Every movie in the Alien franchise, ranked (including Alien: Romulus)

There aren't many movie series more iconic or long-lived than Alien. It's been almost 50 years since director Ridley Scott changed sci-fi with his own distinct take on the genre, adding in horror elements to make something truly unique. Since then, the Xenomorph has hardly ever been off our screens, with seven main films in the franchise so far, becoming a huge part of popular culture along the way. With the newest Alien movie, Alien: Romulus, now in theaters, let's go through the whole series and rank the movies worst to best!

7. Alien 3 (1992)

Coming off the back of Aliens, one of the strongest movies in the franchise, Alien 3 looked like it could be a great film, but sadly it failed to live up to its potential. It started off on the wrong foot, killing popular characters Hicks and Newt offscreen before the movie even started, and wasting so much potential.

It's clear the franchise is losing steam with this movie, as it fails to bring anything truly original to the screen. Add to this a lackluster story and a cast of characters made up of terrible criminals who you can't possibly care about, and it's clear things aren't going to turn out well. All of this makes it a disappointing entry that's could have been so much better, although the visually stylish direction from a young David Fincher deserves applause.

6. Alien: Covenant (2017)

Covenant follows up on Prometheus, continuing the origin story of the Xenomorph. It's a small step back from the overbearing, undercooked philosophy of Prometheus, bringing back more horror and action to keep the story going. The problem is that it doesn't do anything to answer the big questions posed by the previous installment. In fact, it adds more to the list, setting up for a third movie that doesn't seem likely to ever happen.

Another big weakness is the characters, who despite the fact they've been chosen to lead a colonization mission into deep space with thousands of lives in their hands continually make bad decisions that put everyone in danger. It requires an astronomic suspension of disbelief to accept that these are professionals who've been put in charge of a mission costing billions of dollars.

5. Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Alien: Resurrection is something of an odd man out in the franchise. It received a mixed reception upon release. Some of the criticism towards it was deserved, as it fails to live up to the standards set by the first two movies. It does manage to outdo its predecessor, though, delivering a more enjoyable experience than the nihilistic Alien 3.

Resurrection delivers what you might expect from an Alien movie made in the '90s. It still plays with the tiresome idea of the Weyland-Yutani corporation, a shadowy presence that's long been lurking in the background of this franchise, wanting to turn the Xenomorph into a weapon. And the whole idea of cloning an alien-human hybrid is absurd. But when the movie plays to its strengths and indulges in gross-out horror, it's more successful. The less serious tone works well in places, especially with actors like Ron Perlman and Brad Dourif around to take things over the top.

4. Prometheus (2012)

In 2012, Ridley Scott returned to the Alien franchise for the first time since 1979 with Prometheus, a prequel that attempted to tell the story of where the Xenomorphs came from. The movie gets points for trying something new. Unfortunately, things didn't work out as intended, proving that creators can destroy their own creations.

One big flaw is the inclusion of heavy-handed philosophical ideas that ask questions about how humanity itself was created. A lot of this philosophy is explored through the character of David (Michael Fassbender), an android created by the billionaire Sir Peter Weyland, of Weyland-Yutani. It's all so out of place in the Alien franchise, which had grown famous because of horror and action. It feels more like Scott was trying to recreate his sci-fi classic Blade Runner without success, making it the most disappointing and frustrating movie in the series.

3. Alien: Romulus (2024)

It's not often that a franchise can recover after a string of disappointing entries, but Alien: Romulus is able to pull things together to deliver a satisfying seventh movie in the series. It manages to do this by going back to basics, with an action-horror feel that does away with the metaphysical philosophy of the last two films.

Romulus is a dark, claustrophobic movie filled with tension and jump scares. It has a strong sense of being in the same world as the original Alien movies. It does have a few failings, such as the overbearing amount of references included for fans to pick up on and a final act that jumps the shark on occasion, but all in all it's a fun and exciting movie that's a win for the struggling franchise.

2. Alien (1979)

It all started here, in the late '70s. Sci-fi was big business thanks to a guy names George Lucas, and Ridley Scott decided to do his own thing, making a dark horror classic where the villain was an alien and the haunted house was a spaceship. "In space, no one can hear you scream," reads the classic tagline. Perfect.

Alien is a classic movie through and through. It was unlike any other sci-fi movie made at the time, with its dark, grim, and totally pessimistic view of the future where space travel is a hard, often boring task rather than an exciting adventure. It also gave science fiction one of its best heroes in Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), and a legendary monster in the acid-blooded Xenomorph.

1. Aliens (1986)

It's rare that a sequel actually improves on the original movie, especially when its predecessor is a brilliant movie in its own right, but Aliens manages it by a hair. When director James Cameron entered the franchise, rather than simply copying Scott's style, he brought his own particular brand of sci-fi action to it, creating a film that was bigger, louder, and more exciting than Alien while still feeling fully immersed in the franchise's aesthetic.

This is backed up by a script that's near-perfect, with excellent character development, satisfying payoffs, and barely a second of screen time wasted on unnecessary scenes. The action scenes are high-octane, and it has one of the best final showdowns ever, creating an Alien experience like no other.

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