If any series has been hit or miss, it’s been the Alien and Predator franchises. Some films in those franchises are considered to be some of the best films of all time, while others are dismal and make me contemplate my love of both series. Though the Alien and Predator films could be viewed as totally separate franchises, there are enough connections outside of the Alien vs. Predator movies that one could consider all of the films as part of one big science fiction franchise, which is how I’ll be referring to these for the purposes of this blog post.
I’ve seen every film in the franchise at least once, and most of them multiple times. There are some that I would be happy to never see again, but there are a few of them that became regular watches for me.
In honor of Alien: Covenant being released this coming weekend, I’d like to go through each movie in the series currently and talk just a little about each one.
Alien – 1979 – directed by Ridley Scott
I feel like I’ve talked quite a bit about Ridley Scott on this blog. I talked about him briefly in my Comparing Dune and David Lynch’s Dune post, where he was one of the directors slated to direct the film version of Dune before David Lynch became attached to the project. I’m also working on another “Comparing” post that will compare Blade Runner to its source material, but I need to do some more research on that one before it’s completed.
It’s the distant future, and all we are introduced to is the spacecraft Nostromo and its crew on their return journey to Earth. The ship’s AI pulls the crew out of their stasis pods to investigate a distress signal coming from a nearby planet. The distress signal is coming from a derelict spacecraft of alien origin, but everything is not what it seems. This is as far as I’ll go with the plot, just for the few of you that haven’t seen the film.
Alien is, in my opinion, a perfect film. I’ve seen this one more than any other film in either franchise, and I can’t think of anything that I would consider wrong with it. It’s an incredible and terrifying concept for a film, with gorgeous production design by the late H.R. Giger, mostly great performances from the actors, and it leaves enough unexplained to keep me interested in the franchise. I love it when films don’t answer all of your questions, but answer just enough to keep you intrigued.
If you watch any film on this list, make it this one. You should probably watch the next one too, but that’s all up to you.
Aliens – 1986 – directed by James Cameron
Alien is one of the best suspenseful horror films ever made, but its sequel is one of the best science fiction action films ever made. Aliens is very different in tone than its predecessor, but in my opinion, it’s very close if not right on the same level of quality.
James Cameron is known for making epic action films that usually have a science fiction edge to it. The Terminator series comes to mind, but Aliens might be my favorite of his films. Most of the characters are developed well (at least for an action movie like this) and their interactions are natural.
Though the film may not be a cerebral or as terrifying as the first film, Aliens has this special quality to it that’s difficult to describe. The dialogue can be totally cheesy, but it has this charm to it that just really draws me in. I mean, how can you forget “Game over man!” or “Get away from her you BITCH!”?
Besides being infinitely quotable, the film also seems to have infinite re-watchability. I just don’t get sick of watching it. The special effects are practical and look amazing, thanks in no small part to the wizard that was Stan Winston (R.I.P. Stan). We also get a little more of a look at the Xenomorphs and the ant-like or bee-like way that they function as a group. These concepts would be explored more in extended universe works like the comic books and novelizations.
Aliens is one of the greatest action movies ever made and one of the best science fiction films ever made.
Predator – 1987 – directed by John McTiernan
Although Aliens is on another level, John McTiernan’s 1987 film Predator is certainly no slouch. Many consider this film to also be one of the better action films of the ’80’s. The film stars a musclebound cast of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and other super swole dudes.
The concept of the Predator is also pretty terrifying. It’s an alien killing-machine that hunts for sport and has access to an arsenal of high-tech weaponry. The technology that the Predator uses is interesting in design, as it is both high tech but also somewhat archaic, almost tribal and ancient.
A group of mercenaries get called in to rescue a hostage held by insurgents in a South American jungle. The mission goes well until the mercenaries discover that they definitely aren’t alone in the jungle, and whatever is hunting them is more skilled than they are.
