Bought the "Alien" 4 in 1 collection. I saw this collection sitting on the top shelf of the DVD section in my local B and N months ago, wanted to grab it then and there, but hesitated and waited. I did this a few times, and finally decided to just get it and get it over with.
The first Alien movie I saw (on TV) was Aliens (the 2nd in the series) directed by James Cameron. I was still in junior high, and USA was showing Aliens that afternoon. It was already about 40 minutes into the film, but I got pulled in right away, and I was completely blown away by it, gave me nightmares. I remember I had to keep on changing channel when the action scenes got too intense for me, but always changed right back because I didn't want to miss anything. Aliens is the only sci-fi action/horror/thriller that made me want to watch so bad but also scared the wind out of me. I literally froze in place at the sight of those saliva-covered grotesque creatures that kill with their tongues and acidic "blood". I mean I still kinda shudder at the thought of those things, but am at the same time fascinated by the Alien films. So this is what made me hesitate about getting the DVDs, I thought the films would still be too intense for me. But it turned out I have grown a lot more numb to violence and gore over the years, though I'm just as repulsed by sordid horror films that are nothing more than mindless slash and splash.
So I watched all four Alien movies in two afternoons. Unquestionably, the first two in the series are monumentally better than the latter two. The first Alien, directly by Ridley Scott, definitely has a "British touch" to it (whatever that means). It is characteristically un-Hollywood, the build-up to the climactic "chest burster" scene is long and requires patience; the dialogues and character development are rather subtle, highly believable, especially the unexpected turn of events which begins with the android Ash who suddenly turns predatory on his teammates, and which leads to the ultimate revelation of the "real" purpose behind the mission of the ship named Nostromo, as masterminded by the Company. Surprisingly, the central figure of this movie, the alien itself, does not get that much screen time (compared to the latter ones). But this doesn't change the fact that Alien is creepy-as-hell and beats Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection (4) on the "scare-o-meter", both of which contain much much more slash and splash.
Aliens(2) is a roller-coaster-like action packed combat thriller, and it is GOOD, i mean, mind-numbingly good, though in a completely different way from Alien(1). I imagine it must have been pretty easy to screw up Aliens and turn it into something like Alien 3. But Cameron is just too good at this kind of stuff. The suspense is heart-gripping; there is a lot more gore and violence, but not to the point your stomach begins to churn. Mostly, it is the combination of suspense and powerful action scenes that makes this film excel. But there IS something else in this film that leaves a mark: the development of the character Ellen Ripley, the lone heroine, the bond between Ripley and the little girl Newt, something that turns into a mother-and-daughter bond, versus the similar queen-and-offspring bond between the queen alien and all the other aliens. So the final climactic moment in Aliens is the showdown between the "two mothers" -- Ripley and the queen alien...both of them lean and mean when it comes to protecting their children.
Alien 3 is, simply put, a mistake. There should have been only two alien movies, Alien and Aliens. In Aliens, most of the marines died, but the movie still ends on a hopeful note, with survivers Ripley, Newt, Ripley's love interest Hicks, and the android Bishop returning to base. But Alien 3 decided to smother even this feeble hope, killing everyone but Ripley. The entire movie feels pointless, and whats worse, Alien 3 decided to end with Ripley jumping into a furnace, and with that, there just HAS to be another sequel. I mean, you just don't kill the heroine in a series like this.
So, we come to the last in the series, Alien Resurrection. And "resurrection" means bringing Ripley, and, more importantly, the alien back to haunt us (oh yes, the new Ripley is badass), and not just any alien, the mother queen. This is the only alien movie i watched in the theatre. I don't loath this one as much as I should, because mostly, I don't mind watching Ripley lording over everybody else(including the aliens). She is angry, she is mean, and she spews acidic blood. But other than that, this movie is like a fetish nightmare, and every character thinks he/she is so tough that they just can't get over themselves.
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