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Alien Flim rankings

Caffeine

Member
alien > aliens > alien 3 > Prometheus > AvP: Requiem > Avp > Alien: Resurrection.

still have to see covenant
also ye Alien: Isolation is a great game :p
 
Thought I may have been giving Prometheus a hard time, and was coming around to the idea that there were definitely awesome things in that movie (The C-Section Scene!!), so I gave it another chance and watched it last night.

It was actually worse than I remember. The dialog and writing is awful. It's cringe-worthy bad. Despite its awesome production design and the quality of its actors, I'd have to say Prometheus may actually be on par with Resurrection (IMO).

Alien > Aliens >> Alien 3 >>>>>>>>> Resurrection >= Prometheus

It was so unenjoyable for me that I think I may skip Covenant all together.
 

gconsole

Member
Can't remember the old film but Covenant script is straight to DVD level. Almost all the character will do the most stupid shit you would ever expect from a group of people who represent humankind to explore the new world. I can't remember Prometheus was this bad ....
 

J_Viper

Member
Watched Alien 3 (Assembly Cut) today, and man that's a strange, strange film.

The cast is great all around, and the grim-dark aesthetic is right up my alley, but the movie kinda fell apart whenever the Xeno was around, which is kinda disappointing.

The Xeno's birth scene played alongside the cremation of Newt and Hicks was a damn fine moment, but when that Looney Toons CGI atrocity popped out of that ox, I couldn't help but laugh.

Seriously, what the fuck was up with that CG? I didn't exist yet in 92, so I'm not sure what the standards were, but it's insane how anyone thought was passable. The real Xeno looked okay, but there wasn't enough of it. Could they really not use the man in the suit for the whole film?

The corridor chase scene in the end is also really silly, in a way that feels completely off from how serious the film takes itself. Those POV shots, good god. Who would've thought this dude would turn out to be one of the greatest film-makers of all time?

Even with those flaws, I did find the film to be unique enough to be a worthwhile watch.

On to Resurrection. I mean, it has Ron Perlman and Michael Wincott, it can't be that bad, right?
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Seriously, what the fuck was up with that CG? I didn't exist yet in 92, so I'm not sure what the standards were, but it's insane how anyone thought was passable. The real Xeno looked okay, but there wasn't enough of it. Could they really not use the man in the suit for the whole film?

Apparently most of it wasn't even CG. It was a small scale puppet that they superimposed on a blue/green screen. Regardless, it truly does look like utter shit lol

Did you see Aliens already?
 
Aliens is one of the best survival/scifi horror film. The characters are good and make you care for them, and the ending was satisfying. The sequels will never compare.

1. Aliens (masterpiece)
2. Alien
3. Alien: Covenant (a bit odd, but felt very "Alien", I liked it more than the rest)
4. Aliens: Resurrection (personal guilty pleasure)
5. Prometheus (a lot of plot holes, but I liked it)
6. Alien 3 (what the hell is this even?)

Not even going to touch those crappy Alien vs Predator films.
 
Seriously, what the fuck was up with that CG? I didn't exist yet in 92, so I'm not sure what the standards were, but it's insane how anyone thought was passable. The real Xeno looked okay, but there wasn't enough of it. Could they really not use the man in the suit for the whole film?
Not sure it was CG, but for what it's worth, Alien 3 was a year after Terminator 2 and a year before Jurassic Park.
 
It does my heart good to see so many people ranking Alien over Aliens. Aliens is good but extremely overrated, imo.

Is it me or has this been a more recent phenomenon.

I swear there's probably an earlier verison of this poll from either shortly before or shortly after Prometheus coming out and it was waaaay closer to 50/50.
 

Epcott

Member
What lol. Killing off love interests in a horror movie is the oldest trope in the book. Bonus points for AvP:R arguably an adaptation of a comic book, where the term "fridging" originates.

Like, can you even name a horror movie where a love interest doesn't die?

Normally, it's the female lead that makes it through and the male dies (in Alien films)... that's probably what shocked me 😂 But yeah, it was pretty bad, just not AVP and Resurrection bad (I'll never forget Ripley's mother and child moment in the later... ugh).

I'm curious about Covenant. Something tells me it'll be slightly better than Prometheus.
 

J_Viper

Member
Apparently most of it wasn't even CG. It was a small scale puppet that they superimposed on a blue/green screen. Regardless, it truly does look like utter shit lol

Did you see Aliens already?

Wow, I totally thought that was straight CG. I'll definitely check out the BTS footage in the Anthology set

and yeah, saw the first two, and they're both excellent in every regard. I struggle to say which I'd prefer.

