logo Sign In

Ranking the Alien films — Page 4

Author
Time

Lord Haseo said:

TV’s Frink said:

Lord Haseo said:

Aliens (Special Edition)
Alien (Theatrical Cut)
Alien Covenant
Prometheus

You’ve never seen 3 or 4?

No I have not and I take pride in that. Even though I’ll probably never watch it how do you feel the Assembly Cut? Just curious.

The theatrical is mostly better. You should check out Resurrection, that’s awesome.

Not enough people read the EU.

Author
Time

LuckyGungan2001 said:

Lord Haseo said:

TV’s Frink said:

Lord Haseo said:

Aliens (Special Edition)
Alien (Theatrical Cut)
Alien Covenant
Prometheus

You’ve never seen 3 or 4?

No I have not and I take pride in that. Even though I’ll probably never watch it how do you feel the Assembly Cut? Just curious.

The theatrical is mostly better. You should check out Resurrection, that’s awesome.

I’m not sure I can endorse either of these statements.

Author
Time

Alien A
Aliens A
Alien: Covenant B
Prometheus B-
Alien 3 B-
Alien: Resurrection C
Alien vs. Predator C-
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem D+

Author
Time
  1. Alien - probably the truest film in a franchise of movies.
  2. Aliens - There’s a lot I love about the movie, but I think it set the tone for the schlock that would follow. I don’t know if I cared for them making Ripley a badass. While I like the character, I feel like the series relied on her too much. The original film was such a treat, because they felt like anybody you could meet on the street. I’ve worked with people the Nostromo crew. For once we had the equivalent of working class people in space. Harry Dean Stanton could’ve just walked out of a filling station. Tom Skerritt looked like he’d fit in hanging off a garbage truck. It was a new thing for a science fiction film.
  3. Promethus - I don’t see what was so bad about the film. Sure, it wasn’t really as clever as it pretended to be, but it was masterfully crafted and still quite enjoyable.
  4. Alien 3 - Meh, it had moments…A lot that sucked.
  5. Alien VS. Predator - garbage film, but considering I was a teenaged boy when it came out, it was fun at the time.
  6. Alien Ressurection - I haven’t seen it in 20 years, but I remember enjoying it enough. I remember liking the visuals.
  7. AVP Requiem - Yeah, I saw it…I remember not liking it. I don’t remember much else beside the face raping.

"The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won’t last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version [of the Special Edition], and you’ll be able to project it on a 20’ by 40’ screen with perfect quality. I think it’s the director’s prerogative, not the studio’s to go back and reinvent a movie." - George Lucas

<span> </span>

Author
Time

Left the cinema after viewing promiscuous with the same feeling when we viewed the phantom menace.

As for Alien3 it wasn’t portrayed as originaly scripted, yet I feel the cut down directors cut was okay.

Author
Time

LuckyGungan2001 said:

Lord Haseo said:

TV’s Frink said:

Lord Haseo said:

Aliens (Special Edition)
Alien (Theatrical Cut)
Alien Covenant
Prometheus

You’ve never seen 3 or 4?

No I have not and I take pride in that. Even though I’ll probably never watch it how do you feel the Assembly Cut? Just curious.

The theatrical is mostly better. You should check out Resurrection, that’s awesome.

Either way if I do end up watching Alien 3 it will certainly be a fanedit of it. As for Resurrection the prospect of a horny clone of Ripley (ironically) turns me off to the film.

Author
Time

Lord Haseo said:

As for Resurrection the prospect of a horny clone of Ripley (ironically) turns me off to the film.

Man, I guess I don’t remember the film that well.

Author
Time
  1. Alien
  2. Aliens
  3. Alien 3
  4. Alien: Covenant
  5. Alien: Resurrection
  6. Prometheus
  7. Alien v. Predator

(Haven’t seen Requiem yet.)

Author
Time

I saw the Alien franchise for the first time about a couple months ago. I have not seen Resurrection (more like a few scenes to know I don’t care to see it) nor the AvP one’s. Prometheus, I saw parts of this film before seeing Alien/s/3 but it has been awhile so I don’t really know how to judge Prometheus until I actually watch it from beginning to end.
That said:

  1. Alien 9/10
    This film really surprised me. Prior to viewing, I had this mindset and expectation that Alien was only liked because it had a cool looking alien and had the appeal of a horror story set in space with cheesiness and bad so-so characters. Instead, I was blown away how timeless it looked for a film in 1979. Other than the dated computers, everything looks really nice and believable. So on visual terms, it works. Character and story wise, it is done justice. How the characters interact just flows so well and sets up tension through their little disputes. The story is a nice thriller with bits of mystery and imagination left to the viewer. It never bores me. Instant and well-deserved classic.

