Sephiroth
Wade Wilson
Surviving
Posts: 28,879
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Post by Sephiroth on Dec 19, 2011 14:50:34 GMT -5
I am a big fan of the Alien franchise. The thing I love is how incredibly unique and original the whole theme was at the time the first movie was released. The alien itself looked like nothing I had ever seen before, and the whole process with the face-huggers, chest burters, and full grown monster hit on all the right levels to make it frightening. I'm also a fan of Sigourney Weaver, and consider Ripley to be her best character. I hope I'm not alone, and am curios to see which movie everyone here favors. Personally, I think the second movie, Aliens, was probably the best of the series. Even though the first established it, the second one developed the story the most-you learned that the aliens operate like a hive, and you saw the queen for the first time. Ripley also developed the most in that particular film, turning into the badass heroine we all know her as now. But I also have a soft spot for Alien Resurrection, because I think it just had a terrific cast and I loved the whole Newborn sub-plot. Anyone got anything else to add?
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Post by Hit Girl on Dec 19, 2011 15:10:16 GMT -5
The first one.
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Post by Red Impact on Dec 19, 2011 15:18:20 GMT -5
The first one, easily. It had incredible tension and build throughout, creating a perfect atmosphere. They knew exactly how much to show you of the alien to make that final reveal even scarier. It is, in my mind, the perfect horror film.
The second one just turned the franchise it into a more generic action series. They did get a lot right, sure, but it didn't have near the level of tension because it was the same thing we'd seen before, just set in the Alien universe.
The third one had promise and got back to the initial roots. I liked it better than the second, but even though I didn't like the direction 2 took, I disliked how they killed off everyone off-screen before the movie began even more.
Beyond that, it just went downhill.
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spec
Hank Scorpio
Bum Wiping Aficionado
Posts: 5,676
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Post by spec on Dec 20, 2011 21:01:11 GMT -5
I wrote my reply to this yesterday only for that f***ing ProBoards update shit to appear when i tried to post it. Grrrrrrr that stupid bitch needs a facehugger on her! See if i can remember what i wrote...
I like Aliens best. Great characters, great action, more xenos and we get to see a queen. Amazing tension as well with the motion trackers, with every blip you were anticipating with dread hordes of the deadly creatures approaching for the kill.
The original is a close second. Great atmosphere, classic scenes such as the chestbursting sequence, amazing sets; the Space Jockey in the derelict spacecraft is one of the most awe-inspiring and intriguing visuals ever on film (looking forward to Prometheus to finally discover all about this strange being) and of course the introduction of the iconic, grotesque yet strangely hideously beautiful Alien itself.
Significant dropoff with the third one, crappy looking CGI Alien and i didn't like how Hicks and Newt were killed off straight away although i guess that set the tone for what actually makes it a pretty cool film: the utter bleak hopelessness of it all; an isolated prison planet with no chance of escape and Ripley's impending and unavoidable doom. No happy endings here, very dark.
Resurrection had some interesting scenes and ideas, i liked the lab with the failed Ripley clones and the human/alien hybrid was ok although i know Giger hated it and dismissed it as looking like a turd lol. But i dunno overall this installment just felt kinda flat to me.
AvPs were pretty much garbage. I liked some stuff about the first one, the stuff with the ancient pyramids and human sacrifice xeno breeding by the Predators and the one on one xeno/Predator fight scene was cool but overall it just wasn't engaging.
And Requiem had no character builds so i didn't care when people just started getting slaughtered left and right and the gimmicky 'PredAlien' (surely 'Alienator' would've been cooler?) wasn't enough to save it. Just not enough story and characterization, also shitty quick-cut editing ruined the fight scenes but the biggest issue was the lighting or rather the complete lack of it.
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Post by MGH on Dec 20, 2011 21:02:39 GMT -5
Aliens by a mile. The first one is good, but there are points where it just drags. The second one really doesn't slow down once it gets going.
Never mention Resurrection to me.
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Post by Evilution E5150 on Dec 20, 2011 21:08:24 GMT -5
the one with the guns
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Post by Perpetual Nirvana on Dec 20, 2011 21:13:31 GMT -5
Significant dropoff with the third one, crappy looking CGI Alien The only CGI in the film was the alien's head cracking near the end and some extra shadows Amalgamated Dynamics added for the SE release. The rest was a blue screened rod puppet. Alien is my all time favourite movie. I dunno, I prefer Alien3 to Aliens after how much Cameron dumbed everything down. Hell, Alien Resurrection has more depth than Aliens. |
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Post by Mighty Attack Tribble on Dec 20, 2011 21:20:00 GMT -5
Alien is the best one for me, but I love Resurrection purely for the cast.
