Let’s face it – Alien movies are not created equal. In my Alien: Romulus review, I noted that there have really only ever been two flawless films in the franchise, with the rest all having moments of genius (well – most of them) but none measuring up to the first two movies in the saga. All of this makes Alien movie rankings quite controversial, as it’s a divisive topic (which our Live Stream host, Kier Gomes, tackled last week). So, how does our Alien movies ranked list shape up? Let’s dive right in, shall we?
I honestly couldn’t believe Fox had the gall to release this as a legit entry into the franchise in 2007. At the time, the studio had a bad reputation for putting out half-baked and cheap genre fare (made even more frustrating by how many were based on top-notch properties). This was the nadir of both the Alien and Predator franchises. It had a terrible cast of characters and ruined the long-awaited prospect of letting a xenomorph loose in an urban setting. Adding insult to injury was the terrible cinematography and shaky-cam aesthetic (which was all the rage back then).
But at least Requiem was rated R. In 2004, Fox enlisted writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson to do the same thing for the Alien & Predator franchises he did for Resident Evil. The result was a dull, PG-13 bore-fest that did little to prove to fans that these famous 20th Century Fox characters belonged with each other on the big screen. Even an appearance by Lance Henriksen and the beautiful Sanaa Lathan in the lead couldn’t save this one, which also made the moronic choice of making the Predators good guys!
When I saw this movie in theatres back in 1997, for some reason, I liked it. It may be that director Jean-Pierre Jeunet embraced a more action-driven Aliens aesthetic that pleased me (or the fact that I was fifteen), but I find it nearly unwatchable now, save for a few good bits. Jeunet is a solid director but was out of his element making a sci-fi horror movie. At least he had a great cast, with Sigourney Weaver playing a clone of Ripley (crossed with a xenomorph) and Ron Perlman, a kick-ass anti-hero, as one of a gang of mercenaries she teams up with. However, Winona Ryder’s Call is a strange character, as she’s supposed to be a synthetic but doesn’t act remotely like one at any point in the movie. It also has a genuinely chilling moment where Ripley discovers horrifying, failed clones of herself that beg for death, which ranks among the most unnerving scenes in the franchise.
I had high hopes for this one, as I mostly enjoyed Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and was more than psyched to see one of my favourite directors make a full-on Alien movie again. Yet, you can tell that Scott, at this point, had gotten bored with xenomorphs and seemed more interested in continuing the story of Michael Fassbender’s synthetic, David, as he reveals a chillingly evil side that was only hinted at in the last film. It’s not terrible, and Fassbender is excellent in dual roles (he also plays another, more sympathetic android), but despite some good gore moments, the movie is frustratingly inconsistent.
This was Ridley Scott’s return to the Alien franchise after decades away… and his decision to make a prequel to Alien depicting the history of the so-called space engineers always struck me as misguided. Do we need to know where the xenomorphs came from? The mythology he built here (which was also partially added to Alien: Romulus) never really needed to be explored. Even still, the movie is visually arresting, with Fassbender excellent as the android David, Charlize Theron unusually unsympathetic as a Weyland-Yutani stood, and Idris Elba effortlessly charming. However, I found the usually excellent Naomi Rapace slightly miscast in a dull role.
When this movie came out in 1992, I hated it. I was only ten, but Aliens was already one of my all-time favourite movies. I couldn’t believe that they had the cheek to kill one of the franchise’s coolest characters ever unceremoniously, Michael Biehn’s Hicks, off-screen (to say nothing about poor Newt). Nowadays, I do respect David Fincher’s dark approach, with the movie having some brilliant moments, a terrific score by Elliot Goldenthal, and an excellent supporting turn by Charles S. Dutton. It still makes me mad, but I appreciate the ambition and guts behind it, especially if you watch the alternate cut (known as the assembly cut) they put out on home media.
As I said in my review, the Fede Álvarez movie is 75% a kick-ass Alien movie and 25% a lame sequel to Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. However, I maintain that it’s still the third-best Alien movie.
I often flip-flop back and forth between what I consider to be the best Alien movie. Ultimately, it comes down to your preferred genre: horror or action. I’ve always been more of an action guy, but it doesn’t change that this is still one of the best-conceived and edited horror movies of all time and a stone-cold masterpiece. From Jerry Goldsmith’s score to the cast to H.R. Giger’s designs, this is one for the Pantheon for sure.
However, James Cameron’s Aliens is still my choice for the best sci-fi action movie ever. The film is a rollercoaster ride, with one of the best ensemble casts of all time, including Lance Henriksen as the android Bishop, Bill Paxton as Hudson, Jenette Goldstein as Vasquez, and Michael Biehn as Hicks. But, of everyone, the most iconic is Sigourney Weaver, whose Ripley evolved from being something of a company stooge in the first movie to one of the two or three greatest action heroes (male or female) of all time. And, I mean, “Get away from her, you bitch” gives me chills every time, as does that score by James Horner.
What would your Alien movies ranked order be? Let us know in the comments!