Alien was probably the first successful franchise featuring a woman in the lead. Actually, it seems like one of the only successful movie franchises with a woman in the lead role. What makes these movies unique is their Back to the Future feature-their genre changes with each movie. Alien is a horror/suspense movie in a science-fiction setting. Sigourney Weaver is on a ship ordered to investigate a planet and collect some stuff. A robot (those treacherous bastards!) decides to bring an alien egg onto the ship and the fun begins. While Alien is directed decently by Ridley Scott, the pacing is really slow. I understand it's supposed to build up suspense, but it really harms the film. Considering nothing happens in the first 30 minutes, it's unintentionally works as a way to fall asleep fast. Once the alien fun begins, the movie picks up. It rarely shows the alien, making it seem more frightening than it is. The ending also has a neat twist. Alien is a good movie and one of the better films of the series, but it could have been so much better. I give Alien **1/2 out of ****. |