At the very least, I do appreciate how bizarrely different Alien 3 is from the other two.

Not sure it was CG, but for what it's worth, Alien 3 was a year after Terminator 2 and a year before Jurassic Park.

Oh jeeze lol, Fox must have not given a fuck then
 
Is it me or has this been a more recent phenomenon.

I swear there's probably an earlier verison of this poll from either shortly before or shortly after Prometheus coming out and it was waaaay closer to 50/50.

I'm not sure about the poll, but I do know I liked Alien more than Aliens before it was cool to like Alien more than Aliens.

For me, the thing that puts Alien over the top is the isolation. It's the feeling that everyone aboard the Nostromo could be wiped out by the xenomorph and the ship would drift eternally in the darkness of space; a floating steel tomb. There's nobody else around. There's no help coming. Survive or don't. Good luck.

Aliens is very well made and a good time to watch, but (as many others have said) it reduces the aliens to an insect species that can be taken out with a handful of bullets. And if the space marines fail their mission, more can come along and just nuke the aliens from orbit.

Remember that scene in Alien when Ash cuts into one of the facehugger's legs in an attempt to remove it from Kane's face? Acid pours out, burns through the floor of the ship, and immediately lets the crew and the audience know that the threat they face is a horror beyond anything they could possibly imagine. Something so deadly, your attempts to kill it can kill you. This beast was the stuff of nightmares.

Meanwhile, the small squad of space marines in Aliens must've taken out dozens of them. Sure, most of them died, but it still made the aliens seem much less of an unimaginable threat.

In my opinion, of course.
 
Wow, I totally thought that was straight CG.

A lot of people do when they first see it.

But I believe aside from that one shot of the lead on the dome cracking, the Alien is either a rod puppet, a guy in a suit, or an animatronic.

So basically, it's CGI for like, 1 second total, in a mostly still shot.
 

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
A lot of people do when they first see it.

But I believe aside from that one shot of the lead on the dome cracking, the Alien is either a rod puppet, a guy in a suit, or an animatronic.

So basically, it's CGI for like, 1 second total, in a mostly still shot.

Correct, the only CG in the film was the Alien jumping out of the lead.
 
I think my biggest problem in Alien 3 is that most of the cast being bald white dudes made the chaotic, frantic 3rd act completely incomprehensible. There's a lot of action and everything is moving so fast and it's almost impossible to tell what's happening to who on your first time through the movie. Then it all ends and one bald white dude is left standing and you're like "Oh, OK, I guess that one lived. What was his name again?"

I mean, there's smaller problems all throughout the film, but that 3rd act is just a complete mess. Ending kind of saves it.
 
I think my biggest problem in Alien 3 is that most of the cast being bald white dudes made the chaotic, frantic 3rd act completely incomprehensible. There's a lot of action and everything is moving so fast and it's almost impossible to tell what's happening to who on your first time through the movie. Then it all ends and one bald white dude is left standing and you're like "Oh, OK, I guess that one lived. What was his name again?"

I mean, there's smaller problems all throughout the film, but that 3rd act is just a complete mess. Ending kind of saves it.

As soon as you understand how the corridors are meant to work to drive the alien into the lead mold it all makes sense.

BTW the Alien 3 workprint isn't complete. There are still scenes that were shot or extended that are missing. Short ones but they are not available. The biggest diff and the most David Fincher of them is Ripleys decision to kill herself is about twenty seconds longer. Almost every Fincher movie is about making a terrible choice and the end and Alien 3 was no different.
 

mekes

Member
Alien
Aliens
Prometheus
Resurrection
Alien 3

I saw Covenant on the weekend and it wasn't quite what I thought it might be.

Starting off part way through the journey and ending on a cliffhanger for the ending. It felt a bit like 3 major acts squashed into 1 movie with not enough time put into any of them. I enjoyed, but I'd need to watch it again to place it on the list.
 

C4Lukins

Junior Member
Still have not seen Covenant.

Aliens= Alien-10
Promethius-7
Alien 3-5.5
Alien Resurection-5




Boss Baby-4


AVP-3
AVP 2-2
 
Haven't seen Covenant yet.

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

Yesterday I rewatched all of the 5 canon films and then went to see Covenant, so I would like to revise my list here. Prometheus kinda clicked with me this time. It's the 3rd time I've seen it, and once I get past the characters being so dumb, I was able to enjoy it. There's some interesting ideas in there and it's a well-made film. I put it over Alien 3 now. Alien 3 was about as good/bad as I remember while Resurrection was even worse, so it's still comfortably below the other canon films.

