Ranking the Alien Franchise (2024) Review

It’s fun. It’s goofy. It knows what it is. It takes two classic alien creatures and puts them into an action filled crossover with a high degree of tension. Ultimately, the biggest drawback here, similar to its slasher-genre cousin, we don’t care about the human element. It’s more fun to pick a side, and root for the alien or the predator and watch the humans get caught in the crossfire. I’ve seen this movie a few times, but truthfully, it is very difficult to remember how it is different from Requiem. Grade: C

Simply put, this movie tries too hard to be a philosophical masterpiece having something to say about life, the universe, and everything, without actually saying much at all. The characters are meant to be intelligent scientists but make bad decision after bad decision. I’ve seen more intelligent decision making in a slasher where the power goes out and an unsuspecting female decides to go into the dark basement wearing only her underwear.

Yup, that’s Prometheus for the better half of the movie. But, hey, give Ridley Scott credit for trying to do something different and attempting to answer those powerful questions like why are we here and where did we come from. Oh, wait, he doesn’t answer those questions at all and the whole movie is disconnected from the rest of the series more than any other. When Prometheus finally becomes an Alien movie toward the very end, it’s a lot more interesting, but it takes a long time to get there without much reward. Grade: C

Similar to AvP, this movie knows exactly what it is and doesn’t try to pretend to be something different. It sticks to the formula of its predecessor. It picks up where AvP leaves off and maintains a similar tone with the predator and xenomorph once again taking center stage. We might care a little bit more about the human element in this, but only a little.  Again, it is difficult to tell this movie apart from AvP, but this one is the stronger of the two and a step above Prometheus. Grade: C+

Covenant has one of the more interesting setups in the franchise and has an incredible cast, but somewhere along the way, the writing goes awry. The idea of an entire colony of humans as potential fodder for a xenomorph outbreak has immense potential, but it never develops into what it could be, but instead, settles for what it is. First, the female lead is barely distinguishable from the lead in Prometheus.

Secondly, it is another movie where we care very little about the humans. Most of them are unlikeable and we are awaiting their very predictable deaths. Similarly to Prometheus, this is a movie filled with characters who do not seem to be very smart and are very bad at their jobs. Covenant is caught somewhere between Prometheus and Alien, with Scott clearly wanting to develop the universe building of Prometheus but trying to do it in a more Alien-esque fashion. At times it works, but ultimately it is just a little bit ahead of the AvP movies. Grade: B-

I seem to be in the minority with this one, but I think this is still a really solid movie despite all the stories about the studio wrestling with David Fincher over control of the story and direction it should take. It’s a great setup in the isolated prison, and the acting is top notch, among the best in the series. Additionally, it does give us one of the most iconic visuals in the franchise with the alien confronting Ripley (pictured).

The extended cut does add some nice background elements and gives us more of a sense of purpose. This is a movie where we genuinely care about the characters and pits one single xenomorph against a group of humans with minimal means to fight back. The ending, unfortunately, is just bad. It seems out of place in the story and the visual effects looked silly even back in 1992. I do find these characters interesting and this movie is very rewatchable. Grade: B

The fourth entry into the franchise probably takes the most chances. Some work, some do not. It maintains a relatively straightforward plotline and mixes the blue collar element in with the capitalistic bigger picture combining pieces of the previous three movies.

Once again, it is incredibly well acted and the visuals are fantastic. The underwater chase scene is extraordinary and the character dynamics, while comical and silly at times, just work. Resurrection opts for a more comical action tone rather than a tense horror film, but that is very “of the time” for movies in the mid to late nineties. The comic element is often balanced out with a sense of creepiness and weirdness as seen with the Ripley clone room. The movie has a high level of suspense but it never delves into pure horror and doesn’t have much in the way of scares.

The worst element of Resurrection is that Michael Wincott’s character is killed off way too early — he is such a great actor and the character deserved more! Next, the ending of this one is just dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I can watch 90% of this movie over and over, but as soon as we get to the final baby alien, I turn it off. The creature is weird, the visual effects don’t work, and it makes very little sense. Other than that, this movie would be an A in my book! Grade: B+

I will have to give this multiple viewings before truly deciding where it stands in the franchise, but after two early watches, I love it. It is, by far, the most horror adjacent of the films, if not straight-up–horror at times, going far beyond a simple creature feature, but creating tension and visuals that are the things of nightmares.

It molds itself after the original movie and references it time and again to remind us that it is part of the Alien universe in the scariest way possible. Nobody in Romulus is over confident and none of the characters underplay the situation.

The movie is filled with the constant feelings of desperation, fear, terror, and hopelessness. There are some incredible visuals and the cast is very strong. The characters are ones we mostly care about, but it does have a few sacrificial lambs (someone has to have their chest bursting). It is visceral and atmospheric, and feels very real. Grade: A

It’s difficult to argue that this is not a great movie, because it is. Is Aliens better than the first? Not by my estimation, but others will argue it is superior. Aliens is very, very different. It is a non-stop action movie with plenty of suspense. It takes on a drastically different tone from the first movie.

The movie works every step of the way, although the ending takes a big swing, as blockbusters are expected to do — making it predictable early on, but still, the finale remains entertaining, albeit silly.

James Cameron also solidified the idea of a female lead in an action movie, one who is smart, strong, and capable. In The Terminator he first introduces this archetype but doesn’t bring it to fruition until Aliens and T2. Grade: A+