Ranking The Alien Franchise

Alien: Romulus is now playing in theaters. As usual every time that a new entry in a famous, long-running franchise comes out, it’s time to rank every single installment from worst to best.

Alien is certainly one of the more complicated film series out there. It bares quite a resemblance to that of the Terminator franchise, and that’s NOT just because both series had James Cameron involved in one way or another. In which the first two films are beloved and considered absolute sci-fi masterpieces while every single installment to come out after that has a very take it or leave it mindset. Sure, there are definitely films to come out in the post-Aliens era that have their fans, including the newest one that just came out, but the majority would agree that not a single one of them could hold a candle to the first two films.

Even so, just like with any franchise that has gone on for decades, everyone has their personal favorites and least favorites. And it’s time for me to throw my towel in the ring and rank them all.

Also, similar to the Mad Max ranking, I decided to make this one a bit more interesting and thrown in a video game into the mix. Why? Because it’s awesome and better than a good majority of these movies so it’s worth addressing. Nevertheless, let’s get into ranking some Alien movies.

10.) Alien vs Predator: Requiem

The second Alien vs Predator showdown is not only the worst of anything related to both now Disney-owned IPs, it’s one of the worst franchise entries in the 21st century. What should be a simple premise of just taking these two well known monsters and have been punch one another for an hour and a half is bogged by some of the worst lighting and editing ever put in a theatrical released film. It also doesn’t help that it has writing, acting, and directing that wouldn’t even be passable for a Patron funded fan film. Alien vs Predator: Requiem is not only just as bad as franchise movies can get, it’s just as lazy as they come. It literally brings a new definition of unwatchable because well…….you literally can’t watch it because you can barely see what’s happening on screen. It’s not strictly a film that is infamous for certain story choices it makes or contradicting previously established lore in any way but because of how objectively poor the filmmaking is on display. That in of itself makes this more than worthy of being the worst film in both respected franchises.

9.) Alien: Covenant

After the divisive response that 2012’s Prometheus had on critics and audiences, Ridley Scott decided to take things back to basic for the Alien franchise with Alien: Covenant. Unfortunately, in so doing so, he manages to undermine the ambiguity and intrigue of the beloved Xenomorph while doubling down on all of the main problems that plagued it’s predecessor. The alien action and set pieces are uninspired, most of the characters aren’t interesting and are about as dumb as movie characters can get, the effects for all the monsters look shockingly poor, and finding out that David was the one responsible for the creation of the Xenomorph is about the most out of no where and unneeded explanation for a franchise’s lore since Mini-chlorians. Not even Michael Fassbender’s captivating screen presence and a couple of fun moments sprinkling in can save this mess. Alien: Covenant may not quite be the worst film in the franchise but it was definitely the sign that the franchise had lost his staying power and how the guy who made the marvelous original Alien had lost his touch. When looking at is as a proper Alien movie and a sequel to Prometheus, Covenant just doesn’t work on any level.

8.) Alien vs Predator

On paper, an Alien vs Predator movie should amount for the perfect amount of shlock blockbuster popcorn entertainment anyone would expect. And the moments that it does just that, it makes for a pretty good time that gives you exactly what you want and expect out of this fun premise. Just a shame that way too much time is spent focusing on human characters that become a footnote the moment the two titled monsters jump on the screen and it tries to set up lore and world building that it has little to no interest in actually exploring. Still, the effects and production design is top notch and when the alien and predator actually show up and start fighting, it’s entertaining enough. Back in the day, you would have to slug through Alien vs Predator to get to the good stuff, similar to how folks had to slug through The Phantom Menace to get to anything involving a lightsaber, but because we have the internet now, you can just look up the fight scenes for this movie on YouTube and be satisfied all the same.

7.) Alien: Resurrection

Alien: Resurrection acts as perhaps the oddball of the series. It’s not so much a continuation of it’s controversial predecessor but more acts like a “Elseworlds” addition to the Alien franchise. This is basically when the series began abandoning its thought-provoking themes and immersive storytelling in favor of acting as traditional schlocky B movies. Sigourney Weaver is back once again but she’s not actually the Ellen Ripley from the first three movies and is actually a clone of Ellen Ripley this time around. That in of itself makes the emotional investment non-existent and hard to care about. Still, the shlock-ness that is presented in of itself is just so hard for me to not dig, even if it’s as goofy and over-the-top as it comes. The action is fun, Sigourney Weaver is clearly having fun in playing a clone version of her iconic character, and the effects and ideas of the Xenomorphs is so bizarre that it’s actually amusing to see before your very eyes. When viewing it on the merits of being a silly, wacky sci-fi click, Resurrection works well enough. When viewing it on the merits of the previous Alien films that felt more ambitious and impactful, Resurrection falls quite flat. Even so, it’s still bittersweet watching this now knowing it was Sigourney’s final time playing Ripley on the big screen.

6.) Alien 3

The most despised standalone Alien movie in the series isn’t nearly as bad as it’s detractors would be. This is the directorial debut for the well-known David Fincher, at least not the parts which Fox didn’t meddled with the third installment. Alien 3 is most infamous in it’s bold narrative choices, such as killing off the supporting cast of the last movie onscreen, along with not being on par with the previous two masterpieces. However, when looking at it’s own term, there’s plenty of interesting ideas and set pieces throughout Alien 3 that work well here, along with having such a bleak and distinct feel to it that you very rarely get in movies nowadays. Not to mention, in a franchise which sees so many people get kill and slaughter by alien monsters left and right, it’s not really a series which I see the main characters have happy and uplifting endings. It’s definitely not as good as Alien or Aliens and it might have reached it’s truest potential if David Fincher was given full control but Alien 3 is definitely better than it’s overall reputation would suggest. If you watch the assembly cut, which adds an extra half an hour where it fleshes out all the new characters, you just get a good notion as to watch Fincher was going for and a hint to where his style would go many years down the road. This may have not been the ending that Ripley deserved but it’s perhaps the one she needed.

