Kendar
Scooby
- Joined
- May 6, 2021
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With the upcoming release of Alien: Romulus, it seems like now would be a good time to discuss some the various Alien movies. Please note this thread will contain spoilers for 6 movies*. Please DO put discussion about Romulus in spoilers until it’s been out a bit. I’m actually not seeing it until the end of the month (with a friend visiting from Florida).
*Yes, I’m only doing 6. I can’t stand Prometheus and Covenant. If someone wants to add them feel free.
Format is Title (Date of release and edition if applicable) year within the setting.
Alien (1979 – Director’s Cut) 2122AD
The first, and arguably the best in the franchise. Suitably scary (Dallas in the airducts still creeps me out today), an excellent cast, and it does a good job of showing a crew in well over their heads (made worse since Ash is working against them).
Body Count 6 (5 humans and one robot).
This movie has an amazing cast. Veronica Cartwright is probably the least well known of the cast members, and she’s still had a long and fruitful career.
Interesting points: The original script had a note that any role could be filled by a person of any gender. The crew solely refers to themselves by last names. In fact, you don’t learn anyone’s first name until the sequel (they are shown on a screen during Ripley’s testimony).
The director’s cut (and novelization) makes the series even creepier. Near the end Ripley finds Dallas and Brett cocooned and implanted. This means that you don’t need a queen to create more aliens. The expanded universe explored this by noting that a drone can become a queen in the absence of one, but this was still clearly a drone doing direct implantation. We also see that Parker and Ripley arrived in time to SEE Brett being hauled away, thus the “it’s BIG”.
The director’s cut also does a good job of increasing tensions between the crew. We find out that it was actually illegal for Ash to let Dallas, Kane and Lambert back on the ship. Lambert physically attacks Ripley for not letting them in, which explains some of the later tension between them.
Most of the special effects still work well today. There are a few alien shots that don’t (the alien attacking Lambert after killing Parker for example) and switching from talking Ash head to non-talking Ash head is blatantly obvious. When the alien bursts out of Kane’s chest most of the cast was caught off guard. They simply were told “The alien emerges”. Veronica Cartwright’s “Oh my god!” is totally real as she caught a mouthful of the fake blood. Yaphet Kotto (Parker) was so upset he went to his room and didn’t talk to anyone for several hours.
Propulsion isn’t discussed much but given that they are 10 months from earth and nowhere near their own system there must be FTL in some form. Expanded universe indicates they use gravity drives.
I personally put this first in the ranking of the franchise, and certainly the scariest. It’s an excellent horror movie that still holds up well today.
Aliens (1986 – Director’s cut) – 2179AD
The other contender for best in the franchise. Generally, where one ranks it depends on whether one prefers the horror of the first or the action of the second. While technically coded as horror this movie is in no way scary.
Body Count: On screen? 13 (11 marines, Burke, and the colonist whose chest bursts). Off screen: 156 additional colonists (there were 158, but one dies on-screen and Newt lives…for now).
Another good cast in this one, although not as many breakouts/already well knowns.
We learn first names of the Nostromo crew during Ripley’s testimony with the company. They are: Ellen Ripley, Arthur Dallas, Joan Lambert, Samuel Brett, Gilbert Kane, Ash, Dennis Parker. Interestingly, Ash doesn’t have a first name (or doesn’t have a last name). Presumably Ash as a “malfunctioning robot” wasn’t considered part of the crew for purposes of the debrief.
Propulsion either gets a substantial upgrade in 57 years or military ships have vastly better drives. The ship makes it to LV-426 in 3 weeks (noted in the script and DVD specials, and indirectly confirmed by Hicks saying it will be 17 days after they are declared overdue before help arrives). LV-426 is 39 light years from earth so they have to be averaging a couple hundred times the speed of light (actually 39 years is 2028 weeks, and 2028/13 is 676 so really fast).
Special effects are overall better than the original (not surprising given 8 years).
Director’s Cut adds a few things of significance. First, we learn that it was Newt’s family that actually found the alien ship, and her father was the first hit with a face hugger. Second, the automatic sentry rifles help explain why they weren’t attacked by as many aliens as there were colonists, as that deleted scene kills a lot of them.
