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An Actually Timely List
Feb. 28th, 2026 01:52 pmI saw the advertisements for Predator: Badlands and figured why not do a ranked list for Predator and Alien movies as a blended franchise.
1) Aliens: not just because it's iconic. I enjoy the teamwork and camaraderie. I enjoy that the humans are tougher to take down while still being human. Sigourney Weaver is awesome. Good costumes pacing. Very, very enjoyable. Michael Biehn is awesome. The AI is a little overly friendly but this pivot from horror as the focus to action.
2) Alien: Romulus: the final monster is the best design ever. Delightfully gross and weird. I could barely look at it. I like the family vibe among the victims. Also, this is exactly what I want from AI characters. Reprogrammable, designed to be friendly but ultimately something that is not your friend. I loved the detail with the artificial person in the background telling bad jokes. A normal self deprecation trick that's standardized humor for them. Bjorn's actor has it hardest and he doesn't quite pull it off. Everyone else does a fantastic job. I love the set.
3) Alien: also what I want from AI stories. Ian Holm does a good job. Sigourney Weaver is awesome. The atmosphere is fantastic. Good job all around. Lance
4) Alien v Predator: a little slow but it does a good job building on the backs of both enterprises. Sanaa Lathan carries the humanization of the Yautja well. The team up sequence takes awhile to get rolling but once it does it's one of the best in the franchise. I appreciated the explanation for how and why these species coexist. Lance Henriksen always brings a good touch. Playing a human arrogant enough to model an AI on his appearance is a good reflection of the rotten heart of Weyland-Yutani.
5) Predators: the tension and plot twists between Adrien Brody's, Alice Braga's, and Topher Grace's characters are my favorite in the franchise. I love the cast of killers. I like the idea of the game preserve.
6) Alien 3: I like the prison setting. It's a clever twist after seeing the marines in action. Sigourney Weaver is awesome. It's transitioned back to horror and the use of the Lance Henriksen AI is delightfully inhuman. I like the factionalization and conversation about who and what counts as h7man.
7) Predator: iconic for a reason. I like the setting and the way the characters use the terrain. The yautja is a person but the relief around being able to make it bleed blurs that line between man and myth.
8) Prey: a little slow but I love what this movie does with language. Amber Midthunder does a wonderful job. I love the metaphor with the rats.
9) The Predator: a fun action flick. Sterling K. Brown and Boyd Holbrook do a good job. I like the idea of a game warden and hunting dogs. I don't like Thomas Jane's character but the actor does a good job. Same with Keegan-Michael Key. I don't like the child with Savant Syndrome.
10) Alien Resurrection: I used to rate this one higher. Sigourney Weaver is still awesome but the movie us kind of incoherent about personhood. The crew is very close to the same archetypes as the crew of the Serenity. The ownership of this version of Ripley reads differently to me since the information about Joss Whedon's conduct has come to light.
11) Predator: Badlands: I don't like getting this much of a look at the yautja from their own perspective. I'd prefer something in the Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, CJ Cherryh type of direction. But more than that, I don't like the part where loving a sensitive AI well enough makes her a human. That is some dangerous bullshit. No matter how cute she is, robots are not friends.
12) Alien: Prometheus: I didn't really understand until I watched the next movie, I am not Christian enough for this take on Prometheus. I don't really like Noomi Rapace. They could have done more with the juxtaposition between this shiny, new future and the horror of the black goo but they were busy setting up a Fall analogy. Making the robots be Lucifer isn't really any better than making them be friends.
13) Alien: Covenant: possibly my least favorite take on Lucifer.
14) Predator 2: boring. Though it did clarify the game hunter position.
15) Alien v Predator: Requiem: naked cash grab. Poorly planned and executed.
1) Aliens: not just because it's iconic. I enjoy the teamwork and camaraderie. I enjoy that the humans are tougher to take down while still being human. Sigourney Weaver is awesome. Good costumes pacing. Very, very enjoyable. Michael Biehn is awesome. The AI is a little overly friendly but this pivot from horror as the focus to action.
2) Alien: Romulus: the final monster is the best design ever. Delightfully gross and weird. I could barely look at it. I like the family vibe among the victims. Also, this is exactly what I want from AI characters. Reprogrammable, designed to be friendly but ultimately something that is not your friend. I loved the detail with the artificial person in the background telling bad jokes. A normal self deprecation trick that's standardized humor for them. Bjorn's actor has it hardest and he doesn't quite pull it off. Everyone else does a fantastic job. I love the set.
3) Alien: also what I want from AI stories. Ian Holm does a good job. Sigourney Weaver is awesome. The atmosphere is fantastic. Good job all around. Lance
4) Alien v Predator: a little slow but it does a good job building on the backs of both enterprises. Sanaa Lathan carries the humanization of the Yautja well. The team up sequence takes awhile to get rolling but once it does it's one of the best in the franchise. I appreciated the explanation for how and why these species coexist. Lance Henriksen always brings a good touch. Playing a human arrogant enough to model an AI on his appearance is a good reflection of the rotten heart of Weyland-Yutani.
5) Predators: the tension and plot twists between Adrien Brody's, Alice Braga's, and Topher Grace's characters are my favorite in the franchise. I love the cast of killers. I like the idea of the game preserve.
6) Alien 3: I like the prison setting. It's a clever twist after seeing the marines in action. Sigourney Weaver is awesome. It's transitioned back to horror and the use of the Lance Henriksen AI is delightfully inhuman. I like the factionalization and conversation about who and what counts as h7man.
7) Predator: iconic for a reason. I like the setting and the way the characters use the terrain. The yautja is a person but the relief around being able to make it bleed blurs that line between man and myth.
8) Prey: a little slow but I love what this movie does with language. Amber Midthunder does a wonderful job. I love the metaphor with the rats.
9) The Predator: a fun action flick. Sterling K. Brown and Boyd Holbrook do a good job. I like the idea of a game warden and hunting dogs. I don't like Thomas Jane's character but the actor does a good job. Same with Keegan-Michael Key. I don't like the child with Savant Syndrome.
10) Alien Resurrection: I used to rate this one higher. Sigourney Weaver is still awesome but the movie us kind of incoherent about personhood. The crew is very close to the same archetypes as the crew of the Serenity. The ownership of this version of Ripley reads differently to me since the information about Joss Whedon's conduct has come to light.
11) Predator: Badlands: I don't like getting this much of a look at the yautja from their own perspective. I'd prefer something in the Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, CJ Cherryh type of direction. But more than that, I don't like the part where loving a sensitive AI well enough makes her a human. That is some dangerous bullshit. No matter how cute she is, robots are not friends.
12) Alien: Prometheus: I didn't really understand until I watched the next movie, I am not Christian enough for this take on Prometheus. I don't really like Noomi Rapace. They could have done more with the juxtaposition between this shiny, new future and the horror of the black goo but they were busy setting up a Fall analogy. Making the robots be Lucifer isn't really any better than making them be friends.
13) Alien: Covenant: possibly my least favorite take on Lucifer.
14) Predator 2: boring. Though it did clarify the game hunter position.
15) Alien v Predator: Requiem: naked cash grab. Poorly planned and executed.
