The Alien Franchise

PhantomScreenwriter

PhantomScreenwriter

The Alien Franchise (SPOILERS)

What is your favorite film in the Alien franchise?

Mine would have to be Aliens and here are the reasons:

1) James Cameron:

Not to take away from Ridley Scott doing a great job with Alien (or Prometheus, which I enjoyed) my reason for singling out James Cameron as a director is because he is excellent at coming up with sequels. He also has great attention to detail in all aspects of the production and does a lot of technical research of an advanced level.

He wrote the scenario to be a step-up not only for the film on a technical level but also for story and characterization. The path he set Ellen onto was a logical one for her because she needed to face her fears from the experience with the Alien, as well as having the resolve to go into hell again knowing their intention wasn't to bring the Alien back for research but to wipe them out (which we all know isn't what 'The Company' intended).

In an alternate universe if Ridley Scott had directed Aliens I'm sure it still would have been a success.

2) Ellen Ripley:

In this movie there is more characterization and more scope for Sigourney Weaver as an actress. Ripley is a formidable character that is strong in will, determination, and can hold her own among the male Marines without losing any of the tenderness, feminimity and motherly instincts that are present when Newt is discovered.

In Alien there wasn't much really for Sigourney to sink her teeth into. There wasn't anything wrong with her performance or delivery of the material but her character was the 'final girl" and as such not much character development went on, not in any great detail anyway. I am glad that the first film was a success because I don't think a sequel to Alien would have been right without Ripley being in it and it gave Ripley a chance to reveal more of herself.

3) The Supporting Cast:

Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Jenette Goldstein - all put in great performances and their characters are so well done that many films since have tried to capture lightning in a bottle twice (Resident Evil comes to mind) in having a group of soldiers in similar circumstances without any real success.

The banter and interactions they all have with one another feels genuine and they inhabit their characters so well you would swear they were born to play them, and I believe they were.

4) Bill Paxton as Hudson and his one-liners:

I have to single out Bill Paxton because this performance (along with Near Dark) is such a memorable one that has become iconic in the pantheon of horror/sci-fi/action films. He is great as Hudson and has that smart-ass persona nailed. He creates a character that is full of himself and full of bravado but when the shit hits the fan he becomes pessimistic but also sarcastic and these are some of the reasons why he is my favorite supporting character in Aliens.

Overall I think Aliens is an excellent film in the franchise as well as in general.

I want to mention what I think of Alien 3 - When you take it into the context of Aliens I don't think it is any match for Aliens in any department but what I will say is that when you watch Alien 3 followed by Alien: Resurrection - Alien 3 is definitely the far superior of the two so Alien 3 isn't that bad of a sequel considering what follows it.

Here's my preference for the films:

Aliens
Alien
Prometheus
Alien 3
Alien: Resurrection
 
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Dammit, I need to go to bed, but these interesting threads keep popping up! :lol: I love ALIENS and everyone should be required by law to see the extended edition that shows Newt's family going to the alien ship, Ripley finding out about her daughter, the automated sentry guns, etc. It's not just extra scenes, but huge parts of the story that are filled in.

That said, ALIEN is my favorite, mainly because of the vagueness of the creature (so many were wasted in ALIENS, they kind of lost their mystery). There is a real sense of dread that works for me. The story is damn dark, too, with Ash's Special Order 937, etc.

ALIENS, I can watch over and over. It is definitely the more entertaining of the two, but the first one left the greatest impression on me. Make sense?

ALIEN 3 and RESURRECTION are also like that - one is dark, mostly effective, but the latter is quite fun. PROMETHEUS is just a different animal, in many ways. I absolutely love it - at least more than ALIEN 3 and 4.
 
PhantomScreenwriter said:
I have to single out Bill Paxton because this performance (along with Near Dark) is such a memorable one that has become iconic in the pantheon of horror/sci-fi/action films.
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Yes! I am a big fan of NEAR DARK. Quite interesting how Kathryn Bigelow (THE HURT LOCKER) was dating James Cameron (ALIENS), prior to their brief marriage,......anyway, she used the same actors from ALIENS for NEAR DARK! Well, Lance (Bishop) Henriksen, Bill (Hudson) Paxton and Jenette (Vasquez) Goldstein as the lead vampires.

If you watch Adrian Pasdar going to the bus station, he passes a theater. Look what's playing!


NearDark002.jpg
 
I know what you mean that happens to me too!

