Alien and Predator Film Series

For me, Ridley Scott's Alien is one of the most perfect pieces of cinema, not only with regards to its genre, or genre hybridization, in this case sci-fi and horror, but also one of the finest films ever made. Unlike the fairy tale world of Star Wars (which I like I have to say), or the world of The Matrix (which I don't), Alien is something of a rarity, a science fiction movie set in a world that is almost realistic and authentic. Of course the movie hinges of an extra terrestrial, a space ship, a strange planet and all manners of grisly deaths, but what makes the film so good is how the film feels real because director Ridley Scott and screenwriters Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shussett have set their thrill packed horror spectacular in a future world that feel real. Their main characters are not soldiers or quasi-religious figures, they are merely futuristic equivalents of truck drivers, carrying their cargo not from city to city but from planet to planet. It is this kind of creation of character and scene within the film that gives it its charm, in a manner of speaking.

The way in which the story develops is also superb. What starts out as a film about a potential rescue mission for the main characters then turns into one about a medical emergency surrounding one of their own, in this case Kane played by John Hurt. The film then takes its twist and development into the film everyone knows and loves via its most famous scene at approximately the half way mark (that's almost sixty minutes in to a two hour movie), another superb piece of development as it allows the audience to get to like these characters before the violence and chaos begins. Of course when the chaos and violence do begins the film becomes one of the most thrilling ever produced, with its increasingly claustrophobic settings and the systematic killing of each one of its crew until only Weaver is the only woman left standing.

What I love most about the film is that coming at the end of the seventies (in this case 1979), the film is almost symbolic of everything that the American film industry had gone through throughout that decade artistically. The film has the science fiction leanings and fascination with technology and space travel that Hollywood was going through at that time with Star Wars, Close Encounters and even James Bond with Moonraker, but it also has that dark rawness that Hollywood had seen throughout the first six to seven years of that decade and witnessed in films like The French Connection, The Godfather and one of the other classic staple of the horror genre, The Exorcist. Like the latter movie, this is a film that, as I have said before, exhibits its plight of the fantastic and the horror inside a world that, while not as realistic as the one presented in Friedkin's film, is not that is possibly plausible.

Mention must go to Ridley Scott for his superb direction (his first mainstream Hollywood film) as well as all the actors (special mention must go, as always, to Weaver who truly deserved to become a big star after this movie) who in doing the movie gave us one of the most startling and most interesting movie series in mainstream Hollywood.

Can it be possible yet again; a sequel that is as good, if not better, than the original? Yes, it not only can be possible, it is, and "Aliens" not only proves a fantastic sci-fi movie in its own right but again proves the power that Sigourney Weaver has in the right film, as well as the over-powering direction of James Cameron.

Picking up 50 to 60 years after the original Alien, Weaver is once again thrown into a battle along with the Space Marines that are called to the planet where Weaver's team originally found the alien of the first film. The colonies that have been built there have been obliterated of all life and they are being sent there to wipe out every last alien on the planet.

Of course, in a movie like this, nothing is as it seems, and that's a positive quality. Weaver misses nary a beat as Ripley, a woman as un-trusting of aliens, most humans and just about anything else in general as she was before. It's only when they discover a small girl (Carrie Hehn) left alive that she finally finds something that perhaps shows she has some feeling left.

Of course, there are other great performances by Biehn, Henriksen, Goldstein, Paxton and Reiser, playing well fleshed-out characters against a backdrop of desperation, fear and outright gut-wrenching horror as they find out their mission wasn't as easy as they all thought.

But then comes James Cameron. Having proven his mettle with "The Terminator", he works with a bigger budget and shows just as much ingenuity and flair for big, flashy action as any ten action directors. But even if the story seems routine, Cameron's approach is not; he makes every single moment seem as fresh now as if it were being seen for the first time in motion picture history. Always a good thing in science fiction, where there aren't exactly new ideas coming out every day.

As with the original "Alien" (and Cameron's "Terminator"), the last half-hour or so is so much edge-of-your-seat and nail-biting tension that you'll feel like a wrung-out wash rag by the time all is said and done, and rightly so. And, more than ever, you'll empathize with Weaver as her character fights not only for her own survival, but for that of others as well.

So, "Aliens" is great science fiction and great film-making, but is it a worthy addition to the saga? Most definitely, especially when you consider that most sci-fi films can't muster half the story this one does, much less a sequel to one.

I remember going to see this film on its original theatrical release and being on the edge of my seat the whole time. The film still has that intensity today. This is one of the best ever hands down.