  2. Alien³ 6.5/10
    After coming off Aliens, which I’ll get into later, I was glad it was closer to Alien in terms of tone and atmosphere. The crazy thing is that I was more interested in these characters, especially Charles Dance’s character, but damn, I don’t think they gave him the justice he deserved. While Aliens was excessive in bringing in new characters, not that Alien³ didn’t too, this film was too excessive in respect to killing off characters. Like okay, you’re going to off a couple of characters from Aliens so that you can work off a ‘clean slate’, but then you’re going to add insult to injury and kill off one of your own interesting new character. I get thematically, this film has that theme about “Death”, but it doesn’t work well if it’s used in excess, in respect to what I described earlier. There’s list of other issues, obviously the horrible puppet work on the alien comes to mind, but overall, I liked most the dialogue and most of the characters here. If I had to watch a sequel in this franchise, this would be it.

  3. Aliens 5/10
    Very underwhelmed with the product given here. As soon as the space Marines are on-camera, that’s when I started to think… something’s off here. Unlike Alien, this film looks and feels dated in all the bad ways. One-liner comedy and guns a blazing. Some say the effects really hold up, and while Alien had a few minor effects that didn’t age well, Aliens overall look and feel doesn’t hold up for me. One scene that comes to mind is when one of the drop ships crashes, and it’s like, I can tell it’s a background projected behind the actors. It’s not horrendous, and definitely not on the levels of Alien³ puppetry, but considering how well crafted and solid the first film was, this was a let down. Aliens is also a huge disappointment to me because it really feels like a blatant remake or retread of the previous film. Alien³ is not innocent either, but I’ll give it props for being a lot more creative than the shoot everything that moves route as well as how bland the story unfolds beat for beat from the first film. If a sequel to Alien had to be done, which inherently, I didn’t really think Alien needed a sequel, but if it had to happen, I think it should ideally flesh out and explore Weyland’s motive behind wanting the “Perfect Organism” so bad. Obviously, they want to use it as a weapon, but against who or what? How did they hope to use it? Alongside this narrative would have Ripley trying to sabotage and taking the fight to Weyland. Sadly, Aliens and Alien³ aren’t that impressive to me since each sequel more or less copies the story of Alien and less so of expanding the story.

From the little I know of Prometheus, and knowing how Ridley Scott wants to create five or six damn prequel movies, I can’t say I’m thrilled about that either. Alien itself was a solid film and everything else feels derivative.

The Rise of Failures

Author
Time

Lord Haseo said:

TV’s Frink said:

Lord Haseo said:

Aliens (Special Edition)
Alien (Theatrical Cut)
Alien Covenant
Prometheus

You’ve never seen 3 or 4?

No I have not and I take pride in that. Even though I’ll probably never watch it how do you feel the Assembly Cut? Just curious.

That version changes many things for the worse. How it got the reputation of being better than the theatrical has baffled me since I first watched it. Most of the changes are small, inconsequential, and help nothing. But some bigger changes flat out make the film worse.

Ray’s Lounge
Biggs in ANH edit idea
ROTJ opening edit idea

Author
Time

Here’s my serious question: all of the Alien films (except Prometheus, somehow) have alternate versions. Are any of them actually better?

People hate on the Alien Director’s Cut a lot, which I think is pretty damn silly. I don’t think I would say it is better or even as good as the theatrical, but the difference between the two is so minimal that I don’t know how anyone could have such a strong opinion on it either way.

The Aliens Special Edition is an interesting watch, but the pacing is just dreadful in comparison to the theatrical. The scene about Ripley’s daughter is just about the only good addition.

For whatever reason I’ve never seen the Alien 3 Assembly Cut. Something tells me adding a whole half hour is not quite what that movie needed.

I’ve also never seen the Alien: Resurrection Special Edition because I guess I just don’t care. I can’t imagine it’d change my view of the film much.

I think I’ve seen the unrated cuts of both of the AVP movies, but I can’t be 100% certain because the changes were so slight and forgettable. I’m inclined to say that they were both improvements, but only very barely.

As for fan edits, I haven’t seen almost anything. I’d be curious to hear if people have seen any good ones.

Author
Time
  1. Alien: a perfect blend of sci-if, thriller, and horror. I could write an entire dissertation extolling the merits of this film, but suffice to say, it’s a contemporary masterpiece in every sense.

