killing their prison mate to get out of the cell was taken right out of the comics and I appreciated that. I like some of the props and ship designs but I thought the Aliens themselves were fubar and rubber looking.

The AvP movies I dont even really count as part of the franchise. But if we have to talk about them I thought part 2 was better than part 1.

 

[dbuck]

Alien was one of the first movies I ever rented way back when I was in high school and renting a movie was a big deal. (My first blank VHS tape cost me fifteen bucks) I missed out on the theatrical run, but my friend claimed he had literally jumped out of his seat during it and refused to tell me anything else.
Watched it with my father three times. Love that movie.
Loved Aliens, too. Even after the theater groaned loudly with the nightmare sequence at the beginning. The rest of the movie made up for that.
For three, I was part of a big group of Alien fans that went opening night......sooooooo disappointing. And it takes the second movie and poops all over it. I pretend three does not exist when I watch two.
Four was tolerable considering how low my expectations were after three. Still not really good, but it has some decent moments.

 

[MrSinistar]

1 and 2 are worthy. 3 and 4 should be retconned, IMO. They don't exist for me. LOL

I honestly can't decide which one movie I like more. Aliens is such a kick ass and enjoyable film to watch. And Alien is so moody and tense...it's truly scary and epic as hell. It's really a toss-up for me.

 

[darthgordon]

The first two are the must sees for me. But since you asked:

Alien: It was obviously the original that introduces us to that universe and the aliens. It's dark and creepy. The action is minimal, but each scene is done in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat. You don't see much of the alien, adding to its realistic and scary factor. It's reminiscent of earlier sci-fi/ horror movies from the ‘50s and ‘60s, but more realistic and frightening.

Aliens: It’s a continuation of the story, but 100 times more action packed. Seeing not one, but several of these things coming at you out of the dark was certainly something. Ripley forms a bond with a little girl that she protects against all odds.

Alien 3: Now… I don’t hate this movie. In all honesty, the story is solid, the direction is good, the acting is good and the action is well done. Its primary downfall is that it seems to rob so much from the previous movies. After watching Ripley struggle to survive in the first film, where we were waiting on the edge of our seats to see her survive, we find her wake up in Aliens 75 years later. Okay, she’s still alive at least. Then we see her struggle to save not only herself, but a little girl, an android and a Marine. She goes through a vicious fight and it ends victoriously and everyone ends up in stasis to go home. Great ending! Then we find out that the whole struggle in not just the last movie, but both movies were in vain. Newt and Hicks are dead in the first five minutes of the movie. While stuck in the awful prison, Bishop is also unplugged… then finally, Ripley is impregnated by an alien and jumps into a pit of molten lead.

So Ripley’s struggle to survive in the first movie ends up with her spending the rest of her life unconscious or in horrible situations. Everyone she fought to save is dead, and then she must kill herself. The end of Aliens, was essentially the end of Newt’s short life... and the end of Alien was just the beginning of a journey of pain and futility for Ripley.

Alien Resurrection: It’s okay for being what it is. The character of Ripley we knew is long gone… this new character is completely different. It only gives us a vague connection to the last movies because of the name and actress. The movie itself is somewhat campy and has none of the scares of the earlier movies. You don’t really care about most of the characters… they’re pretty two dimensional and we gather, not good people to start out.

AVP: When you break it down there just isn’t much there. No characters to really care about… no story that you really care about. It’s just one action sequence after another. It’s okay if you just want your brain to turn to mush for 2 hours and eat some popcorn… it certainly doesn’t invoke thought or emotion.

AVP2: Haven’t seen it… didn’t get around to it. After AVP1, it just wasn’t up there on my list.

 

[Jet Beetle]

Comparing Alien 1 to Alien 2 is like comparing Nightmare on Elm Street to Die Hard - they're simply two different types of movie. That said - for me - ALIEN and the craftsman ship behind making it - creating the world, the creature and the tone of the characters was a far larger feat and shows Ridley Scott (at the time) to be a powerful force when it comes to storytelling. The pattern of the film had been used over and over again, buT Ridley made it unrecognizable. Dan O Bannon and Ron Shushet also deserve credit for laying out a sci-fi novel in screenplay form and helping Ridley bring such striking images to the screen. O Bannon was the one who brought Gieger to the attention of Scott and showed him how the Alien should look (or we'd have seen a hairless turkey flopping around chasing our space truckers). In many ways it's a monumental movie - setting up a formula that would be copied over and over again by lesser filmmakers (Star Trek: First Contact comes to mind).

Aliens was Starship Troopers, but still and enjoyable film. I'm not cutting Cameron short because we all know what he's capable of, the Alien Queen both in design and how they made it work are strokes of genius - but some of the dialogue and the overall softness of some scenes really do not age well. Pulse Rifles are a plus - but Newt is a drag, not to mention Bill Paxton, who just grates at the nerves after the first viewing. I'd watch it to kill a Sunday, but I view Alien when I want to see Hollywood at it's best.

The rest of the series is just unforgivable and downright insulting. By the time we get to Winonna Ryder and Super Ripley - it's just lost all recognition to what it started as.

BTW - Somewhere around here I have a really old copy of Variety talking about Chirs Reeve doing one more Superman after 4 - In it, there's a press release for ALIEN 3, saying the story was going to follow an older Newt, who they were trying to get Sharon Stone to play (this would have been around the time of Total Recall). Kinda interesting.