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Post by ritt works hard fo da chickens on Dec 20, 2011 23:37:56 GMT -5
Alien by far. I actually hate Aliens more than any of the other ones. Its a good action film I suppose but I fell in love with the tension and horror of the first one. Adding more booms and baddies doesn't really make something better to me.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2011 10:46:09 GMT -5
They are all pretty good but I watch the first AVP the most so take that for what you will.
And this will sound like blasphemy to some, but I find the original overrated. Yes, it is good, yes it is a product of it's time, and yes I appreciate the slow build, but the movie is just a little TOO slow. They could have shaved about 15-20 minutes off of the movie, and it would have had the same effect without being tiring at points.
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Arrow
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 5,122
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Post by Arrow on Dec 21, 2011 11:07:30 GMT -5
Aliens is my all time favorite movie, but it can't really be compared to the original. The first is a horror/sci-fi and the second is primarily an action movie, so it all comes down to which genre you prefer. I prefer the faster pace of the sequel, the expansion on Ripley, and the characters Hicks, Hudson, and Vasquez. It's just more fun to watch than the original.
Everything else on that list can go to hell.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2011 14:30:54 GMT -5
Aliens for me. It features my all-time favorite action movie one-liner.
"Get away from her, you bitch!" ;D
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Post by Joe Galt on Dec 21, 2011 14:55:20 GMT -5
The first one. I used to like Aliens more, but once I grew up, I changed my mind.
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BHB
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 5,778
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Post by BHB on Dec 21, 2011 19:48:08 GMT -5
Aliens is my all time favorite movie, but it can't really be compared to the original. The first is a horror/sci-fi and the second is primarily an action movie, so it all comes down to which genre you prefer. I prefer the faster pace of the sequel, the expansion on Ripley, and the characters Hicks, Hudson, and Vasquez. It's just more fun to watch than the original. Everything else on that list can go to hell. THIS. Aliens is in my top three favourite movies, it's just an action masterpiece. Alien is also pretty good, but a very different film as you said. I like to pretend the rest don't exist. I'm a big fan of Predator 1 and 2 as well as the Aliens vs Predator comics, but the AVP films are complete garbage. Predators sucked as well. |
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spec
Hank Scorpio
Bum Wiping Aficionado
Posts: 5,676
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Post by spec on Dec 21, 2011 21:03:04 GMT -5
Significant dropoff with the third one, crappy looking CGI Alien The only CGI in the film was the alien's head cracking near the end and some extra shadows Amalgamated Dynamics added for the SE release. The rest was a blue screened rod puppet. My mistake, that thing looked terrible though, way too obviously superimposed. |
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Celgress
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
The Superior One
Posts: 19,005
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Post by Celgress on Dec 22, 2011 0:44:45 GMT -5
A tough question, I loved both Alien and Aliens equally but for different reasons. Now number four & three on the other hand......
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Sephiroth
Wade Wilson
Surviving
Posts: 28,879
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Post by Sephiroth on Dec 22, 2011 2:11:27 GMT -5
Since I also recently did a thread about Dune, I thought I might share a fun little factoid with any of my fellow Alien fans who did not know it: Alien partially resulted from Dune.
To elaborate: Dan O'Bannon and HR Giger were both involved in an attempt by a director named Alejandro Jordowsky to make Dune into a movie in the 1970's. Giger had been hired to design some of the sets, and when O'Bannon was developing the idea for Alien he remembered Giger's work and asked him to design the monster for him. Love the way sci-fi genres tie into each other.
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Post by Sir Woodrow on Dec 22, 2011 2:34:37 GMT -5
Other: My Step Mother Is An...  |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2011 18:40:37 GMT -5
Aliens for me. It features my all-time favorite action movie one-liner. "Get away from her, you bitch!" ;D This, this, and oh HELL YEAH this. ;D Like the others said, the first one is a great film and to me is one of the scariest films ever just because of the setting and it's slow-yet-dreading reveal. It's just that I prefer the balls-to-the-wall pace that the sequel provides. It's a more lively movie, and one that doesn't let-up until the end. |
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CMWaters
Ozymandius
Rolled a Seven, Beat the Ads.
Bald and busy
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Post by CMWaters on Dec 23, 2011 2:05:38 GMT -5
The REAL Alien 3. The one we never got to see. The one teased at here.
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