I'm no great fan of Ridley Scott nowadays, but I concede that he earned his rep as a master filmmaker once upon a time with his first few films and Alien is I think his crown jewel -- it's a perfect horror film with the series' greatest cast of characters. That said James Cameron's sequel is every inch as good to my eye, just scratching a very different kick-ass action movie itch. Anyway these two movies and the Giger-fueled nightmare worlds they built are the reason why this franchise will always rank among my favorites, and I am entirely incapacitated when asked to choose. So I am making you choose. And feel free to make your case in the comments.
People who defend Ridley Scott as still being a good filmmaker are... just not right
— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) August 14, 2024
On a related note I re-watched Prometheus and half of Alien: Covenant last night and lord what slop they are. Beautiful looking slop, but good grief Ridley can't string together a coherent experience anymore. I do love staring at the utterly gorgeous cast of Prometheus though, and the scene where the snake thing kills Rafe Spall & Sean Harris is absolutely top tier horror.
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11 comments:
I am a giant fan of even the bad Alien movies. But "Alien" is the "Citizen Kane" of sci-fi horror. Cameron's film is an action joyride, but the military caricatures are a little much. "Alien 3" is the most underrated movie of all of them. Fincher is a top-tier talent and it shows in that film.
For the record I love Alien 3 and agree the hate is undeserved. I also really like Ressurection dammit. And I'm also imminently on the verge of rewatching the Alien vs Predator movies which I haven't seen since the theater, and I'm hoping to've come around on them some.
The Xenomorph really is just the coolest movie monster ever.
Alien was the first R rated movie I ever saw. Somehow I tricked mom into taking me and I've never looked back!
My favorite is Aliens thanks to the lore expansion and that sticky 80s smell but in the end, both are way too different and exist in different generes.
Alien is a great horror movie and Aliens is a great action movie. But you can’t have Aliens with Alien. I agree with your comments after Prometheus… beautiful to look and I don’t mind “search for the origin of life” bit. But Ridley Scott ruined it with utterly stupid characters. Scott had Damon Lidelof rewrite Jon Spaihts’ script, but he introduced many plot wholes that no one went back to fix.
They were even more stupid in Covenant.
Alien is top 10 for me. Aliens has not aged well the older I've gotten. I agree with the first commenter - the caricatures are too much. Alien, to me, is a masterclass of pacing. It's art house. The first few minutes, nothing happens. Eventually, people start speaking. But even what they're saying doesn't really matter - they're just human beings moving. Slowly ... something starts happening. Cut to the end of the movie - they're all dead, alarms going off, smoke everywhere, strobe lights, it's pure hell ... No other movie is as better or confidently paced as Alien.
Both are top examples of the sub genre of horror they inhabit-Alien the creeping, slow, inescapable growing kind and Aliens the rock em sock em non stop action (though actually watching it today the first act until they get to the nest feels very long by today's standards). But I think Alien is the better art piece.
A few months ago Alien was back in theaters for the 50th anniversary and, having nothing better to do one night, I went to a late show by myself and I was the only person in the theater. It. Was. Amazing. Just to be totally immersed in that new world and no distractions and every frame-the artistry. And so many subtle touches you don't catch the first time. Things like the magazine Ash uses to suffocate Ripley and eventually you notice all the pinup women and other things in who's ever bunk that is (probably Parker's), so it's a good bet the magazine is a porno. The strong intelligent woman is literally being suffocated by misogyny. Brilliant.
I love Ripley’s arc: in Alien she’s a survivor in Aliens she becomes savior. Surviving and pushing through her trauma makes her a hero.
Alien is Robert Altman first half meets Tobe Hooper second half
Aliens is one of the best films ever made imo and Weaver is outstanding.
Alien 3 watch the assembly cut for what might have been,more coherent
Alien Resurrection has good parts but never scary,Winona wasted.
Alien vs Predator very watchable but no vision,weak lead.
Alien Predator Requiem someone turn the lights on,that maternity scene!
Prometheus doesn't know what it wants to be,incoherent at times
Alien Covenant is this the same man who made Alien,that shower bit!
Alien Romulus hoping and praying it's scary,I trust Alvarez
I am sorry... The real horror here is that my favorite blog had just made my favorite franchise into a bloody smear across the floor. And a second horror is that theres no fresh five frames from to distract me from my horrible morning. No... no, no, no... I am going back to bed now. see you tomorrow.
fuck!
Alien is a masterpiece and while I like Aliens for its action sequences, the characters are all such stereotypes. I love that Prometheus wanted to attempt to do some background on the origins of the alien species but it's like Scott couldn't quite figure out how he wanted to proceed so that by the time we get to Alien Covenant, he was tired of the fanboys whining over Prometheus and so gave them another tired "horror" movie. And I know Scott said they weren't tied at all, but I will still say his TV show "Raised by Wolves" is set in the Alien (Prometheus) universe and he could have done great things with it. *It is still a really interesting show on its own however
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