[Closed] Alien/Aliens

Best action film ever made, I can think of another film with the same balance of suspense, action, sci-fi and horror, utterly superb in every way.

It's so unbelievably camp though..... I spent the whole first half of my rerun (last time I watched it was 10 years ago) laughing my head off at the awful acting and military props.

It is like 20 years old...

Depends which version you watched. The longer (? director's cut) version makes much more sense than the (shorter) original release.

Personally, I think it's an excellent film - a fast action counterpoint to the dark tension of the original (or something)...

I prefer Aliens, though I admit I'm a bigger fan of war and action movies than I am of horror.

Yep, worst sequel ever.
And that includes Jaws 2.

cynic-al - Member

It is like 20 years old...

So when do films go 'off'?

It is like 20 years old...

It's over a quarter of a century old, it was made in 1986.

It's an imminently quotable, character-driven slice of 80s action sci-fi, and one of my all-time favourite films. Tremendous fun.

The longer (? director's cut) version makes much more sense than the (shorter) original release.

^^ That

I think they are all good, they just get weirder.

AVP was a nice spin off as well.

They're coming outta the walls! They're coming outta the goddamn walls!

bwaarp - Member
Now Alien was a good film....just watched Aliens again....I don't get the rave reviews, it feels like Starship Troopers and not in a good way.

I've always wondered that too, but then 3 is my favourite.

What are we supposed to use? Harsh language?

One of my favourite films of all time. I think it has aged pretty well. I think it is an action film with more depth than most.

Alien is a fabulous suspense film, but the great thing abut it is setting a certain aesthetic idea of how the future is "used". There is no other film before it that looks quite like it imo.

Aliens is a great action movie that steals a lot of its best ideas and visual style from Alien.

Alien is a brilliant film.

It is an undisputed scientific fact that Alien is the best film of all time.

My point is it is a bit dated and influenced a lot that followed.

If you've just seen it...

I saw it some 10-11 years ago when I was 13-14, it seemed a bit daft then tbh.

cynic-al - Member
My point is it is a bit dated and influenced a lot that followed.

If you've just seen it...

i'd agree with that. i reckon that's why i think star wars is over rated - because i'm not in the generation who went to the cinema to see it when it was first released (plus the dialogue is awful, some scenes are too long, and Lucas isn't a very god director...)

Give the man a prize. Decent troll though, 6/10.. would be an 8.. but you've made too many replies in such a short time.

Prefer Alien and then Alien 3 but watching gung ho yanks take a whooping in Aliens Is always good.

You're on an express elevator to hell

Still my fav film of all time. Musta seen it 20 times.

Now Alien was a good film....just watched Aliens again....I don't get the rave reviews, it feels like Starship Troopers and not in a good way

Starship troopers is a homage to Aliens in a lot of ways, obviouslly, see also big chunks of Avatar...

Aileien must have been amazing if you saw it when it came out, the fact is now the shock is kind of ruined by the profusion of dolls, figurines sequels and parodies.

I've always wondered that too, but then 3 is my favourite.

Have you considered professional help?

I rather think that Dark Star was one of the first SciFi films to show dirty, messy worn out space ships.

I'm no film buff, but I'd say the dark grimy industrial aesthetic and visual style of both Alien and Bladerunner really set the standard for sci fi films that followed, there was nothing that good before apart from 2001 but that was a very different aesthetic. The followers they all did it in a really hollow sort of way with crap scripts and ideas and bad acting. (apart from Gattaca and Contact?) Now that cgi has caught up with Ridley Scott anyone can reproduce his aesthetic I suppose. I'd rather see something new and fresh, not Alien+1

edit: forgot about dark Star, that's class

Gattaca.... brilliant film....

In terms of sci fi....I'm going to cause a small outrage here but I rather liked the Solaris remake as well.

It's all splitting hairs. Between them Ridley Scott and James Cameron pretty much defined modern Horror/Action Sci-Fi films with Alien, Blade Runner, Aliens and Terminator. Not much since has come close.

Shame about some of the turkeys both of them have shat out since (Scott perhaps less so).

As far as I can see both owe some debts to Dark Star, Silent Running and Metropolis though.

Starship Troopers is also awesome, but in a different way.

slainte 8) rob

Starship Troopers is one of my all time favourite films 8)

Yeah. Alien, dark star, bladerunner, terminator perhaps. All dirty, realistic future films. Very awesome stuff.

Starship stroopers was hilarious with two stunning leading ladies thrown in.

Aliens was a very good attempt at a modern Scifi film of the time. I love it. To build on Alien was a difficult task and they did it brilliantly.

AVP was a nice spin off as well.

Really? It was a bit tenuous.

The alien skull in predictor 2 was a touch of brilliance but AvP just felt like the humans were thrown in for the sake of dialog. Saying that it was better than starship troopers.

I really liked the Solaris remake too. Starship troopers is a laugh, nothing to think about.

Best action film ever made, I can't think of another film with the same
balance of suspense, action, sci-fi and horror, utterly superb in every
way.

Erm..... Predator?

Both brilliant films.

Can't wait for Prometheus which may or may not be a prequel to Alien.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/8377487/happy_birthday_david_prometheus_viral_video/#

Kevevs - Member
Starship troopers is a laugh, nothing to think about.

slainte 😉 rob

Alas, the film (Starship Troopers) is no where near the brilliance of the book and don't even get me started on the lame effort that is AVP...

