The rare movie that can get away with taking a moody, atmospheric horror genre piece and graft it onto the action conventions of the time, because it does it so well. I will take Alien any day, without apology or hesitation, but so many sequels today chase this achievement of ‘take this cult/niche hit and make it into a crowd pleaser action film’ and fail that you have to give this props. Believe me I’ve seen enough Predator movies try and fail that I have to. And it’s influence and staying power is undeniable. Hudson’s lines referenced for eternity. Apone being cloned for Halo. The Alien Queen’s design. Weaver as the centerpiece of it all… It just works! And Vazquez… my love…
It’s not that something was lost from the original so much that it was just changed, and which one you prefer will depend on your taste. Even the shift aside, however, I gotta say- Newt is not that strong. Flat acting, changing accents… she’s a plot device and a tool to show off Ripley’s character more than a character in of herself. While that’s serviceable for an action movie, it won’t elevate it. I find myself more attached to Ripley and Hicks. All in all a good time, this is the reason why generic ‘crowdpleasing’ action films in franchises receive so much criticism these days, cause this shows how it’s done.
Review by JCVIP 4BlockedParent2022-08-15T07:53:42Z
The rare movie that can get away with taking a moody, atmospheric horror genre piece and graft it onto the action conventions of the time, because it does it so well. I will take Alien any day, without apology or hesitation, but so many sequels today chase this achievement of ‘take this cult/niche hit and make it into a crowd pleaser action film’ and fail that you have to give this props. Believe me I’ve seen enough Predator movies try and fail that I have to. And it’s influence and staying power is undeniable. Hudson’s lines referenced for eternity. Apone being cloned for Halo. The Alien Queen’s design. Weaver as the centerpiece of it all… It just works! And Vazquez… my love…
It’s not that something was lost from the original so much that it was just changed, and which one you prefer will depend on your taste. Even the shift aside, however, I gotta say- Newt is not that strong. Flat acting, changing accents… she’s a plot device and a tool to show off Ripley’s character more than a character in of herself. While that’s serviceable for an action movie, it won’t elevate it. I find myself more attached to Ripley and Hicks. All in all a good time, this is the reason why generic ‘crowdpleasing’ action films in franchises receive so much criticism these days, cause this shows how it’s done.