This is a different kind of horror than what the Xenomorphs deliver in the Alien films. The Xenomorphs hunt based on instinct, kill whatever they come across, and often use other creatures to implant their embryos in. The Yautja in Predator hunts for sport. It will often leave unarmed people alone if they don’t pose a threat. Just the fact that the Yautja hunts humans (and other creatures) for sport and trophies is terrifying, but it’s also an example of subtle world building. Hunting is a part of the Yautja’s culture, and while this is not explicitly stated or shown in this film, you definitely pick up on it subconsciously.
I would not call Predator masterful, but it is effective in multiple ways in making an entertaining film. The concept is intelligent enough to be interesting, and there’s plenty there for folks who just want to see things go boom. The exposition isn’t too heavy, the dialogue is just cheesy enough to make the film fun, and the concepts and designs are solid and interesting.
Another fantastic action movie, Predator could be considered a classic, even if it’s a little more brawn over brains.
Predator 2 – 1990 – directed by Stephen Hopkins
The 1990’s brought us Predator 2. Here’s where both franchises start to go downhill fast.
Predator 2 stars Danny Glover, pretty much as his character from Lethal Weapon, complete with dialogue that might as well be “I’m gettin’ too old for this shit.” If Predator was comparable to films like Rambo: First Blood Part II and Commando, Predator 2 is comparable to buddy cop films like Lethal Weapon and its many sequels. It takes place in 1997 Los Angeles. While I like the idea of the Predator hunting prey in the concrete jungle, it’s admittedly less isolated and frightening as being stuck in a remote jungle.
I’m a little at a loss about what to write here. Predator 2 isn’t necessarily a bad film, it’s just almost unremarkable. The actors perform decently well for the most part, and the film even features Bill Paxton (R.I.P.) in a supporting role as a cocky cop. This makes Paxton one of two actors to star in both franchises and the only one to play a different character in each one. The main problem with Predator 2 is that it’s just not nearly as compelling as the first. The first film was a lot more fun while this one feels a little grittier and mean spirited. The concept of the Predator in general is mean spirited, but when most of the human characters in the film are assholes it kind of makes the movie feel like a downer. Danny Glover and a few of his partners seem like decent people, but just about everyone that they interact with are terrible people. The action and cheesy moments are still there though, not to mention the subtle expansion of the Yautja as a society as well as the nod to the Alien franchise in the form of a Xenomorph skull hanging with other trophies.
Predator 2 could be viewed as a fun popcorn movie for anyone wanting the cheesy action associated with late ’80’s and early ’90’s action flicks. I think the film means a lot more to Predator franchise fans like myself. I’ve seen this movie more times than I probably should have, but that’s just because I’m a fan of the concept of the Predator, and a fan’s options are limited by how few films there are that feature them.
Alien 3 – 1992 – directed by David Fincher
I could spend all day writing about Alien 3 and the massive clusterfuck that was the production of this film. It changed hands too many times, was re-written and re-visioned too many times, and is a prime example of what happens with studio executives meddle too much with a film. There are old scripts that I could talk about, concepts that were never visualized, and countless other things to bring up, but I’d rather talk about the movie that we got. Or at least the “assembly cut” of the film.
After this film, director David Fincher has since proven himself as one of the best directors working today. Even if you’re not familiar with his name you’re probably familiar with his films like Se7en, Fight Club, The Social Network, Gone Girl, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It’s just unfortunate that he was hampered so badly here by studios and producers.
Alien 3 picks up shortly after Aliens, but promptly kills all but one character from that film. This was something that I didn’t particularly mind, but I can totally see how that could piss off a lot of people including James Cameron and a few actors from the previous film. Michael Biehn, who played Hicks in Aliens, was so pissed about his character being killed that he charged the studio for just as much money as he got from Aliens just for using his likeness in a few scenes.
