Assessing the merits of an “Alien” film requires some unique and sometimes very personal calculus. Even given the equal and undeniable artistic and commercial achievements of the first two installments, you have to factor in what resonates most with you between them — horror or action? And then among the rest, are you looking at intention or execution? A theatrical cut or alternate version? Canonical authenticity or spirited departure? For readers, that invisible process may produce a result that echoes the tag line of “Aliens vs. Predator”: Whoever wins, we lose.
Counting the “vs. Predator” films, “Alien: Romulus” marks the ninth feature in a 45-year franchise, and it seems to presage a xenomorph renaissance, with Noah Hawley’s “Alien: Earth” series coming in the months ahead. As “Romulus” terrifies audiences, Variety ranked the “Alien” films.