I Was Four ThenThis was Truly Alien to Me

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 2011)

OkayI admit itI'm not a huge Alien fan. Well, of the aliens, yesjust not the 1979 Ridley Scott movie: Alien (#1 of 4, so far.)
This is how it went down: When I was a kid, I watched all and any horror I could get my hands on. Of course, mostly with the permission from my parents who wouldn't even let me watch Gremlins. Somehow Alien got past me and I must've watched the (far superior, I wouldn't know until much later) sequel Aliens a dozen or 50 times. So, I was kinda used to that one and loved the action and the multiple aliens.
See? That was the problem. You sincerely backtrack by watching #2 first followed by the original. The movie is oneoftheslowestmovingpictures I've ever seen. And it only contained ONE alien (not counting the face-hugger or the eggs) that's only shown after a good hour or more passes AND then in only bursts of screen time.
When you're a kid, this is un-scary and thoroughly unacceptable. Hence, I didn't care for it back then. What happens when you're an adult, as I am now? Yeah, same. I was unfrightened and bored for the most part.
Lucky for the movie, the only real bad thing I observed was the pacing. The "one alien" concept, I accept, was necessary to show how threatening these things were. But also, in 1979 with budgets and such, I'm sure it was also the only thing they could do. (Thanks, James, for the sequel and confidence.)
But, by God, the pacingtick tock. I'm shocked this wasn't directed by Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider, and Manhunter,) one of my least favorite directors for his inch-by-inch/minutes feel like hours story telling.
Okay, I'll give it to the adults (it is rated R, so I assume – ha – that no one under 17 was admitted) in 1979 that this idea, though not entirely fresh – alien attacks were a 1950s staple duh, might have scared some people because, quite possibly, it was the first hard R gorefest involving an (not illegal, but space) alien with a budget.
Also, the movie had excellent acting and rich characters with depth – I've been told, though not confirmed, that the cast didn't care for each other, but you wouldn't tell that here, an excellent score, gorgeous cinematography, fantastic sets and designs and introduced two of the best characters in cinema history: Ellen Ripley (Weaver) and of course the never-ending/hard-to-kill Alien.
Up to the point of those last few praises, you'd think I hated the movie. Well, no, but it's nothing I ever want to revisit. I can appreciate all those wonderful qualities, plus, again, I loved the character of Ripley and the idea of the alienbut I can enjoy myself tenfold in the follow-up, Aliens.
A quick rundown of the synopsis: hard working/middle class space miners are returning to Earth from deep space when "Mother," their ship's version of Hal 9000 or "Computer" (on the USS Enterprise, the NCC 1701 version, not the one where porn's shown freely) intercepts a "distress" call and commands the ship to investigate. The crew's awaken from their cryogenic sleep and are unhappy.
Well, they will be soon when one is "impregnated" from a soft alien scorpion. (VERY) soon the full blown alien bursts, literally, onto the scene and it's up to the unprepared passengers to fight off the unwanted guest. Actually, they're more like cattle, until the unlikeliest (in 1979, that is) hero(ine) emerges, warding off both machine, man and beast. Talk about a bad wake up call.
Again, the movie is very well crafted – this did elevate the same ole "alien" story with great special effects and we have to thank both Director Scott and Sigourney Weaver for creating such an awesome character in Ripley. But, get a Mountain Dew before watching or have the patience of a hungry tortoise who's a mile from food to get through to the end. Better yet, pop in Aliens. They'll give you the run down on this entire movie in a just a few brief minutes and then you can enjoy all the action, drive and horror the aliens can really produce.