ALIEN: Which is the best? 

FYI my ranking as of now is: 8. AVP:R 7: Alien Resurrection 6. AVP 5. Prometheus 4. Alien Covenant 3. Alien 3 2. Aliens 1. Alien

Alien - Being circled by a great white in the deep ocean. Aliens - Being attacked by a large pack of wolves but you have an assault rifle.

The movement tracker is also one of the best sci-fi suspense devices ever made. It feeds so well into the scariness of the impending aliens.

Alien is Cosmic/Sexual Terror, Aliens is Action/Horror, Alien 3 is Existential/Religious Terror and Alien Resurrection is... well... ¿a black comedy?

0:12 The greatest delivery of this line in cinema history :)

"Get away from her YOU BITCH!" Best damn line.

I think Alien 3 is extremely underrated. To clarify talking about the directors cut where a lot of missing scenes are added back in

I find it impressive that the people making Alien 3 were able to steer the series back to its actual roots in horror as well as recapturing the thematic elements of the first one. As I see it, where Alien was a huge allegory for rape - Alien 3 is plainly an allegory for suicide where Ripley finally escapes her nightmare of a reality by putting her life in her own hands.

Alien: (1979), a work of genius, for its time. Unsurpassed.

My beef with Aliens is that the Xenomorph(s) have become unintelligent. They throw themselves to their deaths. It just doesn't Add up considering a single Xeno in the first film seemed to almost play chess with the crew and be one or two moves ahead of them. It's a great action film for sure, but just doesn't add up in the 'universe' started with the original.

Beyond the context of the Alien film series I'm not sure how much credit James Cameron truly deserves for somehow incorporating the action genre into the pre-existent sci-fi horror mold of the original film. I have never seen any sequel mix up the style of the first movie so significantly and still end up being successful. Imagine if Terminator 2 were somehow an excellent sci-fi horror rather than sci-fi action film (given the titular cybernetic assassin is sort of a serial killer like character already)....

Alien 3 Assembly Cut is so underrated. Ive been singing its praises for ages. It was more true to what Scott did with the first one than what Cameron did with Aliens. Plus David Fincher's visual style is beautiful to look at and very Ridley Scott-esque. Alien and Alien 3 are both tragic stories, they are stressful and gives you a sense of dreadfulness. Aliens is a great film, it was a fun action flick filled with great lines and fun moments but that's the problem right there... FUN. It's too fun for a horror movie, I lost the sense of fear and dire I got from the 1st movie. In a way Aliens was a great introduction for people who don't know what the franchise is. It's a comfortable way to introduce the Xenomorph because it's not as traumatizing as Alien and it's a fitting sequel to uplift the viewers from the bleakness and hopelessness of the first one. Alien is like a horrible event in human history and Aliens is like the tale you tell your children to let them know that everything is ok. Alien 3 Assembly Cut was a fitting end to the story for a franchise about the direness of cosmic horror. Alien Covenant is giving anxiety just from watching the preview just like the very 1st movie.

I think the 2003 cut of Alien is underrated - you get to hear the creepy distress signal, better character interaction with the slap after Ripley not letting the contaminated in, the alien hanging in the chains and the blood raining down, the disturbing cocoon sequence that shows them being dissolved in acid to become new eggs, and Ripley having to taken it upon herself to torch her crewmate as euthanasia. It's just an even more satisfying film for me.

Thing is with Alien 3, is that it is thematically the best... The first is the best example of horror, the second the best example of action, the third is the best example of thematic conceptual storytelling - and I really despair that people decry it for "being a mess" - with little other critique. Imagine that Ripley, Newt, Hicks and Bishop are the sole survivors of LV426; but they've brought a demon with them and it ultimately kills them and they crash into purgatory; the prison planet is full of the damned; those soles who comit brutal crimes and are seeking redemption; even the doctor who cannot forgive himself. The warden and 85 are both stuards of this place and are pretty undesirable souls also. Hicks and Newt are effectively innocent and go straight to the paradise (or whatever) and Bishop, despite being selfless, has no soul. Ripley is now cursed by her demon to rest in purgatory, until she faces it and kills it. The demon then runs amok and hunts down the souls of the damned and eventually, through finding their courage and their desires for selfless redemption, the prisoners defeat the demon though many are destroyed in the process (and likely destined for hell). Ripley, to defeat her demons, drags the new demon queen into the inferno and sacrifices herself also. Only Morse, the prisoner, is taken from purgatory with his soul intact. Now that's some pretty mindblowing stuff and is so much more high concept than the other two. The religious angle was written into the original script years before release/rewrites and that's what gives it it's final acclaim. It completes the arc and completes the trilogy perfectly - whilst not being a flawless movie its self. That is why I prefer Alien 3 to Alien, despite technically being a weaker movie, - the concept and delivery itself is just so powerful.

RIP Bill Paxton. Game over man, game over.

I will never forgive Alien 3 for sticking a egg on the Sullaco when it made no sense.

I need to sit down and watch Alien. Never quite done it but I did enjoy Aliens.

