I just watched Alien for like the 5th time, trying to like it, and I still don't really like it. I love the designs...

I just watched Alien for like the 5th time, trying to like it, and I still don't really like it. I love the designs, the sets, everything is great on a technical level. The cinematography, score, acting, and writing are great too. Really the only bad thing in the film is how goofy the alien suit looks in space at the end. But holy fuck, I did not enjoy this movie in the slightest. Every time I watch it I'm just waiting for it to end. It's not boring, because there's lots of big and small things happening all the time, but there is just no real energy to it. It's like it's a horror film for no reason, the horror doesn't mean anything. It's a lifeless, empty film.

Can you guys explain to me why it's so beloved, other than the designs and stuff? I want to give it another go at some point.

Anyone else feel the same? What's wrong with me?

I bet you enjoy the films of James Cameron.

(You)

Not really, I mean I like Terminator but I haven't seen anything else by him recently.

Not baiting, genuinely don't see it. I feel like there's nothing to really invest in with the film, there's never any real tension or stakes for some reason.

Bump, can no one explain to me WHY the movie is good? It's just supposed to be assumed to be good and if you disagree you must be baiting? Please, help me. I want to love it as much as you do but I can't, what am I doing wrong?

You already pointed out why the movie is good, you just don't get it. If you don't like the movie, you don't like it. There's nothing wrong with that. You don't to conform to the Sup Forums hivemind.

kys

I just watched it the other day, and while good, it felt a little slow. Is Aliens better?

Sometimes you just don't like a movie. I don't think that there's anything wrong with There Will Be Blood, but I just don't enjoy watching it.

Haven't seen it since I was a kid, I am going to watch it next and see if it's any better though

taking the bait, Alien is my favorite film.

When someone expends this much effort either on a troll or a sincere opinion, a reply is worthwhile. I will take your posts at face value.

I get that your big problem is that it feels "procedural", flat. I suspect that you automatically expect that space action sci-fi movies should be more action-y and plot-y, and that this may be part of the reason for your not "getting" the movie. I would further hazard that the movie is so old to you, from your point of view, that you don't want to connect with the characters, whereas I can remember connecting with the characters in my little stupid bedroom in my teen years, realizing "oh, this is quite good".

The lasting appeal of the film is a few different things: it had a great original creature, a nice ensemble cast, a successful market and original release, and a few really novel and daring scares, which are easier to take for granted now.. The film also does contain a subversive suspicion of le Ebil Company, which leftists can glom onto. A lot of these tropes were bounced around, but Alien crystalized them again in an interesting way that a lot of people like.

BOO

This, watching it today has less impact because the xenomorph has become an incredibly popular figure in pop culture. At the time of release, it was pretty fucking spooky to see for the first time.

I bet OP watched it assuming the characters were all cannon-fodder for the alien and didn't bother perceiving them as actual characters. It feels "lifeless" to him because he watched it with a slasher mindset, focusing on the monster rather than the victims.

Alien>Alines>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Promethius>>>>>>>>>>>>Alien: Resurrection>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Alien 3

Only good scare in the film imo

Trust me, I don't think it needs more action or plot, it's just that what's there seems to have little enthusiasm or urgency behind it. No real meaning or sense of importance, nothing to care about and no one to get behind. I like mainly older films, many of them slower than Alien, so it's not that. I just feel that although it does everything more or less right (and again, on a technical level it's exceptional), it's not got any truly daring choices being made, which is a shame given how impressive it is in many areas

>what's there seems to have little enthusiasm or urgency behind it.
This is referred to as "suspense". If all of the characters were totally aware of the Alien from the get-go it would be a much worse movie. You're supposed to watch the movie from the crews' perspective, you know something isn't quite right but there're more pressing matters like the bonus situation.

>nothing to care about and no one to get behind.
That's simply not true, Ripley is considered one of the greatest film protagonists of all time.

>it's not got any truly daring choices being made
Giger's designs, the chest burst, strong female lead. These were all pretty daring at the time.

I don't like Ripley that much. She makes a big deal about being willing to kill 3 of her own crew for quarantine purposes but stupidly goes after the cat after showing no previous signs of affection for it. Also perhaps you are right, maybe knowing what a xenomorph is since I was very young has tainted the film for me. But I'm not sure about that, because I can still watch stuff like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and be scared to death by it.

I don't consider characters cannon fodder, and my favorite horror films, even slashers, are ones that I feel have strong characters (Black Christmas, TCM, Sleepaway Camp for example). In fact that's precisely why I dislike Halloween, because it set the precedent of churning out nothing characters to be stabbed and even managed to make that boring. Alien is a much better movie than Halloween, but I feel that both seriously lack suspense

The whole point of Alien is that it's a bunch of older working-class truckers who are stuck together and get fucked over by an indifferent universe. Their job involves travelling for months in a dark void. It's a long, lonely, drawn-out process. They didn't want to stop on the planetoid, they just had to because of a shitty space law. Then they stumble across a horrible ancient place with an almost incomprehensible monster. The horror of Alien is the horror of the unknown, that somewhere out there in the infinie void of space is a terrible creature whose lifecycle is malice personified.

Also, Ripley wasn't willing to kill 3 of her crewmates. She just wanted them to stay off the ship for the quarantine period, and had Ash not ignored her order, the chestburster would have scuttled away and Dallas and Lambert would have boarded safely.

Ripley was quite right to refuse them entry, that's the point. If you think that simple refusal of entry for all three for a period of 24 hours is the same thing as "killing all three", then you need to rewatch. One of the thematic points of the film is that she was absolutely right on this point, but she was variously undermined by her boss Dallas, and the nefarious plant Ash. There is thus a feminist subtext in the film, but it is handled in a way (that is, 40 years ago) that does not put off today's audience out of express political principle. Your point about the cat is well-taken though, but again, you just haven't watched the movie closely enough. The cat is most closely associated with Ripley in establishing earlier material from the first act.

You do seem to express thoughtful and principled opinions, and so it's interesting to discuss this with you and I wish you well *nods respectfully to you*, etc. But you're really missing something about this movie. Be well OP.

This. OP, your failure to understand Ripley has resulted in your unfavorable viewing experience.

No, I understood that her decision was correct, I'm not a simpleton. I'm just saying that her risking her life to save the cat was out of character after seeing what a hardass survivalist she is, you know? I'm aware that following protocol was correct and there was a conspiracy against the crew by Ash and the company, I paid attention to the film and honestly all the subtle stuff with that is some of my favorite material in the film.

Regardless, my questioning Ripley saving the cat is not that big a deal, it's easy to overlook. I don't think there is much to understand about her, she's just a worker doing her job and then gets pushed into a horrible situation. Some of her insecurities and fears are revealed in the end when she's singing to herself something that sounds like maybe her mother sung to her or something. Trust me, that's not the reason I don't "get" it

Seems to me that you have a problem with how banal the situation is presented in Alien. It's a slow burn and not really designed like a conventional thriller\slasher. It doesn't scream massive stakes or try to make you have a panic attack. It's presented in a very detached, objective way, which I think adds to the atmosphere.

Maybe that could be my problem with it, but I love Barry Lyndon and I would consider that the most detached film of all time.

Similar to Alien, I did not like Silent Running very much. Maybe I'm just 2pleb4space movies.

>watching a film you dislike five times

I did the same thing with Halloween before I figured out I just genuinely think it's a bad movie. I still feel like I'm missing something with Alien and don't want to give up yet.