  2. Aliens: while imitative of the original in some ways, this film at least shifts the genre from thriller to action, and in so doing establishes itself as unique. I also appreciate how this film creates a plausible reason for our protagonist to be thrust back into the action (something that plagues most sequels).

After that, it’s a four-way tie for last. Alien 3 was simply depressing, Alien Resurrection was a cartoon, and Prometheus and Covenant suffer from the same problems that plague the Star Wars prequels: aesthetically they do not match up with the preceding films, and narratively they’re unnecessary and uninteresting.

In many ways, it’s like watching a zombie flick; knowing how the infection got started isn’t nearly half as interesting as seeing how people cope with the outbreak. That’s pretty much the case with the Alien prequels — I don’t really need or even want to know how the xenomorphs came into existence, I just want to see how people deal with them.

“It’s a lot of fun… it’s a lot of fun to watch Star Wars.” – Bill Moyers

Author
Time

In my mind you can’t really take Prometheus/Covenant as “Alien” films. They very clearly don’t fit in that way. They’re basically their own series that’s simply set in the Alien universe (i.e. look at Guardians Vol. 2 vs. last year’s Cap: Civil War - ostensibly the same franchise but wholly different in so many ways). In my mind the intrigue isn’t the prequel/how the aliens came to be element, that’s really nothing more than an inconsequential connective tissue that ties the two series together. Rather the Prometheus/Covenant films are far more interested in philosophical and thematic ideas that don’t have a whole lot to do with the Alien films proper. Honestly, at the core of these films, I think they share far more with Blade Runner, despite their Alien packaging.

Author
Time

DominicCobb said:

Here’s my serious question: all of the Alien films (except Prometheus, somehow) have alternate versions. Are any of them actually better?

People hate on the Alien Director’s Cut a lot, which I think is pretty damn silly. I don’t think I would say it is better or even as good as the theatrical, but the difference between the two is so minimal that I don’t know how anyone could have such a strong opinion on it either way.

The Aliens Special Edition is an interesting watch, but the pacing is just dreadful in comparison to the theatrical. The scene about Ripley’s daughter is just about the only good addition.

For whatever reason I’ve never seen the Alien 3 Assembly Cut. Something tells me adding a whole half hour is not quite what that movie needed.

I’ve also never seen the Alien: Resurrection Special Edition because I guess I just don’t care. I can’t imagine it’d change my view of the film much.

I think I’ve seen the unrated cuts of both of the AVP movies, but I can’t be 100% certain because the changes were so slight and forgettable. I’m inclined to say that they were both improvements, but only very barely.

As for fan edits, I haven’t seen almost anything. I’d be curious to hear if people have seen any good ones.

Alien DC - the only scene from the added stuff I like is just the one at the end where we find out what happened with the crew. The rest of the differences are so minor they’re not worth mentioning.

Aliens DC - actually I really prefer this one. I also love its pacing, and added character / relation development.

Alien^3 assembly cut - I hated the theatrical version, I really liked the assembly cut(I am using the word “liked” and not “loved” quite intentionally. Characters are more interesting, some of the plot holes are corrected, and has overall a much better atmosphere. I also prefer this ending over the theatrical one.

Alien Resurrection - were there any changes except a different opening, a different ending and a couple of bits of restored dialogue? Those are the only things I remember and I can’t say I like this alternate ending. I would say both versions are pretty bad.

I haven’t seen anything else yet (except Prometheus)

Author
Time
 (Edited)
  1. Aliens 5/10
    Very underwhelmed with the product given here. As soon as the space Marines are on-camera, that’s when I started to think… something’s off here. Unlike Alien, this film looks and feels dated in all the bad ways. One-liner comedy and guns a blazing. Some say the effects really hold up, and while Alien had a few minor effects that didn’t age well, Aliens overall look and feel doesn’t hold up for me. One scene that comes to mind is when one of the drop ships crashes, and it’s like, I can tell it’s a background projected behind the actors.

Way to go noob.

Author
Time

Darth Solo said:

TavorX said:

I saw the Alien franchise for the first time about a couple months ago. I have not seen Resurrection (more like a few scenes to know I don’t care to see it) nor the AvP one’s. Prometheus, I saw parts of this film before seeing Alien/s/3 but it has been awhile so I don’t really know how to judge Prometheus until I actually watch it from beginning to end.
That said:

  1. Alien 9/10
    This film really surprised me. Prior to viewing, I had this mindset and expectation that Alien was only liked because it had a cool looking alien and had the appeal of a horror story set in space with cheesiness and bad so-so characters. Instead, I was blown away how timeless it looked for a film in 1979. Other than the dated computers, everything looks really nice and believable. So on visual terms, it works. Character and story wise, it is done justice. How the characters interact just flows so well and sets up tension through their little disputes. The story is a nice thriller with bits of mystery and imagination left to the viewer. It never bores me. Instant and well-deserved classic.