The film takes place on a prison planet where all of the prisoners are male. This makes things awkward when Ripley and her crew crash land on the planet. I actually kind of like the setting, as it brings back the isolation of the first Alien. That’s not to say that this film reaches those heights though, as it most definitely does not. I made that comment just to say that it feels more like the first film than the second.
The acting is mostly competent, but it’s just really clear that there were too many cooks in the kitchen on this one. The special effects really suffer a lot here, with terrible green screen sequences and extremely dated computer animations.
Alien 3 is far more mean spirited than Predator 2. It’s a dark and depressing film, which makes sense given the setting and the characters. Though I think that Alien 3 is a better film overall than Predator 2, Predator 2 is more fun to watch for me. There’s little to no humor at all in Alien 3, and though humor isn’t needed in an Alien film, a little bit would have been nice to break up the heavy atmosphere and tone of the film. That’s a nitpick though.
What breaks the film is the studio’s fingerprints that cover the film, extremely dated looking special effects that look noticeably worse than the films that came before it, and a paper-thin script with giant plot holes that really don’t make a whole lot of sense. None of this is Fincher’s fault though, or at least I don’t think so. I think he did the best that he could with what he was given, and I’d like to see him try another film like this, though that will probably never happen.
Alien: Resurrection – 1997 – directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
We’re really into the shit now.
With a quick look at the critical reviews, one could be forgiven if they assumed that Alien: Resurrection would be an improvement over its predecessor. I mean, Joss Whedon wrote the script after all. How bad could it be? I suppose I was expecting a mild improvement over the last film. What I did not expect was for the film to descend into self-parody, making a mockery of all of the films before it.
Alien: Resurrection is the worst film in the Alien franchise and the second worst film in the collected AVP universe. Alien 3 was not a great film, but that film is miles above this one. I cannot and will not ever understand anyone who says this one was better than Alien 3. They’re not even close.
The movie begins with scientists creating a clone of Ripley in a lab. The cloning isn’t perfect though, which ends up blending some Xenomorph DNA in with Ripley’s giving her superpowers essentially. We also have another human/alien hybrid that appears later in the film that looks like utter shit. Does this sound like shitty fan-fiction yet?
Alien 3 may have been devoid of humor, but Alien: Resurrection is devoid of character and charm. The characters in Alien 3 might have been forgettable, but they were at least interesting while you’re watching the film. I don’t remember any of the characters’ names in Alien: Resurrection. I don’t remember anything worthwhile at all in this film, with the exception of a few lines of dialogue that are only memorable because they’re so utterly inane. One scene that I remember is Ron Perlman’s character getting frightened of a spider while he’s climbing a ladder and shooting it. I’ll say again, he shoots a spider with a fucking gun. And this sequence takes place just after an encounter with Xenomorphs. Now remember that this is a movie that is officially a sequel to two of the greatest science fiction films ever made. It’s not an unofficial spoof directed by Mel Brooks or someone like him, this is a sequel that is considered canon!
Admittedly I am a fan of Joss Whedon and his works. Firefly is one of my favorites, and I think that he’s done pretty good work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cabin in the Woods is great, and his version of Much Ado About Nothing was quite enjoyable. He screwed the pooch on this one though. I don’t doubt that he was pressured into some of the ideas by the studio, but it’s tough to excuse this film. I didn’t blame Fincher for the problems with Alien 3, but that film was almost just okay for me. This film is an atrocity.
Even though I think Whedon was way off his game while writing the script, I really wish he had at least directed it. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is mostly known for his films Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children, and Amélie. Why was Jeunet chosen to direct this movie? He seems like a weird choice. I think Whedon at least would be able to create a worthwhile film in the Alien franchise if the studios could keep their hands to themselves, but Jeunet is a very strange choice. The directing feels off to me and the shots are distracting.
Avoid this movie at all costs. I hate that it’s included in my box set of Alien films. It has no business being involved at all with any of the other films in the franchise. It needs to die in a fire where it can never bother anyone again. Sure I’m overreacting, but I just want to express just how much I hate this loathsome piece of garbage.