The novelization also notes that Dallas and Ripley were lovers. May explain why he refers to her as “dear” when they are arguing in the first movie.
It’s never actually said, but Gorman being put in command actually makes sense. Burke wants a young, inexperienced officer in charge, so it is easier for him to bring specimens back. Presumably he thought he could work with Gorman.
It’s an excellent sci-fi action movie. I rank it second in the series (but wouldn’t try and argue with those who have it first).
Alien 3 (1992) 2179AD (so minimal time after Aliens)
This is not a bad movie, but it’s an early example of a problem that has become more common as time goes on. I’ve seen this movie already. In fact, I’ve seen this movie already IN THIS FRANCHISE. This is basically “Alien on a penal colony”. A group of people, badly outclassed, trapped in a hostile environment, trying to deal with a predator that substantially outmatches them.
Body Count: 29 people and 1 dog – 26 prisoners, Newt, Hicks, Ripley.
Interestingly Dark Horse did a series of comics beginning in 1986 that starred Newt and Hicks, who presumably made it back to earth. Hicks was still a marine, but a burnout, and Newt was in a mental institution. However, when they went to do a novelization of the comics Alien 3 had come out, so they changed the names of the characters and made them survivors of a different colony (Hicks becomes Wilks, Newt becomes Billie, and Ripley becomes a synthetic Ripley). When Dark Horse released the omnibus edition they also changed the names to match
There’s an interesting question posed here. How did Ripley get implanted in the first place? Theories have varied, with the most common being that the Queen had a few eggs inside her in addition to having the egg sac. But this still means a face hugger got off the shuttle deck, found the sleep pods, and somehow got inside one (there’s no evidence they can dispense acid at will).
Overall, there’s not much to say about this one. Charles Dance and Lance Henriksen are probably the best known actors after Sigourney. The effects are decent and hold up well, although I wonder if it would take that long for the alien to explode at the end. It’s not a bad movie, just an overly familiar one. I rate this 5th in the Alien franchise.
Alien Resurrection (AKA Alien 4 – 1997) 2381AD
One of Joss Whedon’s earlier writing credits, this movie falls into the “so bad it’s good” category. SOMEHOW the military has gotten a sample of Ripley to clone that includes the alien in her. So maybe alien DNA is intermingling with hers?
Body Count: 36. This includes most of The Betty’s crew, all of the Auriga’s crew, multiple defective clone Ripleys, and bodies brought by The Betty to the Auriga for implantation.
Whether they were or not it certainly feels like the cast was having fun with this one. Ron Perlman is always fun to watch, Winona Ryder does a good job as Call (incidentally, it was years before I realized it wasn’t Cole, as that is how everyone seems to say it), and The Betty’s crew in general does a good job of playing off one another.
So, the military has captive drones and now has a queen. They at least acknowledge that what they are doing is extremely illegal, which is why they are apparently in some small corner of space outside normal travel lanes.
Of course, they never specify what part of what they are doing is illegal. Maybe research into aliens is, or cloning is, but the only part that is obviously illegal (presumably) is kidnapping and implanting humans. And I am left with…why? Why implant humans? It’s established other creatures can be implanted, so bring some dogs, or cows. (In the novels I mentioned earlier it is theorized that implantation in sapient creatures is better, as the fear response provides increased adrenaline to the alien).
We’ll also ignore that suction in space is not so strong that a 300 pound plus monster is going to get sucked through a small hole.
Again, this is a fun movie as long as you make no attempt to take it seriously. The funniest of the franchise. I rank it 3rd.
Alien vs. Predator (2004) – 2004AD
Not a popular movie, but it’s not that bad. In 2004 after detecting a thermal bloom in Antarctica Charles Bishop Weyland (DOUBLE SHOUTOUT!) takes a team to explore. Unfortunately, this is Predator big game season. They wake up a frozen queen, force her to produce eggs, trap some of our party in a room with eggs, and get ready to hunt. However, when things get out of control we’ll have a team-up between one Predator and our heroine to survive.
Kill Count: 32 (8 mercenaries, 11 other team members including Weyland, 3 Predators, and 10 in a flashback to the past (7 sacrifical maidens and 3 other predators).