It has inexplicably become popular recently to call this film 'underrated', but it must be noted that this film is so bad that David Fincher and almost anyone else involved in the project has practically disowned it. Fincher had an agonizing time making this film, as he was brought into the project late into development and had to endure frequent, nearly intolerable creative interference from the studio. There are moments of typical Fincher brilliance in both versions of the film, but both are still without doubt bad films. It is worth noting that the extended special edition of this film is not by any means a director's cut; it is an assembly cut, simply adding in some deleted footage to make the film more complete, and without a doubt they were successful. The extended version of "Alien3" doesn't feature the seemingly horrendous editing evident in the original theatrical release, but it is still a film marred by executives not allowing the director to take control of this film. David Fincher hates this movie so much he refused to do a commentary track for the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set. Even James Cameron, notorious for being hard to get to do commentary tracks, did one for "Aliens". "Alien3" gets started where "Aliens" left off with Ripley's escape pod crashing on the prison planet Fiorina 161 which is also host to a correctional facility. Newt and Hicks die as a result of the crash but somehow an Alien from the previous film decided to hide on board and somehow escaped detection (its never explained how this happened) The prison planet does not allow weapons (how convenient!), leaving the prisoners and Ripley to fend for themselves.

Yes, the "Aliens" fan in me doesn't quite like how the entire second film's story is practically erased and its ending ruined in just the first few minutes of this film, but I'm willing to accept this if it was done well. It isn't. "Alien3"'s script is just bad and wasn't even finished before shooting began and it shows."Alien" was a claustrophobic, fascinating horror/thriller that was built on the 'less is more' ideology, and "Aliens" was the complete opposite: a pure, uninhibited action ride, brilliantly executed by all means. "Alien3" wants to be dark, it wants to be depressing, it wants to have the mood of the first while showing the Aliens as much as "Aliens" did, and it fails. "Alien3" has a weak plot, and it is as contrived as anything can possibly get.

This is a film made by the FOX executives and whomever they sent to ruin any chance David Fincher had to make this film look good. There are a few scenes where Fincher's superb directorial style is allowed to shine through, but most of this film feels forced. It feels like Fincher wasn't allowed creative control of well... anything.

I'm certain Fincher walked onto the set of this film with true enthusiasm, ready to create a dark, brooding monster of a film. What we get, thanks to FOX executives, is a lame, watered down version which is only dark due to the camera lenses involved.

On the plus side there *are* genuine moments of wonder in "Alien3". Moments of majestic beauty and gritty horror which fill you with joy and dread simultaneously. In both versions, you can see that if Fincher had been given full creative control that this could have been a truly artful, highly enjoyable film. It could have even surpassed "Alien" in terms of artistic quality. "Alien3" is an ugly spectacle, it is literally creativity being stamped out, destroyed, and this neuters any effect this film could have had. This is the most forgettable of the series. Note the scene where Ripley is cornered by an Alien, the one most often used in promotional stills, and note the scenes where the Alien is chasing the prisoners and Ripley in the ducts. These are masterful scenes shot by a master director. Unfortunately, a movie is a sum of its parts, then some.

The extended cut of "Alien3" doesn't fix all the problems. However, it is more watchable and the 20 to 30 minutes of deleted and alternative footage does help fill in logic problems. However that being said, this film is the result of the director not being allowed to work. It is a result of stifled creativity by the studio heads at FOX
To sum up, this is sub-par, uneven, and disappointing in comparison to standout efforts like "Se7en" and "Zodiac". As a standalone film it isn't very good, and as a follow-up to "Alien" and "Aliens" it is downright embarrassing.
If you have to watch it. Check out the special edition cut on DVD. Just don't expect much

When a film turns into a franchise and hit's the fourth in the series, there is a definite sign of it beginning to weaken. It may have even possibly started to weaken when it hit the third instalment. Overall I've enjoyed all the Alien films even if some are weaker then others. Alien: Resurrection didn't receive the best of reviews and can understand why with the horror element strong within the first, and the incredible action of the second. However I still enjoyed this outing.

As usual, the film picks up where it left off. Ripley is cloned and the queen is taken out of her. She finds that the DNA from the alien had mixed with hers and therefore possess some of their advantages such acid for blood and immense strength. Then predictably there is a breach on a spacecraft and it turns into a fight for survival. The usual formula and a first sign of a plot not taken seriously.