Very thoughtful review. I personally have always preferred the profoundly eerie science fiction world that Ridley Scott created in Alien. It is a masterpiece and no other science fiction film has ever matched it in the measures of character development, it's perfect pacing, and the absolute terror produced by both the appearance of the creature, and how it takes several different forms. On first viewing the movie, it's impossible to know what kind of horrible thing is next, and each time it arrives in a new shape, it is exponentially more dreadful than the last time you saw it. Yes, Aliens is very exciting and is probably the best sequel ever made. It's a terrific film, but for different reasons. But with due respect to James Cameron I will not apologize when I say that it simply does not hold a candle to Ridley Scott's Alien. I haven't seen the third film or Alien Resurrection so I can't make any comments about them. Alien vs. Predator? Was that a joke? Don't tell me they were serious. Prometheus was rather dull. And Covenant just pissed me off. I guess Ridley Scott wanted his universe to make sense. Now it does ... or does it? I just don't know anymore. I'm going to forget all but the first two films ever happened and be happy with that. Youhavetobehappyywithwhatyuhavetobehappywith.

play alien isolation

*THE WORLD:* We want something new! Give us something new! We're tired of the xenomorph and it's not scary anymore! Give us something in the universe of Alien that goes to interesting, unexpected places! *RIDLEY SCOTT:* I couldn't agree more. I've cooked up something interesting and scary called "Prometheus". It's very much new. It expands on the space jockey, something no one else ever though to do. It's going to explain the origin of the xenomorph technology, how it started as a biological weapon, and is the fatal end result of an advanced alien arms race! you'll get the engineers. You'll get the ships. You'll get an explanation of why and how this tech so readily combines with Earth's DNA. All of this will be self-contained in a package that will do what the best science fiction films always do. It's going to ask the big questions. The hard existential ones that examine the relationship of God to creator. Of creator to creation. It will talk about conscience and what that means. You are not dreaming. All of this will be in a movie that will greatly expand on the alien universe we all love so much and could lead to dozens of exciting new directions! *THE WORLD:* Where's LV426? Where's the original black xenomorph? We didn't get the same old crap we always crave! *RIDLEY SCOTT:* Hey! I thought you said you wanted something NEW!! *THE WORLD:* We always say that. We want to believe that about ourselves. But we NEVER mean it.

Yeah, to this day I consider the saga a Trilogy as it resembles the structure of Beowulf: Monster, Mother, Dragon... And that's counting on the assembly cut and Ripley's daughter reference on Aliens original cut, so in that sense the first is the best and most perfect, no doubt. Thanx!!!

Alien, and Alien 3. Aliens was great but it is NOT a Alien film. We don't speak about Resurrection or Prometheus. I haven't seen the other new film next though.

TBH I didnt expect Drake and Apone to die so early in the film,tHudson,Vasquez and Gorman I expected at least one of them to survive the film,so not so predictable.

Thank you for saying the kind things about Alien 3, it has been shit on for so long and it is nice too see that people are coming around to it. I know I am in the minority on my stance on this but I love Alien 3 and actually think it is better than Aliens! The MAJOR plot hole of how the egg(s?) got on the Sulaco is the and how some of the effects have not held up over the years are the only thing that flaw the film. It brought back the near nihilistic horror and the acting was the best of the series. People don't like it, generally, because it killed the warm and fuzzy ending of Aliens. I went to see it three times in the theater and would pay good money to see the work print in a theater.

I truly love Alien 3, the series had to stop there. Alien 4 is rubbish.

One, two and three are the best. To me, each movie as a masterpiece. My favourite trilogy of ALL TIME. Horror, action and thriller(I suppose). I don't give a fuck that Hicks and Newt died. It just adds more to Ripley as a character. You feel even more bad for her. It's not a classic Hollywood ending. It's gritty, dark and depressing. Man I love it so much. It stands out and Ripleys sacrifice at the end always makes me teary eyed. It's so epic. I'm sick of hearing people say it's a bad movie cuz it isn't! It's fucking awesome.

Your ranking list is incorrect at the end I think. You said you even like AVP and Prometheus better than Alien resurrection but you then listed resurrection 4th above those two movies.

Very interesting video. Thanks for that! This is my all-time favorite movie series. I really love all 4 alien films plus Prometheus. I know, I'm in minority with this but I love Alien 3 as much as Alien/Aliens. I adore its superdark & super depressing tones. At least they tried to add something new. The first AvP film had some really cool moments but overall, it was a mediocre film. AvPR is still the worst

For ALIEN 3-you need to see THE ASSEMBLY CUT -it is great and as close to Fincher's vsion as possible. Forget the theatrical release! Glad you mentioned it

Absolutely spot on assessment of the first 3 films, Alien is flawless, Aliens is slightly overpraised while Alien 3 is overlooked (assembly cut only, of course). I would personally swap Prometheus and AvP in the rankings, though they are both bad and the difference in rating is negligible, I think AvP is at least a mildly fun watch. Resurrection is terrible and AvP 2 is one of the worst films ever made.