Trivia: Bill Paxton is widely credited as the only actor to ever be killed by a Terminator, a Predator, and an Alien. However, depending on how you count Bishop, Lance Hendrikson has done it as well thanks to this movie (although Paxton did it first). Some argue that Bishop being torn in half doesn’t count since he could still talk in part 3. I’ll counter that technically all we know is that Hudson (Paxton’s character) was taken by an Alien. He could have been cocooned and died in the explosion.
This is a decent movie. The effects are solid, the acting is decent, and we aren’t retreading old ground. Having said that, it does have one huge plot hole. Where in hell were the Predators planning on getting the humans to serve as hosts if Weyland hadn’t launched his mission. Weyland’s mission only occurs because the predators activated the temple, causing a heat bloom. So, what would they have done if there had been no mission.
While the sequel for this movie was set up when you see the Predator’s chest burst on the ship, there’s another hook that wasn’t explored. All we know about the Queen is that she was weighted down and dumped in the water. Aliens are tough enough that this might be survivable.
Overall, I rate this movie 4th in the series. It’s fun and a decent popcorn film.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2004) 2004AD
Things not conducive to space flight: having an Alien/predator hybrid burst out of your dead crewmate’s chest while you’re in orbit. This may cause your ship to crash and will probably void your warranty. Of course, our townsfolk in Colorado have their own worries. The hybrid lets loose several face huggers (one of the first to be implanted and die is a young boy) andthen begins killing townsfolk. Unfortunately, the surviving predators ALSO begin killing (and in at least one case skinning) townsfolk, as they seem to be trying to kill the hybrid regardless of other casualties. Our heroes will bounce from fight to fight, coming to an end when the US military nukes the town (voiding ALL warranties).
Death count: 78 (This includes 4 predators, the Predalien hybrid, and numerous townfolk.) It’s the second highest body count of all the movies.
I do have to wonder where the hybrid got the eggs from. Did the predators bring some on board before things went askew in the last movie? I’m also curious how the US government will explain a nuke going off in Colorado.
The biggest problem with this movie is simple: Everyone is boring. They do nothing to make me care about any of the people. 30 minutes after watching this I doubt I could have told you anyone’s names.
Overall, I rate this 6th in the series. You aren’t missing anything if you don’t like it.
*Yes, I’m only doing 6. I can’t stand Prometheus and Covenant. If someone wants to add them feel free.
Format is Title (Date of release and edition if applicable) year within the setting.
Alien (1979 – Director’s Cut) 2122AD
The first, and arguably the best in the franchise. Suitably scary (Dallas in the airducts still creeps me out today), an excellent cast, and it does a good job of showing a crew in well over their heads (made worse since Ash is working against them).
Body Count 6 (5 humans and one robot).
This movie has an amazing cast. Veronica Cartwright is probably the least well known of the cast members, and she’s still had a long and fruitful career.
Interesting points: The original script had a note that any role could be filled by a person of any gender. The crew solely refers to themselves by last names. In fact, you don’t learn anyone’s first name until the sequel (they are shown on a screen during Ripley’s testimony).
The director’s cut (and novelization) makes the series even creepier. Near the end Ripley finds Dallas and Brett cocooned and implanted. This means that you don’t need a queen to create more aliens. The expanded universe explored this by noting that a drone can become a queen in the absence of one, but this was still clearly a drone doing direct implantation. We also see that Parker and Ripley arrived in time to SEE Brett being hauled away, thus the “it’s BIG”.
The director’s cut also does a good job of increasing tensions between the crew. We find out that it was actually illegal for Ash to let Dallas, Kane and Lambert back on the ship. Lambert physically attacks Ripley for not letting them in, which explains some of the later tension between them.
Most of the special effects still work well today. There are a few alien shots that don’t (the alien attacking Lambert after killing Parker for example) and switching from talking Ash head to non-talking Ash head is blatantly obvious. When the alien bursts out of Kane’s chest most of the cast was caught off guard. They simply were told “The alien emerges”. Veronica Cartwright’s “Oh my god!” is totally real as she caught a mouthful of the fake blood. Yaphet Kotto (Parker) was so upset he went to his room and didn’t talk to anyone for several hours.