  2. Alien³ 6.5/10
    After coming off Aliens, which I’ll get into later, I was glad it was closer to Alien in terms of tone and atmosphere. The crazy thing is that I was more interested in these characters, especially Charles Dance’s character, but damn, I don’t think they gave him the justice he deserved. While Aliens was excessive in bringing in new characters, not that Alien³ didn’t too, this film was too excessive in respect to killing off characters. Like okay, you’re going to off a couple of characters from Aliens so that you can work off a ‘clean slate’, but then you’re going to add insult to injury and kill off one of your own interesting new character. I get thematically, this film has that theme about “Death”, but it doesn’t work well if it’s used in excess, in respect to what I described earlier. There’s list of other issues, obviously the horrible puppet work on the alien comes to mind, but overall, I liked most the dialogue and most of the characters here. If I had to watch a sequel in this franchise, this would be it.

  3. Aliens 5/10
    Very underwhelmed with the product given here. As soon as the space Marines are on-camera, that’s when I started to think… something’s off here. Unlike Alien, this film looks and feels dated in all the bad ways. One-liner comedy and guns a blazing. Some say the effects really hold up, and while Alien had a few minor effects that didn’t age well, Aliens overall look and feel doesn’t hold up for me. One scene that comes to mind is when one of the drop ships crashes, and it’s like, I can tell it’s a background projected behind the actors.

Way to go noob.

Thanks.

The Rise of Failures

Author
Time

DominicCobb said:

In my mind you can’t really take Prometheus/Covenant as “Alien” films. They very clearly don’t fit in that way. They’re basically their own series that’s simply set in the Alien universe … the Prometheus/Covenant films are far more interested in philosophical and thematic ideas that don’t have a whole lot to do with the Alien films proper. Honestly, at the core of these films, I think they share far more with Blade Runner, despite their Alien packaging.

I agree with you, and therein lies the problem: if Scott wanted to explore the philosophical issues surrounding biological vs. synthetic life and the desire for creation, he should have made a Blade Runner film, not an Alien film. This guy was spot on in his assessment:

From http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alien-covenant-is-actually-a-blade-runner-sequel-disguise-1005606

Here, and throughout Covenant, the film is less reminiscent of Alien than it is of Blade Runner.

Fassbender is the best part of Covenant, while also representing its worst impulse, which is to be an Alien movie in name only.

by making Covenant about David, it suggests that Scott’s interests lie well beyond the Xenomorphs.

If anything, watching Fassbender in Covenant suggests that maybe Ridley Scott would have been better served to direct a sequel to Blade Runner as opposed to just producing the upcoming Blade Runner 2049.

As for the exposition surrounding the xenomorphs in Prometheus and Covenant, this same writer mirrors my thoughts exactly. From http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alien-covenant-alien-prequel-explains-plot-more-original-1005631

with Covenant in theaters, it’s worth discussing one of many reasons why the original Alien succeeds, because it’s a big reason why (for me at least) Covenant doesn’t: it embraces the mystery of the situation instead of explaining everything.

Yes, Covenant provides answers; however, the answers it provides are unsatisfying, in no small part because the best Alien movies don’t hinge on answering questions. These movies are at their best when providing intense thrills.

The best thing that Scott could’ve done was make Prometheus, with one notable exception: not turn it into an Alien prequel. Fassbender is easily the best performer in that film as well as in Covenant, but his story would be more captivating if it wasn’t tied to the Alien mythology. The mythology of Alien is so fascinating because it’s shrouded in mystery

“It’s a lot of fun… it’s a lot of fun to watch Star Wars.” – Bill Moyers

Author
Time
 (Edited)

DominicCobb said:

Here’s my serious question: all of the Alien films (except Prometheus, somehow) have alternate versions. Are any of them actually better?

No.

People hate on the Alien Director’s Cut a lot, which I think is pretty damn silly. I don’t think I would say it is better or even as good as the theatrical, but the difference between the two is so minimal that I don’t know how anyone could have such a strong opinion on it either way.

