Ranking the Alien Franchise: From Facehuggers to Xenomorphs, Which Film Reigns Supreme?

Because of the release of Alien: Romulus, I decided to rewatch all of the Alien films. The Alien franchise is one of the OG science fiction franchises starting all the way back in 1979. The original 2 films were instrumental in developing the Sci-Fi film genre while the other films were there too. As a whole, I have enjoyed the Alien franchise. There are some clunkers in there but I get enjoyment out of most of the films. With that said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the 9 Alien films.

9. Alien Vs Predator: Requiem

Alien Vs Predator: Requiem is easily the worst film in the franchise. It does have some of the novelty of seeing The Predator fighting against a bunch of Aliens even though the first AVP movie does it better. It isn't an unwatchable pile of garbage but is instead a so bad it's good pile of garbage. It doesn't deliver as much of the Alien vs Predator mayhem and essentially sidelines the Predator in the story. The worst thing about this movie is that it sidelines the Predator hunting Aliens plot in favor of a bunch of forgettable characters and their life problems. The movie is so bogged down by the 20000 different characters and spends too much time setting all of them up to bring them together in the last 15 minutes. The movie also pulls a Game of Thrones and makes exciting action sequences very hard to see as they are shot in near darkness. Overall, this is just a bad movie, that, while entertaining at times, is probably not worth watching.

Grade: C Score: 5/10

8. Alien 3

Alien 3 is the Alien film that I dislike the most. It may not be the worst made Alien film but it does completely undermine the ending and successes of Aliens. Aliens ends with Ripley escaping with her new family of Newt, Hicks, and Bishop. Alien 3 opens by completely negating that victory and killing everyone except Ripley in the first 2 minutes. It isn't even like the movie provides a good story in return. The plot of this movie is mediocre at best. There are a few moments here and there and there are solid David Fincher (the director) moments but in general, the plot is just not it. I am also not a fan of the direction they took Ripley in. Everything they built her up to be in the previous is rendered pointless by the death of her friends. I am also not a fan of the new characters that are introduced. They don't have any of the memorable qualities that the characters in the other movies have. Finally, I felt that the CGI Alien did not look good at all. The aliens look progressively worse as the franchise goes on but that is an issue for another time. In the end, this is an unworthy sequel that undermines the success of one of the greatest Sci-Fi films ever made.

Grade: C Score: 5/10

7. Prometheus

Prometheus is a film that a lot of people seem to enjoy that I just did not get. On the positive end, the film does feel a bit reminiscent of classic Sci-Fi short stories from HP Lovecraft or HG Wells. I also thought that everything Michael Fassbender did was very good. However, beyond that, I did not connect to this movie. This movie tries to be one one-part story about the creation of humanity and one-part alien prequel but doesn't do either part all that well. I found the story to be a bit dull at times with story elements that were all over the place and logic that didn't make a ton of sense. I also thought the cast was underutilized. It contains heavy hitters such as Idris Elba and Charlize Theron but doesn't do much of anything with them. Charlize Theron's character really has no purpose in the film while Idris Elba's character has one cool moment but is regulated to the side for the rest of the time. I also got a bit lost in the origins of humanity and everything that was going on with the engineer race. Overall, while I can appreciate some of what the film was going for, it just didn't connect with me.

Grade: C+ Score: 6/10

6. Alien: Resurrection

Alien: Resurrection is when I start to get a little more positive about the franchise. While this still isn't a great movie. It is at least entertaining. This movie brings some fun and interesting characters to the story with a group of space smugglers. They each have their own little gimmick that makes them fun to watch. I enjoyed the basic premise of the story as it is essentially an escapist film with aliens. I also thought that Winona Ryder was solid in her role. She is basically the second lead of the story and does a good job holding her own. While I have fun with this film, there is still quite a bit wrong with it. I'm not a fan of what they did with the Ripley character having her be a clone and essentially part alien. I thought that was just a weird direction to take and really should have just left her out of the story. Along the same lines, they throw her into a few goofy moments, such as the basketball scene, that just feels weird with her character. Of course, the alien CGI still doesn't look great as they continue to show too much of the aliens. In the end, I felt this just got a bit too cheesy and hokey when it was supposed to be a more serious franchise.

