With four films and two spin-off franchises, the Alien series is an epic tale that grew stranger and stranger as it went. The core of the series is Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of the events of the first film. By the time the series ends, she has fought alongside the Marines, joined a ragtag group of incarcerated monks on a defunct prison planet, died and was resurrected two hundred years later with an Alien Queen growing inside her. While the first two films are unarguably the best, we remain staunch apologists for the last two. More stylish and daring in scope, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection bear the marks of their directors more blatantly than does Alien or Aliens. David Finchers Alien 3 and director Jean-Pierre Jeunets Alien Resurrection (written by Joss Whedon) give a widened sense of scale to Ripleys struggle against the homicidal Xenomorph species and transforms the character into a hero on an epic quest for salvation and revenge. Getting from the horror-style realism of Ridley Scotts first film to the quirky and comic booky hyper-realism of the fourth was a thrilling, bumpy ride for fans of the series whose hopes for a fifth and final film have been kept alive by none other than Sigourney Weaver herself. It would have to be better than Prometheus. Agree or disagree, or just have something to add, feel free to leave your comments below.
David Wagner is an author/musician who splits his time between Oakland, CA and Istanbul, Turkey.
David has published two novels, both available on his website, and as a fan of movies, comics, and genre television, he is happy to be working with WhatCulture as a regular contributor.