The cocoon scene breaks the tension and pacing at the end. Stops the film dead in it’s tracks and it just can’t recover after that.

As for fan edits, I haven’t seen almost anything. I’d be curious to hear if people have seen any good ones.

I’ve made on for Aliens that I prefer. Its pretty much the theatrical with the flamethrower/gun continuity fix and I also use the SE’s LV426 scene, but it’s heavily altered and much shorter (No family going to the old spaceship, just the guys talking in the corridors). Lots of little edits throughout.
I might put it online sometime, but I’m so nervous to put my edits up. Not sure why…

Ray’s Lounge
Biggs in ANH edit idea
ROTJ opening edit idea

Author
Time

the Assembly cut of Alien 3 is much improved. The story makes sense. I would trim some of the dialogue away. Particularly the bits where Ripley almost breaks the forth wall by acknowledging she is in the final part of a three part story. And half the profanity can go to be honest. It might be accurate for that sort of environment but it fucking distracting 😄
Other than that its a good film with atmosphere and a plot that finally makes sense.

Author
Time

corellian77 said:

DominicCobb said:

In my mind you can’t really take Prometheus/Covenant as “Alien” films. They very clearly don’t fit in that way. They’re basically their own series that’s simply set in the Alien universe … the Prometheus/Covenant films are far more interested in philosophical and thematic ideas that don’t have a whole lot to do with the Alien films proper. Honestly, at the core of these films, I think they share far more with Blade Runner, despite their Alien packaging.

I agree with you, and therein lies the problem: if Scott wanted to explore the philosophical issues surrounding biological vs. synthetic life and the desire for creation, he should have made a Blade Runner film, not an Alien film. This guy was spot on in his assessment:

From http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alien-covenant-is-actually-a-blade-runner-sequel-disguise-1005606

Here, and throughout Covenant, the film is less reminiscent of Alien than it is of Blade Runner.

Fassbender is the best part of Covenant, while also representing its worst impulse, which is to be an Alien movie in name only.

by making Covenant about David, it suggests that Scott’s interests lie well beyond the Xenomorphs.

If anything, watching Fassbender in Covenant suggests that maybe Ridley Scott would have been better served to direct a sequel to Blade Runner as opposed to just producing the upcoming Blade Runner 2049.

I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. I quite like the direction he took with these movies (I think the simple “Jaws in space” premise has been played out at this point).

As for the exposition surrounding the xenomorphs in Prometheus and Covenant, this same writer mirrors my thoughts exactly. From http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alien-covenant-alien-prequel-explains-plot-more-original-1005631

with Covenant in theaters, it’s worth discussing one of many reasons why the original Alien succeeds, because it’s a big reason why (for me at least) Covenant doesn’t: it embraces the mystery of the situation instead of explaining everything.

Yes, Covenant provides answers; however, the answers it provides are unsatisfying, in no small part because the best Alien movies don’t hinge on answering questions. These movies are at their best when providing intense thrills.

The best thing that Scott could’ve done was make Prometheus, with one notable exception: not turn it into an Alien prequel. Fassbender is easily the best performer in that film as well as in Covenant, but his story would be more captivating if it wasn’t tied to the Alien mythology. The mythology of Alien is so fascinating because it’s shrouded in mystery

It’s funny that people complained about Prometheus not answering any questions and now Covenant answering too many questions. I don’t know what to say except I think there are definitely still unanswered questions, and that I don’t think that the goal of Covenant is to “explain everything.”

Author
Time

DominicCobb said:

I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. I quite like the direction he took with these movies (I think the simple “Jaws in space” premise has been played out at this point).

I agree, the premise has been played out, which is why perhaps the best thing to do following Aliens would have been to leave the franchise alone. As for the direction being taken with the last two installments, while I actually love thought-provoking science-fiction, I don’t believe this is really the franchise to be doing it with (at least, to the extent Scott is trying achieve). It’d be like going to an Italian restaurant and getting a burrito — while I love Mexican cuisine, I don’t particularly want it if I’m expecting a nice pasta dinner.

That being said (and at the risk of sounding contradictory), I do feel there is some philosophical depth to the original Alien film, which comes primarily through Ash’s monologue:

Ash: You still don’t understand what you’re dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.
Lambert: You admire it.
Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor…unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.

A brief, simple scene which succinctly addresses some of the film’s major themes. Is this thing really “evil” simply for following its natural instincts? Are we better than it or more deserving of survival simply because of our sense of morality? Similar to Predator, which asks us to consider the ethics of hunting if the tables were reversed, Alien asks us to consider our worthiness for survival in the face of a potentially superior force of nature. Unlike the Alien prequels, however, it doesn’t beat the audience over the head with it for the better part of the film’s running time.