Grade: B- Score: 6.5/10

5. Alien Vs Predator

Alien Vs Predator is definitely one of the more fun installments of the franchise. It delivers exactly what you would expect with a movie of this name. The movie doesn't get too bogged down on the human character. It gets them together as soon as possible and comes up with some nonsense plot to get them to the location where they see the Aliens and Predators fighting. The movie just does a great job of staying focused on what people come to see. People don't care about the humans or the Aztec temple. They just want to see the Predator cut the heads off of aliens. Of course, this isn't a quality movie by any means. The characters are one dimensional and the plot is just nonsense. However, it ultimately delivers what people want to see. This is a perfect definition of a junk food movie. It is very fun and entertaining but seriously lacking on a plot and character level. Overall, this is a very fun movie that delivers exactly what people want. You come to see Aliens and Predators fight and that is what you get.

Grade: B- Score: 6.5/10

4. Alien: Covenant

Alien: Covenant is the closest we get with this lesser set of Alien movies to the success of the original films. This was the first movie in a while to at least somewhat capture the magic of the original film. One part of this movie tries to be a Sci-Fi horror film where a bunch of colonists are attacked by aliens. Much like Prometheus, Michael Fassbender steals every scene he is in as he has to play two different characters. I also thought the last 30 minutes were very exciting as we get a more up-close battle with the alien. Essentially, all the times the movie tries to be just another classic Alien film, it does it reasonably well. What hurts this movie is when it tries to be a Prometheus sequel. Those are the moments in the film that slow down the most and just don't work as well for me. Some parts get way too philosophical as the Michael Fassbender characters discuss the meaning of humanity. I also thought the alien still didn't look great in the movie. It is best if they just keep the aliens hidden in darkness. In the end, while this is the best of this grouping of Alien movies, it is still nowhere close to the original films.

Grade: B- Score: 6.5/10

3. Alien: Romulus

Alien: Romulus is the newest entry in the franchise and is miles above the previous films on this list. This film is a solid back-to-basics Alien movie. This movie does a great job of recapturing the horror vibes and charm of the original film. The characters are all solid parts of the story and we get this sweet relationship between Rain and her "brother" at the core of the movie. The relationship gives the movie some heart and makes for some emotional moments. I also like how the movie wisely goes back to hiding the Aliens in darkness. I think they are much more sinister when you can't see them. The movie also decides to add the face huggers as more prominent threats which I thought was a welcome change. The movie also does a great job of making connections to the original film. Several moments reference the original film and supply some decent fan service. This movie is just a perfect example of delivering what Alien fans want. The only thing keeping this score down was that the movie was a bit derivative of the original film. It is derivative in the way The Force Awakens was to A New Hope so it still made for a solid film and works for the fans. Overall, this is a great addition to the franchise and I hope more films continue on this path.

Grade: B+ Score: 8/10

Click here to read my full review.

2. Alien

Not only is Alien one of my favorite horror films, but it is also one of my favorite Sci-Fi films. I like this movie because it takes a different approach to horror than your typical slasher film. This movie creates a great amount of suspense as you never know when the alien is going to show up. Ellen Ripley is such an interesting character as she can hold her own against all of the male characters. She is one of the first true strong female leads in a movie and Sigourney Weaver does a great job with the role. I thought the movie was able to portray the alien quite well. The filmmakers knew that the Alien would not look good in full lighting so they made the smart decision to shroud it in darkness. Doing so made the alien much more realistic and more terrifying. The movie also delivers on a lot of solid Sci-Fi elements including space travel and futuristic technology. The story itself is very simple but still does an excellent job of building tension. I don't find it super scary but a lot of people put this film as one of the scariest horror films out there. In the end, this is a solid Sci-Fi film that builds tension and fear and delivers a monster that is interesting and terrifying.

Grade: A+ Score: 9.5/10

1. Aliens

Aliens is James Cameron's take on Alien by making it bigger, more exciting, and with more explosions. In my opinion, Aliens is the greatest of the Alien franchise. The action in this film is so well done. It has a lot of exciting moments and a whole lot of marine vs alien action. The pacing in this movie is good too. The movie is basically non-stop action from beginning to end and really keeps you entertained the entire film. The effects in this film are also really well done. Even though this film was made in the 80s, it still holds up for the most part. James Cameron doesn't overuse the Aliens to the point that they look cheesy, but just enough that they still come across as scary and have a presence in the film. Aside from the action and effect, the characters are also super memorable in this film. They have unique traits that make them stand out in the film and are all fun to watch. Ripley, Hicks, and Newt really create a sort of family bond towards the end of the film that gives hope for the characters when everyone else is getting killed. The dynamic between Newt and Ripley is also very well done. Ripley comes across as motherly to Newt while still able to be a strong female figure in the film. This is just a great classic film that still holds after 40 years.

Grade: A+ Score: 9.5/10