Alien is the ultimate. Saw it in 1981 at a school film club - history teacher was way ahead of his time - watched it at least 100 times since and still love it!! Pretty flawless as a movie I agree.

i agree with pretty much everything said in this video, like almost literally everything. i love alien and aliens, and i really like the assembly cut of alien 3. the atmosphere is really good, i dislike the decision to kill off newt, Hicks and bishop but I'm glad it happened as it really contributes to the movie. nearly all the characters are severely underdeveloped, but the few characters that are done well are done really well (in my opinion, they're Ripley, Dillon, Clemens, Aaron and Morse) and yeah i think alien Vs predator is somewhat underated

I'm a big fan of Alien3, though it comes in third both chronologically and in terms of quality. I haven't even seen the Assembly Cut, but I like the theatrical version fine. Much of the bile that's been spat at the film over the years does seem to stem from what happens to Hicks and Newt. Actually, I'd say it's mostly about Newt... mostly. I agree it was a ballsy move and in keeping with the bleak hopelessness of the Alien universe, and I have no problem with it. Although part of me wishes Newt had stayed alive in her cryo-tube, safely tucked away from the events of the film (thus raising the stakes for Ripley, who'd want to protect her from the convicts, the xenomorph _and_ the Company) only to be revived at the end after Ripley dies. Then we could have had a sequel (or sequels) with a grown-up Newt following in Ripley's footsteps, instead of the mess that was Alien Resurrection.

Personally enjoyed Aliens the most, partly due to the action. I just enjoy the element of scifi and action combined like the first Predator movie for eg.

There is no reason why xenomorphs can't individually create more creatures like the deleted scene in Alien, and have a queen, it just adds more layers to them.

Personally Aliens is my favorite of them all because I was able to relate to the characters a lot more when I was a child. When I saw Alien I wasn’t as able to relate to the characters as much. Ironically enough maybe Aliens planted a seed and in some way led me to my 4 years of servitude in the usmc as a grunt slaving away for no reason. That aside Aliens impacted me more than the first one however nothing in the Alien franchise was as terrifying as that first time the Alien bursts from that dude chest. As for 3 it could have been a lot better of a film had 20th Century Fox not got involved and ruined it. The director had a good vision but the studio Justice Leagued the movie.

Your Ranking - Is perfect. Alien is a masterpiece. It's the perfect storm of many creative talents working together to create a shared vision of a perfect horror film. I was going to make a video essay about Alien, but you've beaten me to the punch, congratulations on another fantastic video!

In my perfect world, Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 (Assembly Cut), are the only versions ever released. They would be a trilogy on par with pre-special edition Star Wars: undiluted. Not to say that I don't love TFA and Rogue One, but feel those largely exist because we have a generation of film fans who hated what the prequel trilogy was and felt Star Wars deserved better. I'm not saying Ridley Scott couldn't do Prometheus and a new bunch of films based on it, but it doesn't need Alien shoe-horned into it. Alien 3 (again, Assembly Cut) wasn't quite on par with Alien/Aliens, but it was a perfect cap to them in the context of a trilogy. How do you follow up Aliens with its 'feeling of absolute impossibility in the face of these insurmountable odds' but with stark fatalism. Ripley (and the audience) has seen dozens of these creatures torn up by the marines by the end of Aliens - now she's faced with only a single creature, but with none of the technology that they depended on in the first films. Instead of increasing the number of creatures, like all the other lesser films in the franchise, Alien 3 goes the other direction, and lets us see Ripley's story end in a tragic but satisfying manner.

Cameron maybe gets too much flak for demystifying the Alien because the seeds of better understanding the creature were there from the beginning. Scott demonstrated you could shoot the thing when Ripley blasted it with the grappling hook gun and blew it out the airlock. It's beholden to physics just like the rest of us. Then it's not too much of a stretch to rip one apart with a powerful machine gun or crush it with a tank. Cameron nailed down the Alien physiology to something of which we can relate to in real life, bugs, for better and for worse. Once again, a wonderful video!

I don't know if carrying on with what Alien did would have worked. You said it was a perfect film, and that's something that a sequel is most likely not going to capture again. I understand that the xenomorph loses some of its intrigue after being turned into a bug, but I don't believe a sequel without the same team from the first would've done very well.

I actually like Alien 3 and Ressurection (but of course I wouldn't call them the best Alien films). Fight me.

While I understand your arguments as a whole, I disagree with your argument that the xenos in ALIENS are easy to kill compared to the one xeno in ALIEN. Remember that the characters in ALIEN were unarmed and out in space, thus completely defenseless. Had those truckers been on a planet with atmosphere and armed with rifles, that one xeno would have been wiped out in less than an hour.

Alien is definitely in the League of its own. I never get tired watching the 1979 original.

Perfect! I feel exactly the same way. The original vision has soooo much more potential than was realized.

Spot on! Alien 3 was simply a great movie and I really appreciate the ideas they tried to explore. I only wish the studios hadn't interfere so much in David Fincher's vision.

I love Alien 1 2 and 3. That director's cut of 3 is amazing. I have been trying to get friends who love the first two but hate the third to watch the director's cut. Who cares about Newt and Hicks. Killing then off was a genius move and it doesn't reduce the meaning or effectiveness of the second's ending. I think it mirrors reality in the sense that you have your victory today but tomorrow you might not win. Their deaths showed that.