I hope I’m not coming across as being combative. I’m not hating on you for liking a film I personally don’t. I’m just trying to explain where I’m coming from (maybe as much to myself as anyone).

“It’s a lot of fun… it’s a lot of fun to watch Star Wars.” – Bill Moyers

Author
Time
 (Edited)

ALIEN 5/5

Practically perfect.

ALIENS 5/5

Hell yeah.

ALIEN3 3/5

Assembly cut only. Doesn’t need to exist though.

ALIEN RESURRECTION 2/5

Hahahaha. No.

ALIEN VS PREDATOR 2/5

Remember when this was called Aliens Vs Predator? And was about futuristic shit and comics and space marines and it had arcade beat em ups and a bunch of other games with the exact same name for some reason? Apparently nobody got that memo.

PROMETHEUS 3/5

Eh.

Author
Time

My cents, in terms of different cuts of the Alien films:

Alien (1979) - Theatrical cut, hands down. Even Ridley Scott prefers it.

Aliens (1986) - Theatrical cut is better paced but is missing crucial scene of Ripley finding out about her daughter. Special Edition severely suffers in pacing because it throws in material that Fox cut for time, as well as additional deleted scenes. The Fox TV cut, which has some but not all special edition material (thankfully omitting the shake-and-bake colony scene), likely resembles the cut that Cameron originally wanted to release in 1986.

This cut can be assembled by playing with the seamless branching on the BD. Also, I believe a preservation of it might be coming eventually.

Alien 3 (1992) - Assembly Cut almost feels like a different movie from the theatrical cut with far more character beats and an intriguing subplot. Ideally, however, the perfect cut would resemble the workprint more (no mysterious egg on the Sulaco, theatrical crash, no basement scene, etc.).

Alien: Resurrection (1997) - Theatrical cut wins again. Special Edition is just an oddity created by the studio.

Prometheus (2012) - The theatrical cut is so deeply flawed that I prefer to watch fan edits of this one. Prometheus Unbound is the best iteration I’ve found of all the ones available, wonderfully tight with the characters of Vickers coming across as far less 2D. For a “Special Edition,” which throws in all available material, I would recommend Agent9’s Prometheus: Special Edition.

SPOILERS FOR FILM CURRENTLY IN THEATER

In terms of Alien Covenant, I figure an ideal cut would just remove the 3rd act Alien throwback stuff on the spaceship near the finale, and better edit the Walter/David fight so the “twist” wasn’t so obvious. Hopefully, there’ll be deleted footage to play with here.

Author
Time

corellian77 said:

DominicCobb said:

I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. I quite like the direction he took with these movies (I think the simple “Jaws in space” premise has been played out at this point).

I agree, the premise has been played out, which is why perhaps the best thing to do following Aliens would have been to leave the franchise alone. As for the direction being taken with the last two installments, while I actually love thought-provoking science-fiction, I don’t believe this is really the franchise to be doing it with (at least, to the extent Scott is trying achieve). It’d be like going to an Italian restaurant and getting a burrito — while I love Mexican cuisine, I don’t particularly want it if I’m expecting a nice pasta dinner.

That being said (and at the risk of sounding contradictory), I do feel there is some philosophical depth to the original Alien film, which comes primarily through Ash’s monologue:

Ash: You still don’t understand what you’re dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.
Lambert: You admire it.
Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor…unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.

A brief, simple scene which succinctly addresses some of the film’s major themes. Is this thing really “evil” simply for following its natural instincts? Are we better than it or more deserving of survival simply because of our sense of morality? Similar to Predator, which asks us to consider the ethics of hunting if the tables were reversed, Alien asks us to consider our worthiness for survival in the face of a potentially superior force of nature. Unlike the Alien prequels, however, it doesn’t beat the audience over the head with it for the better part of the film’s running time.

I hope I’m not coming across as being combative. I’m not hating on you for liking a film I personally don’t. I’m just trying to explain where I’m coming from (maybe as much to myself as anyone).

No worries. Opinions are always subjective. Alien of course has that philosophical element to it that (in my mind at least) makes it okay to see these new films explore in their own way. Personally I don’t see it as “hitting over the head,” more just making it the focus whereas in Alien it was just in the background. As always it comes down to personal preference. We seem to agree that the Alien series proper seems to have run its course, I just think that this is an interesting spin-off.