Alien Movies Ranked
9. Alien Ressurection (1997)
Why? Just why??? Why did this film have to exist? The answer is I have no idea. We did not need a fourth Alien film. Despite all of its faults, Alien 3 closed off the first 3 films well. Ressurection came along and completely ruined the franchise. Ripley's character was completely ruined. The xenomorphs felt less scary than they originally were. The side characters were mind-numbingly stupid. What did not help was the fact that Avengers director Joss Whedon produced the film, meaning it was full of random jokes that otherwise would never fit in an Alien film. Honestly, it would have been much better for this film to not exist and the original series to have ended at Alien 3.
8. Alien 3 (1992)
A severe disappointment but what were we really expecting? After the incredible quality of the original 2 Alien films, there was no way that Alien 3 could have lived up to the expectations. However, it was not the fault of the director David Fincher. It is well known that the studio watched his every move on the set, eventually leading to him wanting to disown the film and not have it associated with his name. This seriously showed in the poor quality of the film as it felt like the film was trying to jam too many ideas into one 2 hour slot and while there was a few iconic moments throughout, the majority of the film was a complete mess.
7. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
While it is very watchable, AVP Requiem is still filled with issues and imperfections. The Predalien is incredible and is unique in ways fans never knew they wanted to see. The action and kills are fine, but the films biggest issue was the awful human characters. Their acting was awful and the film spent way to much time focusing on them rather than the extraterrestrial war that was going on around them. It has multiple extremely tense and satisfying moments, while also having many boring and distasteful ones too.
6. Prometheus (2012)
Potentially the most disputed film in the Alien franchise, Prometheus managed to split the Alien fanbase right down the middle. You either love it or hate it or you could be weird like me and think its decent. Honestly, most of the criticism about the film being boring is quite harsh as there are plenty of solid action sequences and scary moments. However, most of the human characters are mind-numbingly stupid and their characters do not go any further than being disposable alien bait. Overall though, a solid prequel that fits multiple story elements from the original series together seamlessly.
5. Alien vs Predator (2004)
Underappreciated is an understatement when describing this film. It is basically a big-budget fan film. The battles were intense. Both species get lots of time to shine on screen and while the human characters are very annoying and stupid, they still put up a decent fight even though all of the kills in this film are very tame. It still left some things to be desired but overall it is a solid film that actually fits in very well to both franchises storylines.
4. Alien Covenant (2017)
A much more action-packed film than the other alien prequel Prometheus. Everything about this film was better than its predecessor. The action sequences were intense and the new planet looked incredible as well as allowing multiple tense moments to play out. David continues as a scary and deep villain who torments the other characters. While most of the humans were very forgettable, it's fine because the film finally gave us the origin of the xenomorph. Many hate on this film and honestly, it feels justified at times, but it is still refreshing to see the series back to it's sci-fi horror roots.
3. Alien: Romulus (2024)
Wow, this film feels so refreshing. The franchise appears to be done with the philosophical waffle introduced in Prometheus and I'm all for it. Alien: Romulus is very much horror, with elements of the two original Alien films present throughout. Many of our characters rise above being disposable Alien bait, which already sets it apart from every entry I've covered. We get a greater expansion of the overall Alien universe, and the greater focus on facehuggers as a tool for fear was a very good decision. Hopefully, Fede Alvarez gets to direct further sequels because after this I'm definitley ready for more.
2. Alien (1979)
The first two alien films are head and shoulders above the rest. It is very unlikely that the quality of these films will ever be matched by further sequels. The first Alien film is filled with flawless horror and potentially the best-constructed scene in cinema history. It introduced audiences to one of the most iconic and scary movie monsters ever created and also introduced us to many iconic characters that are still well remembered today. While the film takes a while to pick up, once it does it is a rollercoaster and is very hard to take your eyes off. Also there is a cat so that elevates this film to the next level.
1. Aliens (1986)
Wow. What a film. Incredible action, iconic lines and more xenomorphs make this not only the best alien film but in my opinion, the best film ever made (this opinion may change at some point). The galactic marines are a real step up from the naive crew of the Nostromo from the first film, and really even out the battle between humans and xenomorphs. The Alien queen is introduced and is scarier and more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Overall is is a classic film that will be iconic for a very long time.