Census Rank the Alien films

1. Aliens

Haven't seen the rest.

 

1. Aliens
2. Alien

Didn't enjoy any of the others at all. We'll see how Alien 5 turns out.

 

Alien

followed very closely by

Aliens.

That's it.

 

1. Alien (Like Jaws, it transcends genre and is simply a cinematic masterpiece.)
2. Alien 3 (Tied with Batman Returns as the ballsiest, most intimate sequel to a franchise ever made. I'd love to see more intriguing "failures" like this.)
3. Aliens (Great, superb, phenomenal actioner, but I do prefer horror.)
-----
4. Prometheus (Nice try, Mr. Scott. Next time, nab yourself a halfway-decent script.)
5. Resurrection (Proof that even Joss Whedon is capable of atrocious fan-fiction.)


To those who dislike Alien 3: Could you at least admit that the performances by the three leads were of the highest caliber (particularly for a horror film)? Sigourney Weaver is a virtuoso as a woman in the throes of a despair beyond despair. If I ever find myself in a completely hopeless situation, I hope I could meet my end with the dignity and purpose of Ellen Ripley.

 

It was unfair of me to apply the word "crap" to all the 90s-and-beyond Alien films. Alien3, in particular, is stylishly photographed and directed by one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation. The performances are indeed passionate and on-point. It's the story decisions I detest.

Alien Resurrection was also directed by an otherwise excellent director whose films I generally adore. The script is full of promise, too. But the finished film is too garish and over-the-top, and wildly different from the preceding entries. Plus that humalien baby is so goofy and grotesque, it's repulsive and laughable at the same time. The movie just doesn't hold together and it certainly doesn't redeem the franchise.

The less said about Prometheus, IMSIO, the better.

 

Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Prometheus
Alien Resurrection.

 

What about that one with James Caan? Alien Nation?

 

Alien - just brilliant, one of my favourite films of all time
Aliens - ups the action but is still fantastic
Alien 3 - good film, unfairly demonised
Prometheus - amazing visuals, lacking cohesive story
Alien Resurrection - no, just no.

 

1. Aliens
2. Alien

The rest are drivel.

 

1. Aliens- 10/10
2. Alien- 9.5/10
3. Prometheus-8/10
4. Alien 3 (Assembly Cut)-7/10
5. Alien Resurrection- 4/10

 

1. Alien - 10/10
2. Alien 3 (The Assembly Cut) - 9/10
3. Aliens - 8.5/10
4. Alien Resurrection - 8/10
5. Prometheus - 7/10

Looking forward to Prometheus 2 & Alien 5.

 

#9. Although, if we also included the TV series, it could take Femalien's spot on the list!

 

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

 

I like all of them in varying degrees but for the hell of ranking:

1. Aliens
(one of my favourite movies ever. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, the pinnacle of human film making is a two way tie between Empire Strikes Back and Aliens. Nice try, film, but perfection has already been achieved. My favourite moment in Aliens is every single moment in Aliens.)
2. Alien
(definitive slow burner but it just looks fantastic and so many great lines and moments throughout. "I won't lie about your chances, but you have my sympathies" I think sort of sums up thematically what the movie is about. The beheaded robot working for The Company gives a trite consolation for the working space truckers impending horrific demise. Both Alien and Aliens work together perfectly but feel like different movies, which is a hellova trick)
3. Prometheus
(a bit more on the philosophical side and the scares aren't as great as in Alien but I like how it connected to the Alien-verse but it also it's own thing. And I think it's kinda amusingly twisted the movie asks the question "Who made us?" and the answer is "A giant albino space alien who wants to kill you because God hates you!")
4. Alien 3
(even though Finger has disowned this straight up, I do like it. Alien 3 is freakin' David Fincher, dammit! I still really enjoy it for his style, which permeates every moment of the film. Ton of great lines in the movie as well ("Murphy." "How do you know?" "That's his boot.") As for the whole "they killed Newt and Hicks and Bishop (basically)" of it all, I think that is a terrible decision due to the end of "Aliens". However, I think it works with the tone of Alien 3. The Alien, the company, has completely destroyed and isolated Ripley until she has nothing left, and they even take away what helped her find peace at the end of "Aliens". Killing them off is a tonal betrayal of Ripley's struggle of Aliens. However, the Bishop/Newt/Hicks thing does work in the context of Alien 3 as a single film. If that makes any sense, heh. The "Bishop rebooting" scene is a really nice example of how the killing off of the characters plays into the tone of Alien 3. Bleak, bleak, bleak. And it clicks dramatically. Alien 3 is a very dark movie, the darkest of the entire series, but I think it earns it. Great summation of Alien 3 I read on a blog somewhere "If after a long week at the office you want a brilliantly acted movie about the inevitability of death, you could do worse!")
5. Alien: Resurrection
(Alien Resurrection has a couple of fantastic beats scattered throughout. "Waste of ammo, man!" Ripley's speech to the "WHAT'S INSIDE ME?!" guy. It's a Joss Whedon script so there's going to be some interesting lines and character moments scattered throughout. Very, very weird movie. For that, I enjoy it. That Newborn, though. Oy. Bad idea from the jump, no matter how the creature is designed. It's just weak to have a human / alien hybrid when the ALIEN itself is already a freakin' alien / human hybrid concept at it's core. And having it kill the Queen is just like "hey, look, here's the new baddie who beats up the old baddie!" But take the movie up to the Newborn shows up, I think it's an interesting tangent / side story to the Alien-verse)

Anyway, I knew this thread already existed but in the context of the AVP films!

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/rate-the-avp-films.50015719/page-2

 

1. Alien
2. Aliens
3. Everything else claiming to be an Alien film.

 

1. Alien

2. Alien

3. Alien

4. Aliens

5. Alien 3

6. Prometheus

7. AVP 2

8. AVP

 

I hardly think Alien Resurrection is worse than the AVP movies.

 

1. Alien


2. Aliens


3. Prometheus


4. Alien 3: The Assembly Cut


5. Staring at a blank wall for two hours


6. Alien: Resurrection

I ****ing hate Alien: Resurrection but I generally approve of the other films in the series (I have not, nor do I ever intend to have, seen the AvP films), warts and all in the case of 3 and Prometheus. That said, they peaked in a big way with the first two.

 

1. Prometheus
2. Alien
3. Aliens
4. AR
5. A3

Why I like Pro the best? It was the most artistic, most visonary. Why AR over 3? AR while flawed it was more original & fun.

 

1. Alien
2. Aliens
3. Alien Resurrection (a worse film than Alien 3 but more enjoyable)
4. Alien 3
5. Prometheus

There's really not much in it between Alien & Aliens. One's a horror film in a space/sci-fi context, the other's an action film in a space/sci-fi context - both rank among the best of all the genres they span. Sheer brilliance.

The rest, though - every one tried to capture something of those two and fell short. Alien 3 was too dreary and dull to capture the grim realism of the original, Resurrection was a touch too wacky and a touch pretentious.

Prometheus aimed at something even better, but fell to pieces when it wasn't able to sustain its potential. Bit of a shame, there was a real intensity that seemed to be promised on every level, but wasn't delivered.

I know AvP isn't being counted, but sadly, it's been the best since the first two masterpieces - simply because it succeeds on its own level. It's a dumbass action/SFX movie that doesn't pretend to be anything else, and was fun to watch. I'll take that over a few lame and/or pretentious failures - in this franchise, at least.