I've never seen the Assembly cut, but I feel that Alien 3 is a pretty good film. Killing Newt and Hicks in the beginning makes sense. Ripley's life is supposed to be absolute hell, and giving her at least something good and constant in her life would take away just how much of a nightmare her life has become since her first encounter with the Xenomorph. If they had survived the beginning, the film would have gone two ways: get backlash for killing them later, like it did for killing Ripley, or let them survive, and get criticized for being predictable. There's also the problem with there being a six year gap between the releases of the movie. With adult actors, this isn't very noticeable, but child actors are different, and Carrie Henn would have looked very differently, since hypersleep is supposed to stop or at least slow down aging. As for the rest of the cast being unlikable, I don't mind that. I have no problem with every character being a terrible person, so long as the events surrounding them are interesting. I don't mind that they tried to rape one of the few likable characters in the movie, because it accentuated just how much of a shitty situation our heroine was in. Not everyone is a good person, and not every interesting event happens to good people. Personally, I think Ripley's story should have ended after the second movie. The franchise could have gone in some pretty great directions, if it had done what many other horror franchises do, and focused on different protagonists in the sequels. We could have gotten more films like the first two, in addition to it going in different directions (the idea of farming Xenomorphs, like was sort of touched on in Resurrection could have worked with the right script). The need to focus on the same character hurt the franchise. Would Friday the 13th have gotten as many sequels it did if Alice was the main protagonist in all of them? No. That's one of the reasons Resurrection sucks so hard. The franchise dug itself into a hole by picking one character to focus on, and when the studio demanded another film after that character died, there was no other option but to find some way to bring her back. A fourth Alien film without Sigourney Weaver could have been awesome.

I will always got a spot in my heart for Aliens thanks to the action and the development of Ripley as a Character comparing with the first one. But man, Riddley Scott's Alien just holds up so well in visuals, tension, Mystery, iconic scenes and direction. My best Alien movie will be always the first one!

What would've happened if the sequels have gone for a more cosmic horror kind of movie? Well, I think it woud've fell flat to the audience, and it wouldn't have gotten too much success, probably. Maybe that kind horror movies doesn't work well with sequels.

I always felt the same way. Aliens was great, Alien 3 took it back to the vibe of the original. It simplified. The characters had no weapons..now that's a fight!

very glad you give Alien3 some love I always thought it encapsulated the tone of the series perfectly.

Alien - Masterpiece. Both cuts are fun Aliens - Action/Horror masterpiece. Watch it enough and you notice every scene is on a timer. Extended is better for second viewing and onward Alien 3 - It tried to be something but it came out poo. Hicks and Newt should have been treated better. Might be better in assembly cut Alien Resurrection - If you pretend it's a dark sci-fi comedy and not an Alien movie it's alright AVP - Why? Worse than a fanfic AVP:R - I think it had a cool scene in it or I might have imagined. Prometheus - Garbage. Alien Covenant - Looks really pretty, had some cool robot scenes. Cameron should have directed it.

Pretty much agree with everything you said. I (having recently watched all 3) honestly prefer alien 3 over aliens...something i'd never thought i'd ever feel. I found Bill Paxton (rip) grating very quickly and (as you mentioned) the one note character very apparent, though still enjoyable at times. I still have my problems with Alien 3, but it just appeals to me a little more as gothic horror rather than a proto vietnam narrative.

Alien, Aliens and Alien 3 in that order. The rest are terrible. Though I like the concept of Alien Vs Predator. Alien 3 was a perfect ending to the Ripley storyline and a tone I think suits the Alien universe. I actually prefer the theatrical cut. The alien coming from a dead cow doesn't have the emotional impact of it bursting from a dog, not to mention cows aren't scary. So an alien coming from a cow just doesn't work for me as much as a dog alien. I also hate the effect in the extended version of Ripley falling into the lead. Looks so juddery and fake. Far better in the theatrical cut with the queen actually bursting out first. If only a cut was released with the start and end of the theatrical cut but the middle of the extended version.

"Alien" is the movie that holds up best. I love "Aliens" to death, but "Alien" is a masterpiece.

Like my own thoughts. I loved Aliens when I saw it as a kid, but later my thoughts of it have changed. It is still a great film, but like you said: Alien 3 Assembly Cut deserves praise. Sadly theatrical version still casts a shadow on it. Alien is perfect. Like its organism.

Don't call Aliens an action movie. Aliens is a WAR movie. The parable clearly is born out of Vietnam. The inept officer in charge of grunts who can handle themselves better than he can. The xenomorphs use the vents like the Vietcong used tunnels. Guerrilla warfare is what it's all about. Ripley becomes so much more clearly defined as a character in Aliens. The first movie makes her an almost accidental heroine. In Aliens we see her intelligence and leadership. More importantly she as a mother figure is realized. This is an extension of some of the themes from Alien (all the womb and sexual imagery as well as the Nostromo computer being called "Mother"). Defining the genre of Aliens as action, even if you praise it as you did, is a disservice to what the move was actually about thematically.