I enjoyed the extended version because of the reasons you stated. It makes the film feel fuller.

That's the catch 22 with Aliens - first film creature is in the shadows, suspenseful scenes wheres Aliens is many creatures, a little suspense but the fear factor is diminished.

Makes sense to me. The first film is a really good example of effective use of set design and how to do suspense really well.

Prometheus was quite an experience for me. I enjoyed that movie quite a lot but not enough to put it before all the others in terms of impact. It took a bit of the mystery away from the Alien but it did pose some questions that were intriguing and I cannot wait to see the sequel to it.
 
Alien all the way. I’m a horror fan; Alien is an absolute genre classic. Unlike most horror, this monster is actually scary. It’s also the type of sci-fi I’m into. I’m not a big fan of the glossy Star Trek/Star Wars style of sci-fi; I prefer mine a bit grittier, a little less optimistic.

Aliens is a great movie. It moved away from the horror and went action. But it worked. The addition of the Queen and the Facehuggers was brilliant. Agreed on the extended version, it gives Ripley an added depth and makes her deep relationship with Newt all the more understandable. Another classic.

I’m a big fan of Alien 3. Ignoring all the production and creative issues (and I really dislike the updated directors cut of this one), for me, they made a great movie. Again, it goes back to horror, but it plunges to greater depths. Just the concept of throwing Ripley into an all-male prison, full of rapists and murderers is horrific enough, but then she has to deal with her own mortality. Plus there’s tons of gore, always a plus! Not at the same level as Alien or Aliens, but still very good.

I had absolutely no fun watching Alien Resurrection what-so-ever. It’s such a shame that they decided to come up with some horrendous story, just to squeeze Ripley back into the mix. This could’ve been so much better.

Prometheus is a great looking film. The biggest problem I have with it, is its connection to Alien (or lack thereof). It’s such a disappointment. In fact, it really annoys me. Clearly, this is a prequel to Alien, which sort-of leads directly into Alien, except it doesn’t at all, yet everything is set up to be very similar to the opening of Alien, but not, so it’s just a coincidence that everything is the same, yet completely different. Know what I mean? I’d love somebody to explain the connection this film has to Alien. Or is it not supposed to be anything to do with Alien? So, the alien at the end of the movie isn’t the first ever Xenomorph? Or is it? Perhaps the engineer seen Alien went and collected the first ever Xenomorph and then crash landed on LV-426 (setting up Alien). Maybe they’ll explain that in Prometheus 2? I really wish they’d have just made a straight forward prequel to Alien, one that made sense. The producers of Prometheus said that nobody wants sequels, prequels or remakes, but then we complain when they try to make something original. The trouble is, Prometheus is none of those things…. I’m really not a fan of this wonderful looking film. Shame really….

So, basically, discounting Prometheus from the list, my preference is as follows:

Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Alien Resurrection

(And Prometheus would probably still be at the bottom of this list anyway.)

Phew!
 
Introducing the Queen was brilliant for sure because it established more of a life cycle for the creature.

You bring up some good points about Alien 3. I guess when you judge the film on it's own merits Alien 3 is a pretty decent movie.

I definitely think that when they wanted to do another Alien film after the third, that's when it would have been wise to take Ripley out of the franchise and have new characters. The only other two options besides that would have been a prequel or not another film at all.

Originally the elements in Prometheus that linked it to Alien in the finished product weren't included but were added later.

I have a theory that the Alien we see in the original has human DNA in it passed down from that Xenomorph in Prometheus. By the time of the events in Alien the creature has gone through a number of changes. So I think the creature at the end of Prometheus is the first Xenomorph.
 
Depending on the day my favorite is either the first or Resurrection (minority opinion, I am aware).

The third had some good ideas, certainly, but was such a mess that nothing ever came together. Definitely my least favorite of the bunch. I don't like the second as much as everyone else in the world, for pretty much the same reasons that people like it. I'm not all that into action/military films. I still enjoy the movie, I just don't love it as much as everyone else.

I do love horror films, however, so loving the first is almost a given. Part of the reason why I love Ridley Scott as much as I do (add in Blade Runner and Legend, he'd definitely be one of my favorite directors even if he never made another film).

