With Alien: Romulus around the corner, we thought it would be a good time to revisit the entire Alien franchise to determine which movies were the best and which ones fell short of the mark. For the most part, the Alien franchise is wildly inconsistent with its quality (as we’ll come to see), though the top three are arguably the best that the series has to offer. From worst to best, here are all the Alien movies ranked.
As usual, note that this list is entirely subjective and based on our own personal opinions. Everyone’s list will ultimately look different in the end – some might even consider Alien: Resurrection a misunderstood gem – but we’re simply ranking our least to most favourited entries in the franchise. The list is also in descending order.
8. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Oh boy, we’re really starting off rough. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is an exercise in patience because it constantly tests it with how idiotic all of its characters are. One would expect another round of xenomorphs fighting predators to at least be fun. I’m sure it was fun for everyone who brought night vision goggles into the cinema because you can’t see anything thanks to its notoriously bad lighting. AVPR is an abysmal experience on almost every single level and best left forgotten to time.
7. Alien 3
If you know the original blueprint for Alien 3, it’s almost bewildering how detached the final product is from it. This was the chance for director David Fincher to make his mark on the industry – luckily he got a second chance with Se7en, because Alien 3 is the kind of movie that would’ve sunk careers in the 90s. On the bright side, Fincher’s direction is quite sharp and you can admire the technical highs of the movie today, though coming off the back of two classics, Alien 3 just flops the landing.
6. Alien vs. Predator
It’s hard to hate Alien vs. Predator. It’s a byproduct of an era where slapping two horror icons together in a royal rumble meant instant success… or so studios thought. Sure, the characters are dumber than fifth graders, the plot is all over the place and the fight scenes between the titular villains are almost laughable (but miles better lit than Requiem), but it’s also a roaringly fun bad movie if you put your brain into Airplane Mode.
5. Alien: Resurrection
Alien: Resurrection bites off more than it can chew. Conceptually, there are some really good ideas thrown around. It’s a shame that director Jean-Pierre Jeuene and writer Joss Whedon didn’t get the opportunity to fully realise all those ideas, mainly thanks to studio inteference and a very troubled production. The end result is a mish-mash of good stirred with the bad, almost becoming indistinguishable at some point. It’s a mess but an admirable mess, to be fair.
4. Alien: Covenant
Alien: Covenant felt like Ridley Scott’s answer to everyone asking for more xenomorphs after Prometheus, so he stuck one in the last 15 minutes of the movie and called it a day. Everything before that is, honestly, not bad. Covenant does a good job of expanding Michael Fassbender’s character and it’s a beautifully shot movie worthy of the cinema experience. The talented cast is tragically wasted except for Katherine Waterston and Fassbender, though. It provides some decent thrills while it lasts, just don’t expect anything deeper than a puddle.
3. Prometheus
Prometheus had balls of steel. Scott made an Alien movie without the aliens and still managed to evoke genuine terror and uncertainty. Like Covenant, it’s wonderfully shot and the cast is just lovably goofy enough to have morsels of chemistry. Prometheus doesn’t get enough credit for its terrific score, mesmerising visuals and nods to the first Alien movie that don’t feel like fan service fodder. There’s also one outrageous moment involving a C-section that’s arguably just as intense as the iconic chestburster scene.
2. Aliens
You can look back at Aliens today and laugh at how predictable writer/director James Cameron has become but it earned its classic status for a reason. Exchanging claustrophobic horror for guns-blazing action, Aliens gave us more xenomorphs, more shooting, more cursing, more Sigourney Weaver being badass, more memorable one-liners (“Game over, man!”) and just more fun overall. It’s a sequel that takes the “bigger is better” approach and actually works. Well, mostly.
1. Alien
Alien is a certified sci-fi horror masterpiece. It’s astonishing that it released in 1979 and it’s still schooling most modern horror movies. Scott and company cooked up a storm on an isolated spaceship filled to the brim with heart-pounding suspense, incredible cinematography, world class practicals effects and sets, memorable characters and a terrifying otherworldly foe in the xenomorph. It doesn’t get better than this. Alien: Romulus will have a steep uphill challenge when it hits cinemas on 16 August.