Alien and Aliens are kings. The first AVP is also great and feels like part of the family unlike Alien 4. I like Alien III because it has some great stuff in it and goes back to figthing the one Alien mano a mano almost unarmed. But it unforgiven to kill of Newt and Hicks from the begining just to fit the story. Alien 3 clearly suffered from "too many chefs". One great thing to come out however was the video game Alien Isolation. That captures the true mood of Alien perfectly. That was a joy and superb fright to play through. The mood and sheer horror level makes you feel like Ripley in Alien. And it´s an interesting story although you know what happened to Ripley. This is perhaps where the Alien series could develope. Telling some of the sideline stories rather than mixing it all together like a "best of" which Covenant seems to be. The "best" being what the studio considers the most popular rather than what is actually the best ie the mood and sci-fi horror. Alien really works best without guns since they tend to tip the odds. Which then calls for more aliens to join and then we get bigger guns and so on and so on. Alien works best when humans stand against a superior species and we are all scared shitless and are figthing for pure survival.

Alien and Alien 3 (assembly cut) are my faves.

I think that Alien 3 went in a completely awkward direction after what Aliens built up. But it's a decent film still that you can appreciate once you manage expectations accordingly. AR on the other hand was a mess. Newborn is something that should never have gone through. AVP is a decent movie I think, albeit light version, with a decent cast, but very sterile. AVPR is the worst though, like literally objectively worst.

Although it has its problems, I think Prometheus has done good work towards making all film iterations of the alien work, because it changes what the alien is at a core level. The alien is no longer an organism of conventional understanding, but rather a technology of an uncertain (either military, religious, or both) purpose, that takes in material around it and alters/improves it as best it can, almost always to the end of making a monster, a monster that is almost never identical to previous iterations of itself within its own lineage as it progresses. Why is the alien of Alien more elegant than the idea of the Queen from Aliens? Because it's separated from her an needs to continue its function without her, so it optimizes itself to fill the function of a queen with what it can, adapting. Why are all the aliens of Aliens beyond the Queen identical? Because that lineage of the black goo has spent so long in one spot that its optimized the creatures it can make there with the resources it has access to, and needs another world and set of genes to work on. Why is a Queen even needed if the alien mass production units can spread on its own? Because it wants to optimize its ability to multiply, as such engineering an entity that can produce eggs at a higher rate than multiple individual mass-production units the black goo develops is ideal, increasing the probability per second of a facehugger/black goo carrier organism reaching a new source of genetic information. The optimization logic can also be used to justify the look of the dog/bull alien of Alien 3, in that regardless of which version you're using, the creature of those films is still mostly human, only taking in a small portion of the engineering from the dog or the bull to edit its form, resulting in something that is still almost the same as its previous iterations save being more streamlined. Another thing to understand is that this is one lineage of what the black goo can make. In Prometheus we see the inception of two(perhaps three if you want to get technical) different lineages (cobra-hugger > repurposed scientists, goo-in-drink > repurposed male lead, goo-in-drink > trilobite > deacon) of the alien monster, each beginning a cycle of engineering monsters from their surroundings, with covenant showing two more (conventional eggs, alien spore pods) stemming from whatever David has been doing in his own free time. This means that the Queen system is one that is invented by the goo from one out of four different lineage progressions, with no two of them guaranteed to result the same way, only somewhat similar ways. Because of what we know now, the Queen is not a guaranteed fact of the alien, just a feature of that one lineage, with nothing to say all members of that lineage at that time don't become Queens as they progress in age, or that the Queen is even necessary by the time Ripley kills her, simply just extant by being able to still be alive at that time. As much as Prometheus got wrong as a film, what it did to the alien and how the alien works is pretty important for future films to justify inconsistencies in the creature as it changes from writer to writer, because it makes the alien and its nature in no way fixed in any fashion save some general design traits, a quality that is going to be needed so long as Fox chooses to continue the franchise, and I am fairly confident covenant will do much of the same in its contribution.

I loved Alien 3 the most out of all series. It was just a perfect horror for me, plus a jail movie, plus a post-apocalyptic planet with no hope for a better future and nowhere to run for the inmates, not a single tree growing outside you could draw out of your cell. And in such a hell-hole things get even worse. The ending was also quite climactic. I understand the love for the first and the second one, but cannot change my affection for this beautiful film. The 4th one was an atrocity though. Btw I really hated the death of the girl int A3 too. But after I saw the Red Wedding I kinda got over it. :)

Wait. "I like AVP and Prometheus better than Alien: Resurrection." So why is Resurrection ahead of Prometheus and AVP on the list?

Alien Franchise Movies Ranked: 1: Aliens 2: Alien 3: Alien: Covenant 4: Prometheus 5: Alien 3 6: Alien: Resurrection 7: AVP: Alien Vs. Predator 8: AVPR: Alien Vs. Predator Requim Terminator Franchise Movies Ranked: 1: Terminator 2 Judgement Day 2: The Terminator 3: Terminator 3 Rise of The Machines 4: Terminator Salvation 5: Terminator Genesis Predator Franchise Movies Ranked: 1: Predator 2: Predators 3: Predator 2

people often diminish resurrection but as a stand alone film it's really fun to watch... plus the concept of a ripley mixed with alien resurrected hundreds of years in the future having no idea who she was and behaving like an animal is amazing

I love Alien 3, if you ever wanted a horror sequel that embodied desperation and the erosion of hope it's that film. I'm amazed the film turned out the way it did considering the clusterfuck of filming before the screenplay was finished. The original three films to me are of equal footing. Sure there's the one that does this and that better but in all honesty having the films play out exactly like each other would be boring (Star Wars VII anyone). The tone between the movies is consistent yet they are all different enough that they have their own identity. The three films are so complimentary to one another that they make each other stronger films overall.

Some decent points but the one thing I would take issue with is when you said Alien has better-developed characters than Aliens. Um, really? None of the characters in Alien were developed at all, not even Ripley, which is why it remains unclear who will survive until the end. Alien is a haunted house movie in space, and the thing about that type of movie is that the characters have to be vague so you don't know which one will get offed next. Aliens did take the franchise in a new direction that's true, but that's to be applauded. So many sequels simply rehash the first film, Aliens is a genuinely different movie from the first. And it has so much more going on thematically that the first film, especially in the special edition, which really expands on the theme of motherhood. It also works as a Vietnam allegory as it depicts a platoon of tough, confident marines fully tooled up with the latest weaponry that marches into unknown territory and gets their arses handed to them by a cunning enemy that hides in tunnels and attacks them from every direction. I don't know how much of the allegory was deliberately intended but the film was released right in the middle of the 'Nam movie era so there must have been some influence - no art happens in a vacuum. I just think Aliens has more layers. The first Alien is a masterful, arty horror movie but only hints at themes of violation and birth since most of the film is just 10 Little Indians, trying to escape their doom. Aliens (particularly in the special edition) explores its themes much more vividly but also works as a kick-ass action movie, which is why for me, Aliens is the better film.

Introducing a queen didn't ruin anything. if the Xenomorphs need hosts to build the eggs that makes them extremely inefficient. That would mean they need At least two hosts just to create one xenomorph (one for the egg and one for the facehugger to impregnate). Having a queen doubles the speed in which these things can multiply and spread. only needing one host for each Xenomorph.

WTF did i see the alien come out a cow carcass? I've only ever seen it burst out the poor rottweiler in Alien 3.

Superb video! Alien is a perfect Horror film Aliens is a perfect Action-Horror hybrid And Alien 3 is a flawed film that has some of the most interesting themes of the series, its just such a shame it was so heavily interfered with

And I like aliens more than alien idk why I'm just more of an action guy I suppose but even though I haven't seen it in a while I remember hating alien cubed as it was depressing and boring ressurection was okay though

Everything good: Alien, Aliens Everything OK: Alien Resurrection, AVP, Alien Covenant, Prometheus Everything bad: AVPR, Alien 3

I liked alien 3 as well.

For me from best to worst: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Covenant, Prometheus, AVP: Requiem, Alien Resurrection, AVP I generally agree with +Rossatron but I enjoyed AvP:R more than AvP or even Resurrection. Alien Rez was just too corny and goofy for me....and AvP feels like a bad joke. Predators hate the cold so why would they go to the Arctic? The Predators look like roided up WWE wrestlers instead of the agile, sleek puma-like look it's been known for. 2 of them get killed by the same alien and in the same scene......and OMG Predator's face is a damn joke! The aliens, admittedly, were handled fairly well but the Predators were handled so miserably it takes away from the overall experience. Also...AvP was frikkin' PG-13!!! Oh....and there's a bullet time shot of 3 facehuggers flying across the sacrificial chamber as they were in the friggin' Matrix...a bullet time shot of flying facehuggers........really.... AvP:R, in comparison went back to Rated-R and handled the Predator MUCH better. The aliens were weak against him but not enough to ruin the entertainment value. My only real gripes with AvP:R were that it took place in the suburbs, some scenes were too dark, and the Predalien was pretty cheezy. Other than that, it was a solid and fun action/thriller/sci fi.

YEP. The original Alien has never been topped. People who insist on Aliens being better strike me as Sci-Fi fans that require a ton of action in order to hold their interest. I like both films but Alien is obviously the best.

I love the first two films like you. When I found out about the assembly cut a few years back and watched it it changed my perception of the third film. I have really grown to appreciate Alien3 over the years, despite its flaws.

you should make a video about how bad app requiem is, and how badly it messed up both iconic monsters

Though Alien 3 was the best acted out of all of them. It is not the best, Alien is the best film.

I hated Alien 3 so much I refuse to watch the Assembly Cut. Alien is still the best then Aliens.

"Alien" is probably my all time favorite movie, it's a movie that was very important in my life and made me a movie fan. "Aliens" is a great sequel, although it would've been interesting to keep the cosmic horror aspect instead of action like you said. I kind of Phantom Menaced with "Prometheus" and I wish ill to the people who made both AVP films and Alien 3 and Resurrection are dead to me. Today I've seen "Life" and I liked it... If I fucking walk out of "Alien: Covenant" thinking 'Meh, Life was better', I'll be done with the series.

