Movie Marathon: The Alien Movies

1. Alien - This is a rare 5 star movie. It's a masterpiece, and surprisingly, I didn't always feel this way. But this is one of those times, when I'm more objective in my rating, because even though I think it's a 5 star movie, I probably wouldn't list it in my favorite films, some of which I've rated lower (like Ocean's Eleven is rated 4.5 stars, for me, but I personally LOVE IT). That's not to say that I don't love this movie, because I do, because technically speaking - it's perfect. I used to have it rated 3.5 stars, but now that I've reevaluated it, I just can't deny that it should be 5 stars. And it really hasn't been topped, as far as alien movies go. It just starts off so strong, too - straight from the amazing title card to the first scene that shows the audience the layout of the ship. Just the design of the alien, the build-up of suspense, the iconic burst through the stomach, the android that is so perfectly human-like, etc. It's so faaaar ahead of its time - with one of the strongest & boldest female characters ever to grace the screen. Plus the two women and black characters out-survive their white male counterparts!! Sigourney Weaver just crushes this role too - and she's so sexy. I feel like she made white bikini style underwear, like, the hottest thing a woman can wear. It's sexier than lingerie (I said what I said). She just became such an icon and a blueprint for so many future female characters. 

2. Aliens - I know that there is a huge fanbase that thinks this sequel is better than the original, but there's just no way! There's a lot I like about it, for sure. I like that it switches up the genre, that the story feels like an organic evolution of the original and of Ripley's future, Bill Paxton was the fucking BEST, it's more quotable ("Game over, man. Game over." and "They mostly come out at night...mostly." are BACK TO BACK DIALOGUE!!), and this mother/daughter relationship that is formed between Ripley and Newt gives the story more heart (sidenote: the girl who plays Newt is such a strong little actress, I'm surprised that she didn't continue acting, but apparently she quit acting and became a school teacher!). But, I also think it's kind of stupid how everyone thinks it's a big fucking joke when people literally died and others might be dead. And she doesn't instantly assume that there's another "Ash" (an android)? That's just stupid! There aren't any real big shocks or reveals that I didn't already feel coming. It's still really, really good; just not a masterpiece like its predecessor. 

3. Alien 3 - There's a lot of hate for this third entry into the franchise, for good reason. I've only watched it once before (as a trilogy - sometime in the late 90s, when I was in high school, I watched Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 each for the first time all at once as a marathon), and I remember being SO angry at this one. It's just insane that they start the story by killing off Newt, after Ripley worked so hard to protect her. It sort of negates the whole point of Aliens, and it changes Ripley into an unrecognizable character. The whole story becomes about her giving up and wanting to die. How did they think that was something an audience would want to see? It's also very ugly and yellow, but not a lot of people want to admit that because they are up Fincher's ass. Not everything he does is gold - in fact, he has more mediocre films than good ones (fight me!). After this rewatch, though, I didn't hate it as much as I did the first time. On its own, it's still an entertaining film, with a great cast, and some cool sci-fi designs. It's just a hard fall from the first two. 

4. Alien: Resurrection - And speaking of falls, this one goes right off of a cliff! This is actually, I think, my first watch of this. I vaguely remember Winona Ryder, and some scenes seemed familiar, but I think it's because I caught it on tv a few times, but only watched snippets (I'M OLD! This is a thing we used to do! We would turn on the tv and just watch whatever was on! Crazy times). And speaking of Ryder, she is awful in this. I don't always think she's a great actress, but I love her anyway (although I think it's just a product of being miscast a lot. She's great in a handful of things). It's also weird that she has acted with both actors who played Hellboy. What a coinkydink! The dialogue is even worse, though ("who do I have to fuck to get off this boat?" Actual line from this movie). It's just all around disappointing, but I can't give it less than 2.5 stars just because it's still a good sci-fi story. The entire franchise is solid as a whole, with ups and downs but never falls into actually a bad film (if that makes sense). 

5. Prometheus - I am far from a Prometheus hater. In fact, I love it. My third favorite in the franchise (should I start ranking with these posts? I didn't think of that before, because I typically hate ranking things. It causes me a lot of anxiety and stress. But for kicks, this would be: Alien, Aliens, Prometheus, Covenant, Alien 3, Resurrection). I was super excited to watch this again because I've only seen it once (you can read my thoughts on it here: https://michelle-alwaysacritic.blogspot.com/2012/06/3-thoughts-on-prometheus.html - I can't believe I've been writing aimlessly on this blog for that long!). It has some flaws, for sure, but I love the overall message and the world-building. Also, I watched Prometheus, originally, without having a strong memory of the Alien franchise, but after watching them all together so closely, I think this is even stronger as an entry and sort of reboot, if you will. I feel very similarly about the film, as I originally did, so I don't want to repeat myself. But one thing that I only touched on in my initial assessment is the cast - just absolutely perfect casting. First, with Michael Fassbender as the new version of Ash (now David), but also with super believable bad-ass women - Charlize Theron & Noomi Rapace. Plus, Trey Atwood (always and forever), Idris Elba and Guy Pearce! I think it's biggest flaw is not utilizing the rest of these actors in an interesting way. That, and the pace of the film is waaaaay off. There's only one really intense scene, but on a rewatch it's actually a little laughable (the robot surgery machine scene - the way it grabs at her like it's one of those arcade games where you win stuffed animals made me giggle). So, sadly, I actually did downgrade my original 4 star rating. I still really love the idea behind it, but the flaws become more apparent on a rewatch and it was actually a bit dull to sit through. 

6. Alien: Covenant - I liked this originally. It's got a lot of the same flaws as Prometheus, but I rated it 3 stars (original thoughts here: https://michelle-alwaysacritic.blogspot.com/2017/08/thoughts-on-5-films.html), and I still think it's a solid 3 star movie. Fassbender continues this role flawlessly here - even playing two versions of the same character (it's really brilliant, and probably the biggest reason to see this movie). Everyone else is really dull, even though I like the actors. The dialogue is *cringy* ("I'll do the fingering". LOL THEY HAD TO KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING WITH THAT LINE). I think the pace is slightly better than Prometheus, though, and it has some genuinely intense scenes that are closer to the rest of the Alien franchise. I just think it catered a little too much to the criticism of Prometheus, instead of continuing the theories presented, they tried to answer too much and cover so-called plot-holes that didn't even exist in the first place (even going back to the Alien bit in the title feels like fan-service to me). Overall though, what a franchise! Just incredible. I look forward to the next chapter.