Alien vs. Predator – 2004 – directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
If you think about it, it actually makes a little bit of sense to put Xenomorphs and Yautja together. The idea was originally done in comic book form in the ’90’s, and while some of those comics are not so great, you can’t deny that seeing the Xenomorphs fighting the Predators on the big screen would be at least a little awesome.
Cue Paul W.S. Anderson to come in and make another mediocre film.
Anderson isn’t an incompetent director, his directing style is just kind of okay. It’s just a shame that most of his films are garbage. I haven’t seen Event Horizon, which is apparently a cult classic that was influenced heavily by Alien, but it’s a cult classic for some reason. I’m willing to give it a shot. But when you take into account all of the Resident Evil films…let’s just say that his filmography isn’t full of great movies.
That being said, Alien vs. Predator is not a good movie. It’s not as dismal as Alien: Resurrection and it’s miles above its sequel. It’s at least a decent popcorn movie if you turn your brain completely off. It creates massive plot contradictions with Alien 3 in particular, where Ripley is concerned about the Xenomorphs making it back to Earth. Apparently they’ve been here the whole time just frozen under the south pole in a giant pyramid made by an ancient civilization that worshipped the Yautja, who used the humans to breed Xenomorphs to use as prey in coming-of-age rituals for younger Yautja. This whole plot makes Ripley’s sacrifice in Alien 3 totally meaningless, if it wasn’t already made meaningless by the atrocious fourth film.
But hey, at least Lance Henriksen makes an appearance as Bishop…kind of.
Go ahead and watch it if you want, but keep in mind that this one is a little dumb. There are moments where it’s at least fun in a very unintelligent way, and some of the action sequences are fun. Overall, it’s a completely unremarkable movie.
Am I the only one that thinks that an AvP movie could be good? I mean, none of them have been so far, but I honestly think that it has the potential.
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem – 2007 – directed by the Brothers Strause (Colin and Greg Strause)
Christ. If you want an example of how not to make an AvP movie, or just how not to make a movie, watch this piece of shit.
This movie is what happens when you take two of the most powerful and terrifying creatures in science fiction and shove them into a teenage slasher movie. Seriously, that’s all this one is, and it’s not even a good slasher movie. It’s not even passable, even for a slasher movie. It’s absolutely horrendous.
The directing is awful, the cinematography is way too dark, the acting is shit, the writing is bad, and the whole movie just has this direct-to-DVD feeling to it. Hell, at least Alien: Resurrection had some memorable moments, even if the only memorable ones were stupid. I swear to god this will be the only time I ever say anything even remotely nice about that flaming garbage heap.
The only thing that’s memorable in this puddle of vomit is the Predator-Alien hybrid, but I can’t even credit this movie with creating that thing. Not to mention it looks awful. And if Alien vs. Predator made Ripley’s sacrifice in Alien 3 meaningless, this one takes a shit on it, eats the shit, and vomits it up again. I could get close to suspending my disbelief with the first AvP and say, “Well at least the aliens weren’t running free and no one knew they were there” and give that movie a reluctant pass. This movie doesn’t even get close to that. There’s nothing good to say about this one.
AvP:R is beyond terrible. Don’t watch this. Please. It’s painful to even think about. Seriously. I don’t ever want to be someone who tells someone to give up on their dreams or ambitions, but if I were to tell that to someone it would be Uwe Boll and the Brothers Strause. Boll didn’t have anything to do with this film, but it’s seriously on that level of suck. It even fails to fall into laughably bad territory.
Predators – 2010 – directed by Nimród Antal
The ’90’s and 2000’s were dark times for these two franchises. 2010 brought us a decent film after two horrendous ones and three nearly passable but still incredibly flawed movies. Produced by Robert Rodriguez and directed by Nimród Antal, Predators is a return to form for this series at least.
