Overrated Movies: Alien (1979)

Oh dear, this new segment is going to cause some considerable controversy. I've been feeling lately that there are a lot of movies that I personally don't get why they are so highly rated. Now, of course, this doesn't mean that everybody likes the movie, but there is a trend in the general public that seems to hold a certain movie extremely highly. I'm not saying that anyone who likes these movies is wrong, but I just don't agree with the sentiment. This week I am going to say that the "classic" Alien is overrated. Yes, this is coming from the guy who gave Titanic and 9.5/10.

The premise is extremely simple, so try to follow me: People are in a spaceship, they land on a planet, and VERY SLOWLY discover the presence of an alien race. Alien was directed by Ridley Scott and stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, and Ian Holm. Since I just mentioned the actors, let's go ahead and start there. Sigourney Weaver....there are few people to me who are more annoying. I don't think she has any sort of acting chops to speak of and she is mostly just a bitch the whole movie. If playing a huge bitch is great acting, she's an absolute star. Sorry. Weaver did nothing but irritate me the entire film and she, along with Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock, is an actress who I cannot stand to see any more in a movie. The rest of the cast, well, they didn't really have to do much. Veronica Cartwright was almost as terrible as Sigourney Weaver and the male actors really don't do anything at all. Let's just move on, because I think I'm really making some people angry here.

As I mentioned in the plot summary, the movie is so unbelievably slow. It's about an hour and forty-five minutes of nothing and then it has something that is noteworthy for a minute or two. The only scene that anyone ever talks about with Alien is the now legendary "alien bursting out of the stomach" scene. After hearing about that damn scene for so long, it was one of the biggest letdowns I have ever experienced. There was no shock factor at all for me. Does it seem to anyone else besides me that the ONLY scene anyone ever talks about from Alien is that one scene? Whenever I hear it brought up on a podcast, in a conversation, or on the Internet, that is the only scene they talk about. The scene really isn't that great at all. The alien that bursts out is weak, at best. Sorry, but that has always pissed me off. The movie is an absolute bore and I know that I can't make it through that one again, but maybe I'll try.

The direction, however, is pretty damn good. My faults with the movie truly lie in the acting and the dialogue, or lack thereof. I cannot say that it was badly directed by any stretch of the imagination, however. Ridley Scott did a very good job and, although I've only seen Gladiator and Alien, I like Ridley. I have Blade Runner sitting on my shelf to watch, but I'm afraid to watch it because I don't think I'll like it at all.

When I think of most of the movies that I find overrated, I feel most of them are overrated to me because they are simply boring. Now, that makes me sound like a punk, but it's absolutely true. Alien truly bored the living hell out of me and I honestly don't understand why it's so highly regarded. Can someone please explain it to me? Please? After watching it, I immediately thought, "Was that it? That damn Sigourney Weaver is terrible." Well, please let me know your thoughts and, again, I really don't think anyone is stupid for loving Alien, but I didn't get it. Now that I'm at the end, it feels like that was just an angry rant with no real depth. Oh well, that's probably what most of the overrated movie posts will be.]

5/10