Propulsion isn’t discussed much but given that they are 10 months from earth and nowhere near their own system there must be FTL in some form. Expanded universe indicates they use gravity drives.
I personally put this first in the ranking of the franchise, and certainly the scariest. It’s an excellent horror movie that still holds up well today.
Aliens (1986 – Director’s cut) – 2179AD
The other contender for best in the franchise. Generally, where one ranks it depends on whether one prefers the horror of the first or the action of the second. While technically coded as horror this movie is in no way scary.
Body Count: On screen? 13 (11 marines, Burke, and the colonist whose chest bursts). Off screen: 156 additional colonists (there were 158, but one dies on-screen and Newt lives…for now).
Another good cast in this one, although not as many breakouts/already well knowns.
We learn first names of the Nostromo crew during Ripley’s testimony with the company. They are: Ellen Ripley, Arthur Dallas, Joan Lambert, Samuel Brett, Gilbert Kane, Ash, Dennis Parker. Interestingly, Ash doesn’t have a first name (or doesn’t have a last name). Presumably Ash as a “malfunctioning robot” wasn’t considered part of the crew for purposes of the debrief.
Propulsion either gets a substantial upgrade in 57 years or military ships have vastly better drives. The ship makes it to LV-426 in 3 weeks (noted in the script and DVD specials, and indirectly confirmed by Hicks saying it will be 17 days after they are declared overdue before help arrives). LV-426 is 39 light years from earth so they have to be averaging a couple hundred times the speed of light (actually 39 years is 2028 weeks, and 2028/13 is 676 so really fast).
Special effects are overall better than the original (not surprising given 8 years).
Director’s Cut adds a few things of significance. First, we learn that it was Newt’s family that actually found the alien ship, and her father was the first hit with a face hugger. Second, the automatic sentry rifles help explain why they weren’t attacked by as many aliens as there were colonists, as that deleted scene kills a lot of them.
The novelization also notes that Dallas and Ripley were lovers. May explain why he refers to her as “dear” when they are arguing in the first movie.
It’s never actually said, but Gorman being put in command actually makes sense. Burke wants a young, inexperienced officer in charge, so it is easier for him to bring specimens back. Presumably he thought he could work with Gorman.
It’s an excellent sci-fi action movie. I rank it second in the series (but wouldn’t try and argue with those who have it first).
Alien 3 (1992) 2179AD (so minimal time after Aliens)
This is not a bad movie, but it’s an early example of a problem that has become more common as time goes on. I’ve seen this movie already. In fact, I’ve seen this movie already IN THIS FRANCHISE. This is basically “Alien on a penal colony”. A group of people, badly outclassed, trapped in a hostile environment, trying to deal with a predator that substantially outmatches them.
Body Count: 29 people and 1 dog – 26 prisoners, Newt, Hicks, Ripley.
Interestingly Dark Horse did a series of comics beginning in 1986 that starred Newt and Hicks, who presumably made it back to earth. Hicks was still a marine, but a burnout, and Newt was in a mental institution. However, when they went to do a novelization of the comics Alien 3 had come out, so they changed the names of the characters and made them survivors of a different colony (Hicks becomes Wilks, Newt becomes Billie, and Ripley becomes a synthetic Ripley). When Dark Horse released the omnibus edition they also changed the names to match
There’s an interesting question posed here. How did Ripley get implanted in the first place? Theories have varied, with the most common being that the Queen had a few eggs inside her in addition to having the egg sac. But this still means a face hugger got off the shuttle deck, found the sleep pods, and somehow got inside one (there’s no evidence they can dispense acid at will).
Overall, there’s not much to say about this one. Charles Dance and Lance Henriksen are probably the best known actors after Sigourney. The effects are decent and hold up well, although I wonder if it would take that long for the alien to explode at the end. It’s not a bad movie, just an overly familiar one. I rate this 5th in the Alien franchise.
Alien Resurrection (AKA Alien 4 – 1997) 2381AD
One of Joss Whedon’s earlier writing credits, this movie falls into the “so bad it’s good” category. SOMEHOW the military has gotten a sample of Ripley to clone that includes the alien in her. So maybe alien DNA is intermingling with hers?
