 Alien has continued to receive critical acclaim over the years, particularly for its realism and unique environment. It has a 97 % approval rating at the online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 89 reviews, while Metacritic gives an 83 % approval rating based on 22 reviews. Critical interest in the film was re-ignited in part by the theatrical release of the "Director's Cut" in 2003. Despite having criticized Alien in 1980, Roger Ebert included it in his "Great Movies" column in 2003, ranking it among "the most influential of modern action pictures" and praising its pacing, atmosphere, and settings:
