Tuesday, June 12, 2012

The Alien Movie Matrix

I'll present my detailed, spoiler-filled review of Ridley Scott's Prometheus (2012) one week from today, here on the blog (so see it before then; twice if you can...).

While watching the new film, keep in mind this matrix, and see how many categories Prometheus fulfills.  This may be one manner of judging how much of an Alien "prequel" the Ridley Scott film really is.  Does it live or die by the conventions of the established series, or does it feature new tropes and ideas?



Title
Alien (1979)
Aliens (1986)
Alien3 (1992)
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Android
Ash
Bishop
Bishop
Call
Company Man
Ash
Burke
85, Bishop
No
Comic Relief
Parker, Brett
Hudson
Morse, 85
Perez
In awe of the alien
Ash
Bishop
Golic
Gediman
Joseph Conrad
Nostromo
Narcissus
Sulaco
Sulaco

No
Pregnancy/Gestation
Kane
Colonists
Ripley.
Dog.
Alien Queen
Purvis
Self-Sacrifice
No
Gorman
Vasquez
Dillon
Ripley
Christie
Purvis
Failed Mission
Dallas in the
vents trying to
flush out alien
First engagement
with aliens in
sub-level 3
Prisoners attempt
to entrap alien
Military attempts
to breed and control
aliens as bio weapon.
Ship/Facility Destroyed
Nostromo
LV-426 Colony
Evacuation pod
Auriga
New Alien Life Form
Space jockey
Egg
Facehugger
Chestburster
Adult alien
Queen Alien
Dog Alien
Newborn
Surprise Death/Attack
Kane chest-bursted.
Alpha-male Dallas killed
half-way through.
Ash decapitated.
Bishop pulped  
 by Queen
on Sulaco.

Andrews dragged 
 through Cafeteria ceiling
No

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:20 AM

    Interesting stuff. I'll look forward to the review next week. I'm heading out to the theatre
    on Thursday night for a viewing.

    As an aside - always thought Andrews would have made an excellent newscaster, starting each broadcast out with his patented "This is rumor control. Here are the facts..." catch phrase.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi woodchuckgod,

      I can't wait to read your thoughts on Prometheus. I'm looking forward to posting my review on Tuesday. It's great to have Ridley Scott back in the sci-fi/horror genre.

      Oh my gosh, you're totally right about Warden Andrews in Alien 3. That opener "This is rumor control...here are the facts." would be perfect for today's cable news.

      Someone ought to steal that...

      best,
      John

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:49 AM

      Just got back from my screening. I'll look forward to Tuesday. Until then - I have a lot to sift through in my head. As Ash might say, I'm "still collating".

      For now, I'll simply keep my response to a succinct and spoiler-free "Wow." Wish I had time to go see it again.

      Delete

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