Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 217 Ratings

  • Starring: John Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt
  • Summary: For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, Alien returns to the big screen with a digitally remastered special edition of director Ridley Scott's science fiction/horror classic. (Fox)
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 22
  2. Negative: 2 out of 22
  1. Reviewed by: Peter Hartlaub
    100
    Feels like a streamlined improvement on the original.
  2. Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    80
    And while this director's cut doesn't really differ all that much from the original 1979 release, it contains a few minutes of never-before seen footage, including one serious bitch slap and an entire scene in which Ripley stumbles upon a few not-quite-dead crew members whose terrible fates foreshadow James Cameron's 1986 sequel.
  3. The overall effect is about the same -- slow start, then escalating suspense and violence. Today's shock-movie fans will enjoy shrieking at it, and others should skip it. In space, no one can hear you ask for your money back.
  4. 30
    Unfortunately, fulfilling an apparent need to assert absolute control over his early successes no matter the cost, the director has gone ahead and loused up his 1979 masterpiece of gothic sci-fi horror.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 59
  2. Negative: 1 out of 59
  1. RomanS.
    10
    All-time fave (if not the second part) and I never got tired watching it over and over again (after having bought an Alien Quadrilogy box set).
  2. Ridley Scott's "Alien" is scary and amazing. It has the scary tense moments, presenting them with such screenplay that's even rare these day. A definite must watch. Expand
  3. This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Technically, Alien is pretty much flawless and right from the start when the camera is panning round the ship you know you're in for something special. The film starts slowly by gradually building the tension and suspense once the crew get to the distant planet (the build up was a little too slow if I'm being super critical). The cinematography was also excellent and once they reach the distant planet to investigate the apparent S.O.S you really feel as though you are at a bleak and desperate place and this really helps to set the scene and continues to build the tension.

    The main crew on board the ship consists of; Ripley (Weaver) Dallas (Skerritt) and Parker (Kotto) to name a few. All performances given by the cast were good, but no-one gave a stand out performance in my opinion. I did enjoy the interaction between all the characters and felt as though they all connected well together they all squabbled with each other at times, but were all there for each other and worked as a team when it mattered.

    Alien also benefits from impressive special effects (considering it was made in 1979) and once the alien grew to full size I thought it looked quite menacing.

    The main problem I have with Alien is the rather poor ending. Once all the crew on board are killed, there is only Ripley as the surviving member. Having hunted down and killed all her crew, the Alien doesn't chase Ripley and instead just lets her run round the ship, pick up her cat and then get in the escape capsule. Then the Alien turns up wedged at the front of the capsule (for no apparent reason). Ripley then gases the Alien, fires at it and it gets blasted out of the door and that's pretty much the end. How I wish that Ridley Scott would have opted for a 'proper final showdown' (a la Predator). But instead Ridley opts for a rather pathetic ending.

    I probably would have rated Alien either 8 or 9 had it not had such an anti-climactic ending, but for that resson I have given Alien a 7.
    Expand
  4. Timbuck2
    0
    This movie can never bee made into a decent film, it will always be pathatic and nothing but fake gore, annoying script and stupid scares...awful in every way...no match for "The Descent". Collapse

See all 59 User Reviews

Trailers

Related Articles

  1. Ridley Scott: All Films Considered

    Ridley Scott: All Films Considered Image
    Published: May 12, 2010
    The famed director's latest big-budget adventure, "Robin Hood," arrives in theaters this week. We take the opportunity to look back at Scott's career and rank his films from best to worst.