Of the 4 that you listed,
Alien 3. While I understand why people are so bothered by the deaths of Hicks & Newt, I also understand why
Alien 3 had to kill them off like that. Few big studio movies like this are able to be this dark & nihilistic. I wouldn't want every movie to be like this but I'm glad that this one exists. My only major criticism is that it's very difficult to tell what's going on during the whole bait-and-chase sequence. We don't have a clear enough idea of what the geography of these tunnels are to be able to tell if the plan is working or not.
However,
Alien vs. Predator is actually my favorite of the sequels. Sure, it's brainless and would have benefited from an R-rating. But it's got Aliens fighting Predators. It does what it says on the tin.
After that,
Prometheus. It works pretty well on its own terms as a horror movie. Noomi Rapace & Michael Fassbender both have pretty compelling screen presence. But as an
Alien prequel, I'm left with more questions than I had going in. Biggest question, right at the beginning: Why did that Engineer kill himself by drinking that black goo?
Actually, Honest Trailers did a pretty good job of breaking down all the unanswered questions. This is honestly my all-time favorite Honest Trailer.
Alien Resurrection feels like a cynical cash grab. It feels like a cynical fusion between the first 2 movies but with more gore. I really like the scene with all of the failed Ripley clones but that's about it.
AVP: Requiem had potential. If only I could actually SEE anything!!!!! (Oh, so this is what it's like for that guy who wears his sunglasses at night!
)
The Food Poisoning I had in 2011 where I violently threw up 40 times, lost 20 pounds, and spent three days in the hospital, dehydrated, with my kidneys shut down, and an I.V. hooked up into my arm. There were times, during that, when I seriously thought I'd die.
-- insert yet another gap --
8. Alien: Covenant
I would choose
Alien Covenant over violent food poisoning. But only because I can CHOOSE to never watch
Alien Covenant again. (If it were a choice between the food poisoning and being forced to rewatch the film
Clockwork Orange-style, well........
)
Someone keeps letting Ridley Scott make movies, which is a very bad idea. He had his lucky couple and all he's doing now is proving over and over that Alien and Blade Runner were flukes.
Agreed. For a director of his stature, his batting average is terrible. Actually, I can't stand
Blade Runner. And
Alien is only watchable because it has one of the best casts ever assembled in a film. IMO, Ridley Scott's only good movies are
Gladiator &
The Martian. Maybe, if I'm feeling generous, I'll add
Robin Hood &
Black Hawk Down to that list. And I liked the first half of
American Gangster that I saw but I never finished it due to food poisoning. But I can't think of another director who is so venerated whose filmography is cluttered with crap like
Kingdom of Heaven &
Legend.
Resurrection was clone crap. Weaver must have needed the money.
Interesting that Whedon's original script didn't have Ripley at all. I would love to visit the alternate universe where we got that version of the movie.
I think I read that in the chapter about the making of Alien 3 in the book 'The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made'.
Yay! I'm glad someone else here has read that book. If any of you haven't, this should be required reading for anyone interested in the history film production.
https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Sci...scifi+movies+never+made&qid=1596178258&sr=8-1
This is also the reason it took so long for there to be a licensed figure of Ripley released, as Weaver didn't want her likeness on a toy with guns ostensibly aimed at kids.
Ahh, the early '90s, back when no one batted an eye at R-rated sci-fi movies getting a kids toy line. Fun fact: You can see Captain Picard's son playing with the
Aliens dropship during the Christmas fantasy in
Star Trek: Generations.
Now, if they ever need to do another AvP..... Set it somewhere in the our future, add Colonial Marines, some jungle world out there in space, and R-rated.
Yes! Do it! Given that the first 2 movies were Earth-bound, I'd like to see another one just to frame it in more of a futuristic
Alien-esque context. I think that they should set it during the gap between
Alien 3 &
Alien Resurrection so that they can show why Weyland-Yutani isn't around anymore.
Still, I live in hope that one day someone will come along and make another great alien film. I had high hopes for Bomkamp’s Alien 5 but that’s likely never going to happen now.
Which is such a shame. I suspect that, had they polled the fans, most of us would have much rather seen Blomkamp's
Alien 5 rather than Scott's
Alien Covenant.
What's really scary is that, now, the franchise is owned by Disney! Disney seems to have a pretty spotty track record with franchises that they didn't create. For every Marvel &
Star Wars, there's a Muppets or a
Power Rangers. I think that another studio should try to acquire the rights from Disney. Does Blumhouse have any spare cash?
What does that have to do with it? We were talking about execution.
I was just going to say that. In the end, who came first is less important than who did it best. And in the rarefied air of elite '80s action movies,
Aliens is right at the top of the heap, beside
Die Hard &
The Terminator.
One last thing about the post-Cameron
Alien sequels:
Pitch Black is better than all of them!
