"Alien is coming back" Topic

"Alien is coming back! And we're not talking Prometheus 2! (Whew!) Writer/director Neill Blomkamp announced via his Instagram yesterday that he will take on the 30-year-old franchise as his next movie, and we've got a lot of thoughts on the matter. (LOTS OF THEM.) Here are a few reasons why we can't wait for his take on the Alien franchise—and a couple reasons why we're just the slightest bit leery.

Why We Love Blomkamp
His Appreciation of the Xenomorph: Alien is not, nor has it ever been, a movie about people. This franchise is about one thing, and one thing only: The greatest extra-terrestrial creature ever brought to life on screen. Obviously, Ripley is a film legend, and we prostrate ourselves at the feet of Sigourney Weaver forever because of that role, but the common thread through any movie that dares to call itself a barer of the Alien standard is the Xenomorph. People can die off (farewell Dallas, Private Hudson, Clemens, and General Perez). Locations can change (we hardly knew ye USCSS Nostromo, LV-426, and USM Auriga). But no matter what, any Alien movie worth its salt has at least one, and preferably one million, Xenomorphs. Even Prometheus, which at best could call itself "Alien adjacent," got wise by the end of the movie and gave us the hell beast we waited for (sort of…it was only a Deacon). But it was too little too late, and we didn't even get a Ripley safety net to fall back on! The movie, in the hands of Grandmaster Ridley Scott, was a total let down. Blomkamp, on the other hand, posted concept art for the Xeno as his official announcement. That means he understands that without the ultimate Big Bad—even with the most perfectly-executed screenplay in history—Alien is just another space thriller…"
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Amicalement
Armand

I guess I'm still a freak of nature for thinking Prometheus was a good film overall. It had some silly flaws, but more than that IMHO it had sense of wonder. The Engineers felt every bit as alien – in the sense of jarringly strange and uncomfortable – as Xenomorphs ever have and the milieus felt moodily bleak and distant from the world of humans as they were supposed to. The ending left a big impression on me, not only for the sight of the proto-Xenomorph but also for the sense-of-wonder-inducing thought of Shaw and what was left of David electing to travel deeper into the unknown, at a junction when the comforting prospect of returning to human civilization was just flickering out of view behind them. I simply don't get the Prometheus-bashing, and if there's still going to be a sequel, then I want to see it.

I also disagree with the claim that a good Alien movie should preferably have "a million" Xenomorphs. Aliens (as in, the second film) was certainly a fun romp that gave us several brilliant quotes, but it also escalated the story right to the verge of jumping the shark. Alien 3 did an excellent job of de-escalating and bringing the franchise back to being the uncompromisingly bleak vision it's supposed to be. Normally I don't even like bleak science fiction – it offends the humanist in me – but for some reason I find Alien 3 to be so unrelentingly self-disciplined in its bleakness that I can't help but admire it. I find it telling that when Alien Resurrection set out to basically undo the uncompromising finality of Alien 3 and revive the action-oriented "fun" of Aliens (as I'm sure some fans who didn't know what was good for them were demanding at the time), the result was a rotten piece of offal. You can only make one Aliens, after that it gets over the top. I hope Blomkamp knows that and keeps the story on the straight and narrow, however austere and sober it may be.

But I don't know, maybe he can prove me wrong. It's not as if I disliked the action-oriented fun of District 9 and Elysium. Chappie looks promising, too.

I really liked Prometheus also. Yes there were some flaws. When Vickers introduced the crew to everyone she said she had not met all of them previously. Then later she explains how she has to be in control of everything. There was only a crew of about 10, and she doesn't interview everyone personally ?? Stuff like that bothered me.

I agree with Rhoderick.
I also liked Prometheus, and would like to see a sequel, if ever made.

But (probably) any new movie in the "Alien" universe is a must see for me.

I'll see this when released.

I liked Prometheus, too. There were memorable scenes that I enjoyed, along with the popcorn. I would like to see the answers to the questions in a sequel: "Where did they come from?" And "Who created the Engineers?"

I liked Prometheus as well but also readily admit it had some major flaws.

Thought 'Alien' and 'Aliens' were brilliant. Got my money back after going to see 'Aliens 3.' Absolutely hated the direction in which the franchise moved. I've only watched bits and pieces of the fourth film on TV and what I saw only confirmed my beliefs. My friends and I have large collections of Leading Edge 25mm 'Aliens' figures and have enjoyed many games but as far as we're concerned the 'Aliens' canon includes only the first two films. We've taken our games in a different direction, in which Gunnery Sgt. Hicks (formerly Cpl. Hicks) and Newt survived but wherein Weyland-Yutani is still a shady player.

Got my money back after going to see 'Aliens 3.' Absolutely hated the direction in which the franchise moved. I've only watched bits and pieces of the fourth film on TV and what I saw only confirmed my beliefs.

To me, that's a very unfamiliar notion. That Alien Resurrection was a continuance of the direction taken in Alien 3? The way I see it, Alien 3 veered back in the direction the first movie was going, before Aliens traipsed into action movie-land and came dangerously close to going over the top. Alien Resurrection, in turn, was about as complete a reversal as a reversal can get, an attempt at undoing everything that Alien 3 was about and be Aliens all over again. That's why it turned out utterly terrible. I don't consider Alien Resurrection to be part of the canon (but then, no one does).

The inmates of Fury 161 are some of my favourite characters in cinema. Deep, complex human beings.

I, II, III, I liked very much, IV was just fodder for a cash grab on the whole Alien run.

Prometheus, was a great movie!

I hope, truely hope that they can pull it all in and make this movie as good as the first, keep it as it should be scary and unknown.

In space, no one can hear you laughing all the way to the bank…

The story has already been told.

Move along.

Alien and Aliens are classics, and the rest was (and is) all downhill in one direction or another, IMHO…