1. Aliens - 10/10
2. Alien - 10/10
3. Prometheus - 6/10
4. Covenant - 6/10
5. Alien 3 - 5/10
6. Alien: Resurrection - 3/10
 

MickeyPhree

Member
I'm not sure about the poll, but I do know I liked Alien more than Aliens before it was cool to like Alien more than Aliens.

For me, the thing that puts Alien over the top is the isolation. It's the feeling that everyone aboard the Nostromo could be wiped out by the xenomorph and the ship would drift eternally in the darkness of space; a floating steel tomb. There's nobody else around. There's no help coming. Survive or don't. Good luck.

Aliens is very well made and a good time to watch, but (as many others have said) it reduces the aliens to an insect species that can be taken out with a handful of bullets. And if the space marines fail their mission, more can come along and just nuke the aliens from orbit.

Remember that scene in Alien when Ash cuts into one of the facehugger's legs in an attempt to remove it from Kane's face? Acid pours out, burns through the floor of the ship, and immediately lets the crew and the audience know that the threat they face is a horror beyond anything they could possibly imagine. Something so deadly, your attempts to kill it can kill you. This beast was the stuff of nightmares.

Meanwhile, the small squad of space marines in Aliens must've taken out dozens of them. Sure, most of them died, but it still made the aliens seem much less of an unimaginable threat.

In my opinion, of course.

The aliens took out 156 colonists and their actions resulted in the death of every single person on the Sulaco (plus Bishop and Newt) some threat huh.
 

dmshaposv

Member
Alien (horror masterpiece)
Aliens (an excellent action movie with a groundbreaking female hero for its time)



Prometheus (interesting ideas and a few tense scenes with shitty characters)


Covenant (some good ideas mixed into a 'Greatest Hits' version of Alien, Aliens and Prometheus with no real personality)

And I just ignore the rest...
 
Having just scene Covenant, and rewatched some of the lesser entries in the run up to it, here's my updated ranking:

1. Alien
2. Aliens

3. Alien 3
4. Alien: Covenant

5. AVP
6. Prometheus

7. Alien: Resurrection
8. AVP: R
 
Having not seen Prometheus, Requiem, or Covenant...

1. Alien
2. Alien 3
3. Aliens
4. Alien Resurrection
5. Alien vs. Predator

I'm generally a bigger fan of the horror elements of the series than the action stuff. I'd also reckon that Resurrection up are all pretty good to excellent.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
Not counting the AVP movies

Alien > Aliens > big gap > Prometheus > Alien 3 assembly cut >>> Covenant > Resurrection

Covenant and Resurrection are both bottom of the barrel.
 
Now that I've seen Covenant, I think I can rank them.

Alien
Aliens
AvP
Alien 3
Alien: Covenant
Prometheus
AvP: Requiem
Alien: Resurrection

AvP and Alien 3 can switch places, depending on my mood. I enjoy A3 a great deal, but I have an unreasonable amount of love for AvP. Not enough people recognize the brilliance of Paul WS Anderson.
 
AvP and Alien 3 can switch places, depending on my mood. I enjoy A3 a great deal, but I have an unreasonable amount of love for AvP. Not enough people recognize the brilliance of Paul WS Anderson.

I enjoyed AvP a decent amount when I rewatched it ahead of Covenant. It's like if Prometheus embraced its schlockier elements and decided to actually have fun with its material.
 

Einchy

semen stains the mountaintops
Really good
Alien and Aliens

Enjoyable but not great
Prometheus and Covenant

Could have spent these 2 hours and 25 minutes doing literally anything else
Alien 3

Haven't seen the others.
 

Alienfan

Member
After seeing Covenant a couple of times and rewatching the rest, I think I feel comfortable with my final ranking.

Alien >>> Alien Covenant > Aliens > Prometheus > AvP (Aliens on steroids) > Alien 3 > Resurrection > AvP2.

Depending on how I feel, Aliens and Prometheus could switch. I love the horror more than the action direction Cameron took, but it's also hard to deny that Aliens is a fine ass action film. Ridley makes the better films anyway imo and Covenant was one of his best in like a decade.
 

Markoman

Member
Resurrection isn't thaaat bad



...whom am I fooling. Of course it is, but at least it had two disturbing scenes with Alien puppy which stuck in my mind (puppy killing momma A, momma B killing puppy - sad puppy face) Bonus: a pervy scientist.
 

sn00zer

Member
I love Resurrection, actually felt fairly in line with the series swapping genres between the first and second films

Alien - Classy Sci Fi Horror
Aliens- Straight up Action
Resurrection- Macabre Body Horror
 
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