So why do I love Resurrection so much? Even the creators don't like it: Jeunet thinks it's too much a Whedon film, and Whedon thinks it's too much a Jeunet film. As a huge fan of both, I think it's a good blend of their styles, so maybe they're right. In retrospect, it's fun watching the proto-Firefly crew...obviously Whedon was developing the idea back then (and it's possible that I liked Firefly so much because of how much I liked Resurrection). But what I like most about the film is Ripley's character arc...her grappling with her identity and making a choice to be human or a monster. Oh, and the scene where she finds the room of other clones is one of my favorite emotionally intense scenes in the series!

But, yeah, miniority opinion. Fun movies all around!
 
JoshL said:
what I like most about the film is Ripley's character arc...her grappling with her identity and making a choice to be human or a monster. Oh, and the scene where she finds the room of other clones is one of my favorite emotionally intense scenes in the series!
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One of the best scenes, until she finishes torching the room and Ron Perlman says, "It must be a chick thing." There were some lines like that which really pissed me off the first time I watched it.. :bang: Since then, I have grown to appreciate it over the years. It is certainly entertaining and it gets better as you get used to the style of it.

This opening shot in the director's cut, does a better job of setting the tone (Whedon's off the wall humor and style)!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwCWzGje8Ds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwCWzGje8Ds
 
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I didn't care too much for 3 or the later films. Although I love the first two. It's really a toss up between the film. It's hard to compare an action film to a horror film :)

Aliens is much more accessible of a film, and easier to watch. Alien is a slow, unwinding, horror-thriller. Although if I'd had to choose 1... Alien.
 
PhantomScreenwriter said:
Originally the elements in Prometheus that linked it to Alien in the finished product weren't included but were added later.
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The original script, ALIEN: ENGINEERS, was a full on ALIEN prequel, with aliens and chestbursters. The planetoid they land on was "originally" the same LV 426 as in the original film. Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof used that script (written by John Spaihts), but removed much of the alien stuff. Interesting article, HERE.
 
Josh and I are very much of like mind on this. I could just about copy and paste his post to stand in for mine. You rock, Josh. ;)

Hey, possible SPOILERS BELOW.

I think I ought to put the original Alien at the top because it's the Mother of them all. Because it probably made the first and most indelible impression...on me and clearly on many. And it's pretty much pitch perfect. And it's the rare horror film that does not rely on its characters' stupidity to move forward. Well, for the most part...there's that one sequence...oh well, no film's perfect.

But the one I actually like the most lately, that is, the one I at least enjoy the most lately is Resurrection. Joss Whedon. The proto- Firefly/Serenity thing. All the interesting characters and character actors --outstanding. For example, Dan Hedaya as Gen. Martin Perez...f-----g brilliant. Well, there's not much point in ticking them off. I love most of them and their performances.

That fantastic Whedon dialogue...just love it. For example, when Ryder goes to Ripley's holding cell to assassinate her, and Call asks Ripley if she'd like Call to end her pain. Then, moments later, when the tables are turned, Ripley asks the same thing of Call. Just love that. But it's not even just the dialogue. It's the way it's done --the acting, the interaction, all of it.

I love, love, love Weaver's Ripley in this. I love her performance, as Josh so well described it. I love how she plays the human-alien hybrid. I love how alien-badass she is, how she can easily kick those big bad mercenaries' and soldiers' asses, yet how she retains Ripley's intelligence and humanity. When you think about it, despite being part alien and a bit scary, she's motherly all through the film. And that's rather nice.

And I really like Ryder's Call and the sort of fleeting(?) mother-daughter relationship she and Ripley forge through the course of the film.

Another one I particularly like is Michael Wincott as Frank Elgyn.

And the others.

The scene when they find the earlier, failed hybrids is actually, probably my least favorite of the film. But I understand its importance. And I love Perlman's, "It must be a chick thing," line.

It seems to me that Resurrection trys to be a horror film, a monster movie, of course, and an action film, and succeeds fairly well at all of them.

I can hardly believe I'm not inclined to put Aliens at the top of the list. Years ago I thought it was the cat's meow, just incredible. It still is. I think I loved it so much and watched it so much that it just feels a litte stale for me now. But it is still an amazing show.

Alien 3 is a mess, like Josh said. Still has some good qualities, for sure. But meh. I can tell you where it soundly lost me from the first viewing on. It just drives me up a wall that Ripley doesn't confide in the doctor. I just can't abide or forgive that. In fact, whatever the warden guy says, she should try to inform as many people as possible. But in any case, at the very least, the doctor. That's a fatal flaw in the film...in addition to the other problems.

Prometheus I want to love. But so far I don't really. I very much appreciate it though. It's such a beatifully crafted film. Except maybe in the story department? I don't know. As finely crafted as it is, it's as though it's missing some mystery ingredient...a spice, a herb, a spark...

