10 Things You Learn Rewatching Alien

2. It's The Best-Aged Of All The Alien Movies

Alien Nostromo
Fox

Now, there's going to be some undeniable recency bias here, but on the strength of this remaster and how nerve-shredding the movie remains four decades on, it truly feels like Alien is the best-aged movie in the entire franchise.

Granted, its only real competition for standing the test of time will be James Cameron's sequel Aliens, which hasn't yet been slated for the 4K remaster treatment.

Given the sheer number of complex moving parts in Cameron's film, though, it's highly probable that a restoration will reveal far more "flaws" than in Scott's film.

While some of Aliens' dialogue veers into cheeseball territory - dialogue has never been Cameron's strong suit, after all - Alien's quieter, more dialogue-sparse approach lends it less opportunity to make modern audiences cringe.

Both films are sublime champions of impeccable practical effects, and Cameron's sequel will always win when it comes to sheer spectacle, but when it comes to tone and restraint, the original can't be beaten.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.