From best to I worst (alien movie) 1. Alien (1979) 2. Alien 3 (1992) 3. Aliens (1986) * reason - terrific action film but did not feel like an "alien film" to me. 4. Alien: Resurrection (1997) * see above, but inferior - AvP m (and related abominations) doesn't belong on this list. - Prometheus is not an alien movie in the narrative

It's satisfying to have found your video and learned you rank the films the exact order I rank them, especially the fact that Alien is #1 and not Aliens.

1 & 3 are superior. Aliens is deeply overrated and has aged terribly Prove me wrong

The original Alien , and it's NOT even close. Aliens is NOT a "real" Alien movie...it's a Cameron "Fast & the Furious" style, schwarzenegger style 80's action romp, with very little actual horror.

I agree... Alien is one of the few films I consider to be 'perfect'. It's so atmospheric. The set pieces, the score, Giger's design. I love it. When I was a kid I liked Aliens better--the action, the guns, the spectacle. When I got a little older, I realized how much of a work of art Scott's Alien really was. There's no film quite like it. The creature in the first film is so creepy, with truly alien mannerisms. They made him 'alien' in every possible way. Cameron's film lost that. I love Aliens for what it is, but the first xenomorph is the best, hands down. Nothing beats that first time you see the xenomorph, with sperm-like goo dripping from its metallic jowls, as it creeps up behind Brett. I love that scene. It's one of my favorite scenes in cinema. That, and the finding of the space-jockey are two of the best scenes in science fiction history. Anyway, I'm ranting. Thanks for the upload. Edit: I really like Alien3--I'm a huge Fincher fan. I wish he would have had the creative control he needed to realize his vision on a potentially brilliant sequel, but alas.

I'm glad more people appreciate Alien 3, I had heard nothing but shit about it when I watched it for the first time and was kind of surprised how good it was (dodgy effects besides). It is a slog though, bit too bleak to be enjoyable watching. Resurrection is just a joke. No idea what the point of it was. FFS I just remembered the line in it about how Walmart bought out Weyland-Yutani. How did that line make it all the way through the writing and filming and editing without somebody saying "wait, this is fucking stupid"?!

I just wanted to say I totally agree about the new alternate cut of alien3, I got the box set and didn't realise it was the recut film included and just found myself thinking how much better it was than I remembered. It's no alien or aliens, but it's so much closer to that level than the theatrical cut.

Comes down to two? Fuck off does it. Alien 3 is my favourite. Why do people like Aliens so much? That film sucks out any element of horror by making the aliens appear nothing more then common, aggressive animals. I'll take intelligence and stealth over hordes of idiot "bugs" any day.

Alien 1 is well rounded enough as a movie to be watchable today. Aliens improves many things on paper but in the main features it's bad. Shitty build up, shitty twists, shitty action. Overrated. After that everything is kinda trash anyways. Prometheus stands out because it's interesting enough as a movie and looks 21st century. The others are just milking the aliens franchise. Not worth watching for fans of actually good movies.

I largely agree with your take of the Alien series. The first was an artistic masterpiece of horror, the second was an action masterpiece. I feel like Alien 3 was an attempt to get back to it's artistic horror genre roots, though there were obviously problems that arose. Alien Resurrection was just a mess. It's the perfect sci-fi film for people who don't know anything about good sci-fi. It has mindless action, mindless dialogue, mindless sexual references, mindless everything. It failed to arouse any deeper questions in the viewer, which was generally the whole purpose of the first and second film. It asked questions, but really stupid ones. Don't even get me started on AVP, what a train wreck that was.

I couldn't agree more about Alien 3. It's just such a misunderstood movie. The theatrical release is an abomination, and I think that everyone who didn't like it should go and watch the making-of documentary, then watch the 2003 extended version, and then make a more more informed opinion on whether or not Alien 3 is as bad as everyone says it is, and then at least admit that they were going for something that, admittedly, never had a chance to make it to fruition. I would even go as far as to say that Resurrection deserves some props, given how stylized and humorous it was, even though I find it to be a pretty disgusting and gratuitous movie. They were just trying to keep it fresh. Unlike any other horror-franchise, they weren't just releasing the same movie over and over again. First impressions, Covenant just looks like it's gonna be Prometheus with Xenomorphs. I have doubts.

My ranking is: 8) Prometheus 7) Aliens vs predator requiem 6) Alien resurrection 5) Alien vs predator 4) Alien Covenant 3) Alien 3 2) Alien 1) Aliens

I am not gonna lie... I love the first 3 Alien films as a single entity... Yeah It's kinda dated in Aliens when in the attack on the hive you just pretty much just see the marines shooting... And on Alien 3 the creature looks "pasted" into the scene... I will watch Resurrection from time to time, to me it's just "French" I like Prometheus, was super excited about covenant... But as more footage is released, my excitement lessens...

I actually really like alien 3 and didn't even know many people didn't like it until recently. I also really liked Prometheus, I don't see why so many people didn't like it. Alien, aliens, and Prometheus are all outstanding films in my opinion, and alien 3 is a great film. AVP is decent and the last two are terrible. My ranking would be: Alien Aliens Prometheus Alien 3 AVP Alien resurrection AVP 2

A perfect organism...wouldn't need a host. It's a semi perfect killing machine and a pretty good biological weapon, I mean if you're an advanced alien race would you commit genocide and invade inhabited planets with troops, machines and robots that require your resources and manpower to build, transport and deploy or would you create a plague of monsters to infect and kill whatever species ya wanted eradicated... I'm sorry dude but scotts alien was a slow lethargic lazy fucker, ripley literally has to fucking poke it by blasting it with steam to wake it up and get it moving at the end, fuck it even looks like it yawns at one point, the poor lanky a skinny guy is obviously in a stiff awkward suit and couldn't see shit, it was so slow ya could outrun it by simply turning and walking away at a brisk pace...and that crew of memorable and identifiable characters were so fucking easy to kill, most of em either just stood there and let it happen offering zero attempt to defend themselves or they accidentally bumped into it because they couldn't see shit while they were wondering around in that dark steam filled ship...alone. Sorry but the queen makes way more fucking sense than transforming people into eggs. It's scary enough with the whole oral rape chest burst thing it doesn't need another illogical infection method...oh but we become the monsters is a bullshit twist. Also fuck Prometheus...red letter media summed up how stupid that whole movie was. THE BLACK GOO!...does whatever the script needs it to. cameron's aliens were fast fearless agile and crafty smart...yeah they weren't fucking bullet proof but that doesn't mean they were easy to kill, his version of the aliens were pro active and went on the offensive they didn't just lay around waiting for defenceless unarmed "idiots" to blunder right up to them for the entire length and duration of the movie and the cliche but incredibly charismatic and entertaining soldiers didn't just let themselves be killed, they actually fought to survive. . I think people miss the point of the whole vietnam action movie in space thing...it's scary because despite being as bad ass as humans can be and being armed with loads of awesome weapons and equipment they lose pretty much every battle to creatures using nothing but their teeth claws and blood. Aliens is in the same category as predator for me...sure it's not a straight slow burn or psychologically tense (boring) horror but it's one hell of an entertaining movie and like with arnold and his squad in that flick ya see a bunch of supposed invincible action hero tropes get slaughtered and the lead barely survive the awesome final fight by a razor thin margin. Ultimately it depends on ya taste...if ya prefer straight horror and can actually genuinely be "scared" by those types of films then yeah alien is probably gonna be ya favourite but if ya like me and prefer or rather all ya can hope for at most is to be thoroughly thrilled and excited then aliens is gonna be the best film for you.

Alien certainly has it's dated parts... the audio is terrible and the pacing is VERY slow at the start and shows a lot of unnecessary scenes of the crew going about their business. It is an amazing movie, don't get me wrong but not as perfect as many profess. In terms of Cameron producing a sequel that reveals more about the Xenomorph - i'm not sure i agree it was a bad thing. If another horror type movie was produced it would have preserved the Alien ideology but may have been a lot less interesting thus lacked success and the current cult obsession and renewed interest. Aliens was a run and gun that got many interested in the genre and universe spawning so much inspiration for future action sci-fi themes for generations to come. Alien 3 was rubbish, read up about the production - full of budget issues, recasting, rewriting and almost never made it to screen - it was a failed attempt at a cashout that no wanted to commit to, just like A:R it NEEDS to be forgotten. Lastly, i didn't mind Prometheus and i'm looking forward to Covenant as Scott is an amazing visionary.

I completely agree with your opinion on Alien 3. It (the Assembly cut, that is) is a much better movie than people give it credit for.

I agree with bootlegga69. It is tough to compare Alien with Aliens. They are both GREAT movies but in very different ways. I do not agree with your assessment of the characters in the second movie, I loved Bill Paxton (rest in peace). Being a vet I have run into several infantry guys just like his character, all bark and little bite but with some pretty good one liners. I agree with your assessment of the third movie, I never thought it was that bad of a movie although I felt like a lot of potential was lost by killing everyone off at the beginning. At the same time, it really starts the movie on an emotional low, which was interesting. I actually did not hate Resurrection but that is only because I can get into some mindless action every now and again. A vs P? Maaaaan, I was a huge fan of the Dark Horse comic series back in the day so I was extremely disappointed with both of those movies. The second one in particular was more funny than anything, I don't consider those as true Alien movies, more of an alternate universe.

I mostly agree with you. Alien is the better film of the bunch, but I find myself rewatching Aliens more often. I'm a sucker for oneliners and good action scenes. I also agree that Alien 3 is better than many people give it credit for, especially the new cut you mention. I hated the firs AvP movie because I expected a film version of the first AvP comic and didn't get it, but it's far more entertaining than Requiem.

Good video, and I broadly agree! I never really held to the 'Aliens makes them bugs' thing, mind, although this article say it far better than I ever could alienseries.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/the-insect-influence/comment-page-1/ Nice to see Resurrection below AVP, though. AVP may be a right old mess, but at least it tries really hard to be fun, and has a couple of genuinely great shots. Resurrection can't even be bothered with that.