Compared to the original graphic novels, the film was a dire, badly acted, poorly scripted waste of time. With the technology that they had at the time, and used partially, they could have done a far better job of it following the proper story.

Back to Alien v Aliens though. You really can't beat the suspense of the first film, the feeling of isolastion and the darkness. It's not quite there in Aliens and, in some ways, the Director's Cut makes it less of a film; the marines have more technology and there is less of that feeling that there are well and truly stuffed.

I still say they should have just taken off and nuked it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

No the future had looked used before Alien. Silent Running and Dark Star come straight to mind. Even Star Wars.

in some ways, the Director's Cut makes it less of a film; the marines have more technology and there is less of that feeling that there are well and truly stuffed.

The whole point of the sentry guns is to show that the aliens can learn and adapt, and to highlight that for all the tech, 'it won't make any difference'. I'd say the reverse is true, it makes it feel like they're stuffederer.

in some ways, the Director's Cut makes it less of a film; the marines have more technology and there is less of that feeling that there are well and truly stuffed.

The whole point of the sentry guns is to show that the aliens can learn and adapt, and to highlight that for all the tech, 'it won't make any difference'. I'd say the reverse is true, it makes it feel like they're stuffederer.

+1 - It gives a similar feel to the great zombie films, no matter how many they kill, no matter how fast you run they'll just keep coming

For a long while, Aliens was my favorite film. Even did my uni thesis on the special effects created for the film. No better excuse to watch it over and over and over and buy loads of models from the film.

Stay frosty...

When I was at poly, a friend was enormously obsessed by the Grid laptop used in the film to control the sentry guns.
On a sidenote Grid is now a UK company based in Bucks.

Yep, worst sequel ever.
And that includes Jaws 2.

Mental note: don't ever watch a film that Bwaarp recommends.

Aliens is a cracking film but not as good as Alien for suspense however it's up there with Predator as the best of the bunch from that era. However The Thing is better than them all IMHO.

I suggest you try Highlander 2

You can add Escape From LA to that list too. I don't think I've felt more crushed at a cinema (outside of Highlander 2).

Oh, I think that "Harlem Nights" trumps Escape from LA as a shocking film, as does "Natural Born Killers" - both films that I ended up watching from a pub nearby.

imminently quotable

Was that deliberate? Good work...:)

"Get away from her....you bitch"
Watching it now 😀

Event Horizon is better.

Not read all the replies but all 4 films in a box set on Bluray just on offer at Zavvi for £9.95

Got mine 🙂

Oh, I think that "Harlem Nights" trumps Escape from LA as a shocking film, as does "Natural Born Killers" - both films that I ended up watching from a pub nearby.

Disappointing *sequel*, do keep up 007.

Was that deliberate? Good work...:)

Arse, no it wasn't!

box set on Bluray just on offer at Zavvi for £9.95

I paid twice that and thought it was a steal. Actually, I paid twice that and still believe it was a steal. Given the quality of the transfer, at ten quid it's worth buying if you like one of the four films a bit.

Yeah I only bought the set for the first two films.

Aliens builds brilliantly on the original, adding in the gung ho americanisms all over the place that was so typical of mid 80's action films, but builds on the original concept brilliantly.

Alien was always destined to be a shocker. Proper Suspense horror sci-fi. It wasn't meant to be a big budget blockbuster as such. For its time, it was incredible. Even today it's a brilliant film. But 7 years later, when the sequel came out, it definitely needed to be turned into more of a big budget blockbuster, with more action, and more character exploration. Alien 3 was kinda good in its own way, but I think the writers shot themselves in the foot slightly by getting rid of all weapons as it almost meant there was too little action for its own good. Nicely disturbing though, and kept nicely with the theme... Alien Resurrection... Erm... Well, felt a bit like what it was, a cash in! Not the worst film in the world, but far from the best. The AvP films are nicely entertaining in a "don't have to think, just enjoy the violence" way though.

The whole point of the sentry guns is to show that the aliens can learn and adapt, and to highlight that for all the tech, 'it won't make any difference'. I'd say the reverse is true, it makes it feel like they're stuffederer.

Yup, I'll agree with this too... Makes it feel even more hopeless, that despite the being the most heavily armed men that've probably ever been sent into battle, they're still totally screwed!

Some good points made,

I think that Alien and Aliens are really two different types of films and it is not possibly to compare them. Both good in there own ways

As for the others mentioned,

highlander 2 - what a pile of... loved the first film, gutted by the second, walked out of the cimena feeling they had destoryed one of my favourites

Event horizon = Class film love it.
Blade Runner = the daddy of sci-fi films in my opinion.

Some class films mentioned here.

Event Horizon was ace, underrated. Aliens was good...was filmed in the UK don't you know? The gung ho Americanism is meant to be a myth, it's beautifully deconstructed in Aliens. Post Vietnam innit? We have an innate understanding of the deconstruction of the American GI psyche now thanks to stuff like Three Kings, The Hurt Locker and Green Zone. This was made during the Cold War when the fallibility of brute force was almost taboo.

Alien 3 worked okay in it's own way but by this time the franchise was very action orientated. The best Sci Fi suspense film aside from 2001 was Outland.