A bunch of people from all over the world are kidnapped and let loose in a jungle with weapons. They all come to realize that they’re all trained killers. Adrian Brody plays a mercenary, there’s a Yakuza hitman, an Israeli sniper, among others. They also realize that they are not on earth, but on another planet. The Predators have kidnapped them and released them in a planet that acts like a game preserve with the express purpose of hunting them down.
This is a fantastic premise and feels right at home with the Predator series. This film also introduces another breed of Yautja, who are apparently feuding with the Yautja that we all know and love. They play the same part though, and besides the inclusion of one classic-style Predator that was taken prisoner by the new ones, they’re pretty much interchangeable.
Predators is not perfect though. Some of the acting is a little lackluster and character development is rushed. It’s all passable and the film ends up being memorable, if only just a little.
Overall this is a pretty good film that’s made even better by coming after several truly awful films. I’m beyond excited for whatever happens next with Shane Black’s take on the Predator. That film is slated for release in August of 2018.
Prometheus – 2012 – directed by Ridley Scott
Alien 3 might have been controversial amongst Alien fans, but Prometheus might be the most controversial film in the series. The film acts as a prequel of sorts to Alien, but the film presents more questions than answers.
Initially, everyone was on board with a prequel film that focussed more on the “engineers” (in Alien we see an engineer corpse on the derelict spacecraft before the crew of the Nostromo make contact with the alien eggs). The set up is also not bad either. A bunch of cave drawings from multiple points on earth show a man from the stars and point to a specific star in the sky. A crew boards the ship Prometheus and set out to find out if these men from space did indeed create us and for what purpose.
Taken on its own, Prometheus is a very well made and good looking film that holds almost no weight on the rest of the franchise. It’s so dependent on whatever will come next (Alien: Covenant [please be good, please be good]), that it comes off as totally weightless.
While the film does touch on some Lovecraftian themes (being created by alien beings that really don’t give a shit about us and the horror that concept induces), that really is the only horrific thing in this film. Sure there’s some body horror moments, of course, but at this point that kind of thing is expected.
There are only two likable characters in the film, that being Noomi Rapace’s portrayal of Elizabeth Shaw, and Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of David. Shaw is one of the archeologists that discovers the original cave drawings and is the main character here, while David is an android with shady motives and serves as a major source of symbolism here.
You might get the idea that I didn’t like Prometheus, and at first I didn’t. I was actually pretty livid after I saw it the first time. I thought that it, in a way, disrespected everything about the franchise. After a second watch, I began to warm up to the film a little more. I’m still divided on it, honestly. This is really the only film in the series that I’m on the fence about. Like I mentioned, it really relies on whatever the sequel does. If the sequel is indeed terrible or if it fails to validate the existence of this film, Prometheus might turn out to be my least favorite film in the series aside from the true atrocities like Alien: Resurrection and AvP:R. It’s not that Prometheus is a bad film. It’s beautiful to look at, the cast is pretty good; it’s passable really. The main issue is that as a part of the Alien franchise, it falls short in an unbelievable way, a way that I never thought a Ridley Scott directed film in the series could fall short.
I’m going to end this here. As a massive fan of both Alien and Predator franchises, I have high hopes for the future. I’d like to see more of both, but I really wish that 20th Century Fox would put out more Predator movies. The concept has always been something that intrigued me, and I don’t think that it has reached its full potential yet.
As far as the crossovers go…I’m just going to say that I don’t think that any crossover film will be considered a “great film.” I do, however, think that it would be possible to do a good one. One that would be much, MUCH better than the two that we’ve received thus far.
Here’s hoping that Alien: Covenant is good. Not only for its own sake, but for the sake of Prometheus as well. I’m chomping at the bit, and cannot wait to see it. Early reviews look decent, so I’ll hold on to whatever bit of hope that I have.
What are your thoughts on Alien and Predator? Do you think it’s possible to have a decent crossover on the big screen? What did you think about Prometheus?
Seventh Opinion 