5.) Prometheus

Easily the most polarizing entry in the entire franchise, Prometheus sees Ridley Scott returning to the franchise decades later with a distinct prequel, back before any of the aliens were actually a thing. This easily contains some of the strongest visuals and ideas in the entire series, questioning how human being can co-exist against technology and artificial intelligence. You also have a cast, such as Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba, that absolutely give it their all and is able to add the right amount of weight to the material they are giving. Just too bad it gets bogged down by having characters making completely illogical decisions the whole way through and so many questions gets handwaved in the hopes that a potential sequel would be able to follow through with it (SPOILER ALERT: IT DOESN’T!). It’s hard to know how Prometheus would be judged in hindsight if Ridley Scott got to continue along with this distinct direction but even so, it’s hard not to admire the film for what it’s aiming for and being it’s own animal in a franchise that has gone on for as long as it has. While it certainly lacks in smart characters and aliens, Prometheus has enough impressive visuals and captivating ideas to make it’s way to the top 5.

4.) Alien: Romulus

After going down a very inconsistent road from Alien 3 to Covenant, Romulus sees Fede Álvarez
returning this franchise back to it’s traditional roots and it could not be any better for it. This is able to hit all the beats that you would expect from an Alien film while also providing it’s own unique voice and plenty of memorable scares and thrills of it’s own. It’s able to use fan service in a very organic way, feeling like it belongs properly in the world of Alien. The new cast of characters are likable and compelling in their own right, the action, gore, and set pieces are among the very best in the franchise, this is easily the scariest film in the series since the original Alien, and the third act is so bonkers and so out of left field that I can’t help but love it. It’s even able to take plot elements from Prometheus and have it work rather well here. It does suffer from some imperfections such as a rather slow start, a callback or two that doesn’t really work, and a reemergence of a certain character that didn’t feel necessary (At least, it wasn’t A.I. though!). Even so, this is easily the most consistently good Alien film since Aliens and perhaps the most pure fun installment in the franchise thus far. While it’s far from the most thought provoking and groundbreaking film in the franchise, Alien: Romulus is able to deliver where it counts the most with this franchise in providing it’s own scares, thrills, and tension throughout.

3.) Alien Isolation

Fans have debated for years as to what is the third best film in the Alien franchise. Even after the release of Romulus, that debate continues. However, there is a strong argument to be made that the third best Alien film every made is not actually a film but a video game known as Alien: Isolation. Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, we follow Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley, going on her own space journey to find clues about what happened to her mother only to be greeted with the same alien surprise as her mother did. This is a game that perfectly understands why Alien and Aliens worked as well as it did, masterfully combining the slow paced, claustrophobic nature of Alien and the action-heavy set pieces of Aliens. Isolation puts you perfectly in the shoes of Amandla Ripley, with a smartly placed third-person perspective that makes you feel like you are the one that is going on this hunt for survival against these sinister monsters. The narrative is compelling, the stealth and combat is properly done, the a.i. is some of the smartest and challenging of any video game, and the Xenomorphs have never been more terrifying than they are here. Some of the backtracking can be too tedious and will CERTAINLY get too frustrating for those that want to just BLAZE through the game (Which you absolutely should NOT do!), but I don’t think I can think of a more perfect bridge to Alien and Aliens than Alien: Isolation. While Alien: Romulus was able to take all the good elements of this game and make it it’s own, I still believe this game is my favorite thing to come out of the franchise post-Alien. Rock on, Amanda Ripley!

And IGN CAN SUCK IT!

2.) Alien

The one that started it all remains one of the greatest achievements in both the sci-fi genre and cinematic history in general. Ridley Scott got it perfectly right on his very first try back in 1978. Operating flawlessly as a slow-burn, smaller scaled sci-fi horror flick, Alien is the proper film to be taught in film school on how to build tension and suspense properly. The Xenomorph, chest burster, and face huggers remains some of the most unique and terrifying monsters every put to film, the atmosphere could not be any more somber and claustrophobic if it tried, the production and sound design is some of the very best every put to film, every single important plot element is remembered and gets a satisfying payoff, and nearly every single cast member gets their own moment to shine. Also, best movie cat ever! While I’m sure the film might be way too slow for those that watch it nowadays, Alien is a film that more than awards your patience by finding the proper payoff to every single thing that it builds off of. Even if it’s not quite #1 for me, I don’t think there has been a more important sci-fi film, give or take Star Wars, in cinematic history than Alien. It’s impact is still felt to this very day and it is more than easy to see why.

1.) Aliens

While the original Alien acts as one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made, Aliens is one of the best sequels ever made. Much like Terminator 2: Judgement Day, it not only takes every time that worked about it’s near perfect original and made them better but it’s able to stand on it’s own two feet by changing the pace into a relatively smart action flick. From the superb lighting to the stellar production design to the convincing make-up effects to the properly raised stakes to the fantastic action to the perfection that is Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, Aliens is about as perfect as a film of any kind can get. There’s not a single line of dialogue that isn’t memorable, not a single character that feels wasted, and not a single action or dramatic beat that doesn’t work here. This is one of the rare times that a film series was able to properly translate from a smaller scaled indie flick to an action blockbuster that does not diminish or water down the franchise in any way. Also, this film confirms that Ellen Ripley is hands down the most badass action heroine in the history of cinema. That is not opinion, that is FACT. There’s no person the planet that could deliver the line, “GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU BITCH!” better than Sigourney Weaver could. Aliens remains the pitch perfect example on how to do a sequel, sci-fi flick, and a big blockbuster film of any kind. This remains one of the very best films that has ever been made.