Alien Reviews: Our Verdict on Every Alien Movie

Our verdict on the Alien movies is that Alien (1979) is the best film in the series, Aliens (1986) is the one I would rewatch most often, and the later films repay you only if you know what you want from them. Each verdict below is opinion, written by one voice with the reasons attached. If you want the films in a sensible sequence first, start with alien movies in order, then come back here.

Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott. In my opinion this is a near perfect piece of horror, and the reason is restraint. The Nostromo is a commercial towing ship with seven crew members in hibernation and a cat named Jones, and the film is patient enough to let you live on it before anything goes wrong. It cost $11 million to make and took about $110 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, so it was a clear hit. It also won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Verdict: watch it first, and preferably after dark.

Aliens (1986), directed by James Cameron. Cameron turned a haunted house film into a war film, and, paradoxically, that is why it works. Ellen Ripley is found drifting after 57 years in hypersleep, then agrees to go back to LV-426 with a team of Colonial Marines and a company man named Burke. Newt and Bishop give the film a warmth the original never attempted. It made about $183 million worldwide on a $17 million budget. Verdict: the best action sequel in the series, and the most rewatchable film here.

Alien 3, directed by David Fincher (1992). This is the film most fans argue about, and I will say it plainly: it is bleaker than the first two, and I think it is better than its reputation. The escape pod lands on Fiorina 161, a foundry world of violent male prisoners, and the film cost $50 million to make. It earned about $160 million worldwide. Verdict: watch it after Aliens, and expect a downbeat film.

Alien Resurrection, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1997). Two hundred years after Ripley died, scientists aboard the Auriga clone her, and the film moves into a stranger, jokier register with Winona Ryder as Call and Ron Perlman as Johner. The look is distinctive and the cast is a pleasure. The tone, however, sits furthest from the original. It made about $161 million on a $75 million budget. Verdict: for completists, and for anyone curious about how far the series could stretch.

Prometheus, directed by Ridley Scott (2012). Scott returned with a prequel set in 2089 on the moon LV-223, with Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw and Michael Fassbender as the android David. It is the most ambitious film in the series, and it earned the most at the box office of any Alien film, about $403 million worldwide on a $130 million budget. In my opinion the questions it raises are larger than the answers it gives, but David is a great creation. Verdict: watch it for the ideas, and for David.

Alien: Covenant, directed by Ridley Scott (2017). The colony ship Covenant, set in 2104, is a more conventional Alien film than its predecessor, and it was the first in the series shot in Australia. Katherine Waterston plays Daniels and Fassbender plays both David and Walter. It made about $241 million on a $97 million budget. Verdict: uneven, with its best material around the androids.

Alien: Romulus, directed by Fede Álvarez (2024). It sits fourth in chronological order, after Alien (1979) and before Aliens, and it follows Rain, played by Cailee Spaeny, and her android brother Andy, played by David Jonsson. It is the newer film I would recommend first, because it understands what made the original work. It earned about $351 million worldwide on an $80 million budget. Verdict: the best of the recent films, and a good entry point if the 1979 film feels old to you.

Two more films carry the creature but not the main story. AVP: Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem are reviewed in the Predator franchise. No release date has been reported for an Alien: Romulus sequel (see alien romulus 2 for its status), so there is nothing to review yet. For the numbers behind these verdicts, see the alien box office page, and for a strict ordering of the films, see alien movies ranked. If you simply want to know where to stream them, where to watch alien has the current options.