With this particular genre of sci-fi/horror/action, the use of GCI is inevitable, and is impressive on that note. It looked realistic, but there is still nothing overly spectacular to gorge your eyes at. The more 'ohhhh' 'ahhhh' gory moments are in the 'old school' use of visual effects. Highly detailed models are still intact which is loyal to Alien. Heads are bitten off along with aliens breaking their way through stomachs, but we've seen it all before. So what did bring originality to the fourth film? For me it was the underwater sequence. A entire level is flooded and the crew must swim through it to get to the docks and escape. But it's not as simple as that, as they are joined by none other than, you guessed it, a couple of aliens. It was a slick move from the writers to bring in something different and it paid off as a more exciting and tense scene to the film. Originality is what I wanted and that is what I got. This is a positive thing for fans of the Alien series, however the casual movie-goer might find this to simply be average or even poor. That's it though. That is the only speck of optimism you will get. The running time isn't as long as the previous films, which is why it is vital that heads begin to roll quickly, and they do.

The director brings a certain visual style to the table, possibly to compensate for the lifeless supporting cast. They're mealy puppets in space, used for gory death sequences. The more people involved, the more fatalities there will be. The writers recognize this, and as a result have a group of undeveloped characters that the audience do not care about. Jean-Pierre Jeunet doesn't steal any ideas though, instead he takes what we've seen before and turned into something a bit different. Take for example the famous scene whereby John Hurt is killed by an alien pushing out of his stomach. Alien: Resurrection takes that premise and twists it. Leland Orser's character is also pregnant with one of these creatures, and when its time, he places the despised scientists head next to his stomach in order to take him out in the process. A shocking scene that is another one of its high points. Although the high points are rare its good to see that some are present in a series that is beginning to loose its flare. The plot hasn't really changed and is still a monster/survival storyline such as the others. The other flicks had a sense of meaning though, as if you were there for a reason. This lacked the suspense of the others, which is what I thought Alien was all about.

An interesting concept was how Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) character transforms into something different. These creatures have been a part of her life for so many years, and you begin to see that here. However, you have to take into consideration that this isn't the same 'Stay away from her you bitch' Ripley that we've known from the start. This is a clone and there have been some alterations. What I found slightly pathetic was how Ripley now holds feelings and emotions towards these predators. This was something I couldn't understand because in the previous battles, she was devoted to wiping the mothers out.

Alien: Resurrection could be considered an excuse to round up a reasonable box office sum for a week or two, which is a shame. Jean-Pierre Jeunet did not resurrect the series as everyone was promised - again another sigh of disappointment. But what he has done is manage to generate enough diesel power for this to be entertaining.

No need to go to much into the plot or subtext of this film since I'm sure most people already know it but I can say that Predator might just be one of the most entertaining movies ever made; honestly, its ability to addict anyone who watches it is amazing; once you see it, you'll want to see it again and again and again...

It's as simplistic a plot as it can get, you won't learn important lessons on life after watching this masterpiece of the action genre, you don't have to do much thinking... and that's great! You just have to watch with an open-mind and expecting just big, fast-paced, explosive, action-driven fun! It's really that simple: a group of marines vs. an alien predator. How come no one ever thought about this before? And why haven't they made something this good again afterwards? From the first until the last scene it's just marines kicking rebels' asses, the predator kicking the marines' asses, and Arnie kicking the predator's ass. Machine guns, uzis, knifes, explosives, fistfights, you'll find it all here.

The predator's visual is a sight to behold: definitely ranks up there with the Alien's creepy, beautiful look. He's more humanoid-like, he has badass claws, he has lasers, he has a creepy mask, he's got fishnets where he hangs skulls, he's got lizard-like skin, he's got fangs underneath the mask, he's huge bastard and he's a mean killing machine. Yep, it's a seller! How can you not love this movie?!

Arnie is at the top of his game here, too, as well as the entire cast. This is the meanest team of marines ever assembled in a movie, and it shows when they go into killing mode. Great lines, great attitudes from all the actors, and a great kick-ass mood makes this movie one of the most unforgettable experiences in cinema.

First off, I'll say that this film is actually quite good, but is not as good as the first movie b\c it definitely had a lot to measure up to from the 1987 hit. The first one was brilliant with its claustrophobic atmosphere and interesting characters that were very cool and made us feel a slight pang of loss as they got dispatched by the Predator. The atmosphere was one of the key elements in the first movie, and it also gave Arnie a real challenge for a change (Whose blood didn't get pumping when Arnie pulled his 'Heart of Darkness' boyscout tricks in a all out fight with the Predator?).