Thinking about that today, it occurred to me that maybe there's really no save the cat moment in it. Maybe, there's really not anyone for us to root for. I'm not thrilled with Blake Snyder's formula. But let's face it, we really do need some hero to root for...in most films, at least. So, I guess the Captain and his pilots do "save a cat" by sacrificing themselves in taking down the Engineer ship before it can make it to Earth. But that comes at the end of the film, and then they're dead. Oh. Hmmm.

Then again, there isn't really any cat saving in the first Alien film, is there? But we still root for the good guys in that one. It's still a brilliant film.

But Godbless them for giving us a still fairly awesome scifi film for adults.

So, Box Offic Mojo says that it's production budget was 130 million. So does that mean we have to guess what its real budget was with its marketing budget added to that? Does that mean something like we double it? And its worldwide gross was 403+ million. Is that enough that they'll be allowed to make a sequel? I sure hope so because I have a feeling that they could really hit a sequel out of the ballpark. I'd really like that.

I think that Prometheus, more so than the other Alien films, is an adventure tale. Yes, true to its origins, it's also horror and action. But it wants to be an adventure tale. And that's what I'm hoping for from a sequel. I hope Scott and his writers really take us on a scifi adventure in the next film or films. That could be really cool. After all, Shaw and David are flying off, boldly going where no humans (well, none of our kind of humans, anyway) have gone before, presumably, to take on the Engineers, maybe kick some ass. Who knows?

So:

Alien: Resurrection
Alien
Aliens
Prometheus
Alien 3
 
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To answer the original question, my favorite Alien movie is Alien. Though Aliens is great fun, and both Alien3 and Resurrection are severely underrated, Alien just oozes so much suspense that I simply can't overlook it.

That being said, another reason I choose Alien is because I agree with madhatter -- Prometheus does not belong on this list, and for me is disqualified from consideration. Cuz if I was considering Prometheus, that one is my favorite.

Yeah, it's technically a prequel, but that part of it seems like no more than an afterthought. It is thematically so different from the rest of the series that it really deserves to just be considered its own thing.

Hatter -- I don't wanna get into a debate about how awesome this movie is, cuz we already did that in another thread. But I will answer your questions about the genetics and stuff.

So, as far as evolution is concerned, this movie is full-blown science-FICTION. In this movie, we are to believe that the "architects" are designers of DNA, and they design it in such a way so that they can create single-cell organisms that will someday evolve into a human likeness similar to their own.

They also designed the DNA for the xenomorphs, which we learn are basically biological weapons. And if the sole purpose of the xenomorphs is to obliterate a human (or human-like) population, then it might make sense for the architects to design them in a way that allow for rapid evolution.

In real-life science, it's fucking bullshit. But in movie-science, hey, it allows for an interesting story, so whatever. :P
 
It's just dawned on me that nobody here has even mentioned AvP and AvP:R.... Says something about the value we all place on those films....



CRACKER: I don't question the genetics; I can happily believe that the creature at the end of Prometheus could eveolve into the Xenomorph. What I do question is the logic of the story and how it sets up (or, more precisely, completely ignores the facts established in) Alien. Also, you have to take into account that the Xenomorph itself wasn't engineered, it was born accidentally. I find it almost impossible to believe that the engineers created the black-liquid (which is the weapon, not the Xenomorph), not only to kill their enemies, but to also infect a human with some form of disease, that could cause a female sexual partner to gestate a "squid", which would then be able to impregnate an engineer with a Xenomorph (which would then have its own entirely new reproductive cycle). It's all just too far fetched for my liking. Even in the relms of science fiction, that's just nonsensical.

I'd love to believe that the alien shown is actually the very Queen that laid the eggs seen in Alien. Had Prometheus taken place on LV426, and had the engineer died while sat in his control chair, everything would've been set up nicely for Alien. But it didn't.

If Prometheus was its own stand-alone movie it might have been great, but I find it just too difficult to disconnect itfrom Alien.
 
richy said:
Prometheus I want to love. But so far I don't really. I very much appreciate it though. It's such a beatifully crafted film. Except maybe in the story department? I don't know. As finely crafted as it is, it's as though it's missing some mystery ingredient...a spice, a herb, a spark...
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Yes. Prometheus was weak in story. It's almost like they finished the sets and costumes then decided to write a script :no:
 
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