We have recently bought the Alien Trilogy. I like the series very much. Do others have opinions on this series?
Posted by Cargile (Member # 45) on :
The first two movies are the best. The other two are basically the same as these.
------------------ "Minsk."
Cmdr Worf
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Oh, I don't know. Resurrection didn't break any new ground, but Alien 3 was rather different from Alien. Or at least, that's what I thought. I've only seen the third one once. My friend recently bought the same collection Trinculo speaks of, so I'll have to borrow it sometime. Got to love the director's cut of Aliens, though.
------------------ "Near the door! They leave reality inside!"
Posted by USS Vanguard (Member # 130) on :
Well now that its four movies(with a possible fifth on the way) its not really a trilogy anymore now is it. On the other hand, Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy is six(or is it five?) books, so who am I to say anything.
------------------ "This should provide adequate sustenance for the Doctor Who marathon" -Fat Sarcastic Comic Book Guy
Posted by David Sands (Member # 132) on :
Never seen Alien all the way through, but it was really groundbreaking. Number 2 was probably the best; they should have just made the director's cut the real movie. Number 3 I thought was a very boring film. Too much time is spent on finding if it's even there, which isn't really exciting or horror-inducing. Sadly, it had the most potential, but fell flat on its face at the startline. Haven't seen number 4.
A fifth one? Are they still going to try to do Aliens vs. Predator? Please tell.
------------------ "Warfare is the greatest affair of state, the basis of life and death, the Tao to survivial or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed."
"...attaining one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the pinnacle of excellence. Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence."
-Sun Tzu, The Art of War, 6th century B.C.E.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
It's five. Hitchiker's... (very good) The Restaurant at the end of the universe... (good) Life, the universe and everything (excellent) So long, and thanks for all the fish (not bad) Mostly Harmless (good novel, but not really funny. Too serious)
And that's sort of the joke. The world's most inaptly named trilogy.
On the topic of Alien 3, you have to admire them. I twould have been so easy to repeat Aliends, but they went in a completly different direction.
And Ripley killing herself at the end was amasing too.
------------------ 'There's no meat in beer, right?' -Joey Tribiani
Posted by Trinculo on :
I don't believe there will be a fifth movie. In the official movie magazines, there is no mention of a fifth alien film.
My rankings- 1. Alien 2. Aliens 3. Alien Resurrection 4. Alien 3 (for me, the biggest flaw of this movie is the inadequate explanation of how an egg got aboard the Sulaco)
Posted by Xentrick (Member # 64) on :
I have always loved these movies and rank ALIENS on my personal, slightly subjective list of the greatest movies ever made.
Yes, Alien 3 was a departure from what the audience was expecting. Instead of copying the second movie...the copied the first one. But cat and mouse against one alien after seeing a whole horde in the previous movie never seemed very satisfying.
Then throw in the less-than-loveable characters, the strange "brick-lined factory in the future" setting and the off-hand way that Newt and Hicks were just erased from the story line, and you get a flick that really disappointed a lot of people. Not to mention that little cheat about how Ripley got a chest-burster---was the Alien Queen carrying an egg with her like an [American] football cradled in the crook of her elbow?
Yeah, I'm a blood+guts movie fan. I wanted more Marines, more 41A's, more dropships, so it took me several viewings on video to even warm up to Alien 3.
Alien Resurrection copied Aliens, but by then they'd lost a lot of fan respect, I think.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Weaver is contracted for two more movies, in fact. At least, that is my understanding. Part of that contract is that she gets to co-produce them.
------------------ "Near the door! They leave reality inside!"
Posted by The Excalibur (Member # 34) on :
For some reason, I never could get interested in any of these movies.
------------------ ALL GOOD THINGS
Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :
I liked the first two movies very much.
Especially the first one was groundbreaking, regarding how many times it has been imitated since. The Alien was the ugliest and meanest thing I'ver ever seen, the starship Nostromo was butt ugly, moist and uncomfortable, the people were no brilliant warriors, officers or scientists, but ordinary people. Everything quite different from Star Trek or Star Wars.
The second part had more action instead of the paralysing, often subconscious tension in the first part.
The third part was mostly lame, tried to imitate the tension in the first part, but did not really continue the storyline. Everything seemed unreal, and unfortunately this applied to the logic of the story likewise. The characters were of the kind you don't worry about. Who cares if they are all eaten by the Alien?
The forth part had a somewhat better story, but didn't reach the thrill of the first two stories. There was hardly anything new.
------------------ "No, thanks. I've had enough. One more cup and I'll jump to warp." (Janeway, asked if she would like some coffee in "Once upon a Time") www.uni-siegen.de/~ihe/bs/startrek/
Posted by Feste on :
The first two are the best. In Alien3 thought they broke faith with the audience by casually killing off Newt. Also couldn't buy how Ripley found herself great with alien. Alien4 fun to look at but didn't care much about the characters.
------------------ "'I'm afraid there's nowhere for you to sit,' I said coldly; 'the verandah is full of goats.'" --Saki "The Guests"
Posted by Shipbuilder (Member # 69) on :
This may be old news, but I just thought I would let everybody know that I went into a local discount store and picked up a copy of the Aliens Special Edition tape which has 17 minutes of restored footage that isn't present on the original release. I haven't watched it yet, but I'm pretty sure it has the sentinel guns scene in it this time...I remember seeing it during a TV showing, but I got the original released movie and that scene wasn't on there. Oh well, I'm sure its worth the $10.
Posted by Cargile (Member # 45) on :
Plus the Aliens: Colonial Marines Tech Manual is far better that the ones Paramount publishes.
------------------ "Minsk."
Cmdr Worf
Posted by Shipbuilder (Member # 69) on :
Exactly right Cargile. I accidentally ran across a mention of that book on someone's website and I got a copy quick. It's full of detailed USMC info and in my opinion it is better than any of the Trek-manuals. (although it is kinda like apples and oranges since *most* of the USMC equipment is still low-tech compared to Star Trek equipment)
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
*buzz* It's actually called Alien Legacy...... and it contains all 4 movies, plus a special video on the Alien Saga (behind the scenes, history, etc.)
Aliens was the best, IMHO. Alien Ressurection was just plain weird.
------------------ I can resist anything....... Except Temptation
Posted by Trinculo on :
I believe an issue that needs to be resolved if 20th Century Fox decides to green light the next Alien film is the role of Sigourney Weaver. Since she assumed the role of producer in the third film, the Alien films have lost the ensemble of characters, direction, and quality of plot that is evident in the earlier films. I would like to see Ms. Weaver removed as producer and the films return to the story of an ensemble encountering the Aliens. I firmly believe that Ms. Weaver's ego has played a role in the decline of the films.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
Many people who watched Alien 3 were dissappointed when she incinerated herself at the end of the movie, to destroy the alien. I, on the other hand, disagree with them. So what if the main character dies in a movie? But what pissed me off was that they brought her back to do Alien Ressurection (that and the fact that she retained all of her memories, plus that alien in her chest).
Originally, Winona Ryder was supposed to be the main alien basher in this movie. Shoulda stayed that way...........
Wonder if the next alien movie will deal with the infestation of Earth itself?
------------------ I can resist anything....... Except Temptation