Body Count: 36. This includes most of The Betty’s crew, all of the Auriga’s crew, multiple defective clone Ripleys, and bodies brought by The Betty to the Auriga for implantation.
Whether they were or not it certainly feels like the cast was having fun with this one. Ron Perlman is always fun to watch, Winona Ryder does a good job as Call (incidentally, it was years before I realized it wasn’t Cole, as that is how everyone seems to say it), and The Betty’s crew in general does a good job of playing off one another.
So, the military has captive drones and now has a queen. They at least acknowledge that what they are doing is extremely illegal, which is why they are apparently in some small corner of space outside normal travel lanes.
Of course, they never specify what part of what they are doing is illegal. Maybe research into aliens is, or cloning is, but the only part that is obviously illegal (presumably) is kidnapping and implanting humans. And I am left with…why? Why implant humans? It’s established other creatures can be implanted, so bring some dogs, or cows. (In the novels I mentioned earlier it is theorized that implantation in sapient creatures is better, as the fear response provides increased adrenaline to the alien).
We’ll also ignore that suction in space is not so strong that a 300 pound plus monster is going to get sucked through a small hole.
Again, this is a fun movie as long as you make no attempt to take it seriously. The funniest of the franchise. I rank it 3rd.
Alien vs. Predator (2004) – 2004AD
Not a popular movie, but it’s not that bad. In 2004 after detecting a thermal bloom in Antarctica Charles Bishop Weyland (DOUBLE SHOUTOUT!) takes a team to explore. Unfortunately, this is Predator big game season. They wake up a frozen queen, force her to produce eggs, trap some of our party in a room with eggs, and get ready to hunt. However, when things get out of control we’ll have a team-up between one Predator and our heroine to survive.
Kill Count: 32 (8 mercenaries, 11 other team members including Weyland, 3 Predators, and 10 in a flashback to the past (7 sacrifical maidens and 3 other predators).
Trivia: Bill Paxton is widely credited as the only actor to ever be killed by a Terminator, a Predator, and an Alien. However, depending on how you count Bishop, Lance Hendrikson has done it as well thanks to this movie (although Paxton did it first). Some argue that Bishop being torn in half doesn’t count since he could still talk in part 3. I’ll counter that technically all we know is that Hudson (Paxton’s character) was taken by an Alien. He could have been cocooned and died in the explosion.
This is a decent movie. The effects are solid, the acting is decent, and we aren’t retreading old ground. Having said that, it does have one huge plot hole. Where in hell were the Predators planning on getting the humans to serve as hosts if Weyland hadn’t launched his mission. Weyland’s mission only occurs because the predators activated the temple, causing a heat bloom. So, what would they have done if there had been no mission.
While the sequel for this movie was set up when you see the Predator’s chest burst on the ship, there’s another hook that wasn’t explored. All we know about the Queen is that she was weighted down and dumped in the water. Aliens are tough enough that this might be survivable.
Overall, I rate this movie 4th in the series. It’s fun and a decent popcorn film.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2004) 2004AD
Things not conducive to space flight: having an Alien/predator hybrid burst out of your dead crewmate’s chest while you’re in orbit. This may cause your ship to crash and will probably void your warranty. Of course, our townsfolk in Colorado have their own worries. The hybrid lets loose several face huggers (one of the first to be implanted and die is a young boy) andthen begins killing townsfolk. Unfortunately, the surviving predators ALSO begin killing (and in at least one case skinning) townsfolk, as they seem to be trying to kill the hybrid regardless of other casualties. Our heroes will bounce from fight to fight, coming to an end when the US military nukes the town (voiding ALL warranties).
Death count: 78 (This includes 4 predators, the Predalien hybrid, and numerous townfolk.) It’s the second highest body count of all the movies.
I do have to wonder where the hybrid got the eggs from. Did the predators bring some on board before things went askew in the last movie? I’m also curious how the US government will explain a nuke going off in Colorado.
The biggest problem with this movie is simple: Everyone is boring. They do nothing to make me care about any of the people. 30 minutes after watching this I doubt I could have told you anyone’s names.
Overall, I rate this 6th in the series. You aren’t missing anything if you don’t like it.