With all of that said, I'd like to say that I really like this movie. Though there are some kinks in it as well as some bad dialogue, it is overall a pretty exciting movie. I think it's safe to say that there is quite a bit more bloodshed this time around, which is good and bad. It is good b\c the action scenes are, simply put, awesome. The war between the cops, the drug dealers and the Predator is always no-holds-barred, and though some of it is definitely Hollywood (I didn't know drug dealers had access to military weaponry?) there are a lot of realistic and also daring scenes (the subway shootout is definitely one of them). The bad part of the excessive action is that there really isn't as much tension in the stalking process this time around, it doesn't quite have the build up when Arnie and his troops were being stalked in the jungle. However, there are still quite a few tense moments as well as good scares in this film especially since the Predator is one frightening looking SOB!

The best part that I loved about this movie was the way they portrayed the Predator. When I was a kid, I just saw him as a mindless killing machine, but this now, after watching it again recently, I saw how they portrayed him with an ethical code of honor with whom he kills and how (no one that he considers a real threat). I notice his favorite method is to methodically kill everyone in a group, by any means necessary and then spare the bravest or toughest opponent for a one-on-one battle. I think it was genius how the creature stalked Harrigan after witnessing his heroics in the beginning and how the movie never blatantly pointed it out (via someone to explain it all to the audience). Definitely an interesting idea, which is rare for a sequel.

The acting is pretty good, overall. Danny Glover did a good job with his role as Harrigan as well as Bill Paxton (who, by the way, has one of the coolest pre-death scenes ever). The dialogue lacks in some areas, but is made up with the solid directing and pulse pounding score by Alan Silvestri. The script could have used some fine tuning, but the action never lets up and the movie, as a whole, is paced very well.

All in all, this is a worthy sequel to one of Arnie's best. I don't understand why so many people have a negative attitude about this movie, despite the flaws mentioned above. I think the filmmakers put a little more thought into the average action film and it shows. Overall, this is an entertaining movie to watch on a quiet Friday night after work, with a nice cold beer and a hot pizza at your disposal. In the end this film is a underrated gem.

As this third in the Predator series begins, eight human beings land in the middle of a game preserve, disorientated, annoyed and becoming increasingly agitated, they soon find that their day's going to get just that little bit more stressful as they realize that they're the hunted, not the hunters. And those committed to the act of hunting the hunted, are an evolved race of aliens simply known as the Predators, whose primary abilities revolve around their advanced alien technology providing dangerously vicious weapons and heavily protective armor, essentially rendering them as almost perfect killing machines. But this isn't nearly two hours of watching humans being stalked before their spinal cords becomes part of a trophy exhibit, as those chosen to be part of this game are all hardened killers and criminals. The mysterious Royce, played by a brilliant Adrian Brody, is a US Special Forces soldier who takes centre stage as the no-nonsense taking, cliché-speaking loner who only has one goal; to get away from their current location. While IDF sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga) is the yin to Royce's yang, as she constantly refuses to put her morals and ethics aside when it comes to the tough decisions, creating a stage of tension outside the confines of the confrontation with the alien beings. Alongside Royce is an Russian soldier (Oleg Taktarov), a Mexican enforcer (Danny Trejo), a US Death Row inmate (Walton Gobbins), a RUF officer (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), a Yakuza member (Louis Changchien), and the seemingly odd-one-out in an American doctor called Edwin (Topher Grace).

While 'Predators' is beautifully shot by cinematographer Gyula Pados, and contains a well-written script filled to the rim with plenty of grin-silently-to-yourself-one-liners, it's fatal flaw is reminiscent in the fact that Antal is torn between creating a film in the same sci-fi action-packed vein as the original 'Predator' film, and one that contains the visual flair and character development which is more apt to film that may act as the beginning to a trilogy or further motion pictures. Because of this, instead of concentrating upon the actual battle between the two sets of predators, the film is more concerned with developing a back-story and plot which just isn't visible nor is it viable. The screen time of the actual alien beings pales in comparison to sequences of the eight hardened criminals trudging through overgrown shrubbery as they constantly try to gain their bearings, and this detracts away from the giddy, enjoyable nature of the original film. Aside from this however as mentioned, the performances are on-form, the script is short, but sharp and witty, and the shooting and subsequent editing create a competent and worthy sequel to the John McTiernan's 1987 original 'Predator' film. This is worth a look for fans of the series. It does play as a sequel/reboot so no real knowledge of the previous films is needed to enjoy this movie