It’s hard to believe that the iconic ‘Alien’ franchise has been going for 45 years! Despite its many ups and downs that the series had, they are still entertaining. And, the first two films will always be the best of the series!
So, to coincide with the latest release of ‘Alien: Romulus’ (a great addition to the series), I gave the first two films (Alien/Aliens) another look to see if they still hold up today - and they do.
In 1979s ‘Alien,’ in deep space, the crew of a commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship.
An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew, causing him to fall into a coma.
After four and a half decades, this Ridley Scott classic still holds up today. I have seen this film (and ‘Aliens’) numerous times and the 1979 film is still incredibly intense and the creature designs are still one of the best!
The film also has a slow build up, which sometimes doesn’t quite work for films. But, for Alien, it works perfectly. The slow build up helps build the tension before the crew encounters the infamous Xenomorph. This sci-fi/horror classic also has quite a few iconic moments - including the infamous chest-bursting sequence.
The chest-bursting sequence will always be iconic for years to come and is still one of my favorite moments in the film. Not because of the messiness of the sequence, but seeing the genuine reactions to the actors as the scene commences.
Now, let’s move on to the 1986 sequel ‘Aliens,’ directed by James Cameron, who has directed a few blockbusters you may have heard of, such as ‘The Terminator,’ ‘T2: Judgement Day,’ ‘Titanic,’ True Lies’ (always entertaining) and ‘Avatar.’ This entry, despite some good thrills, leans more into the action and it still works.
After floating in space during cryo-sleep for 57 years, Ripley’s shuttle is found by a deep space salvage team. Upon arriving at LV-426, the marines and Ripley find only one survivor, a nine year old girl named Newt.
But even these battle-hardened marines with all the latest weaponry are no match for the hundreds of aliens that have invaded the colony.
The 1986 sequel can also be just as tense and thrilling as its predecessor. Even though James Cameron moved away from the horror aspects and added lots of action, it’s still very entertaining and just as iconic.
This entry delivers a lot of gripping moments and the action between the marines and the Xenomorphs are mind-blowing. The climax of this film is just as great as the first film and this film shows that Ripley is someone who you shouldn’t mess with.
And, even though Ripley is always going to be a stand-out character, the late Bill Paxton’s character really steals the show with his hilarious one-liners and his infamous ‘It’s game over, man, game over” line. Just how he delivered his lines made them more humorous.
The first two ‘Alien’ films will always be iconic classics. The others in the franchise (including the ‘Alien vs. Predator’ crossovers) are OK, but not as great as the 1979 and 1986 classics!
You can currently stream ‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’ on Hulu!
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