Alien and Predator are two of the most iconic sci-fi franchises to exist. Launched by filmmakers Ridley Scott and John McTiernan in 1979 and 1987, respectively, these series have instantly recognizable creatures, beloved human protagonists, and have been remarkably successful over the past 40 years.
While they started as separate universes, these worlds became entangled for the first time in 1990. From there, we’ve seen proper crossovers done with the Alien vs. Predator films in the mid-2000s, and have now been treated to a unique mash-up of the properties through Predator: Badlands.
With these franchises’ pasts (and seemingly futures) increasingly becoming connected, the importance of this shared universe is massive. There have been 16 Alien and Predator movies made since 1979, and its time to rank them all to determine which film is the best of the best.
16
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
There should be no debate about Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem holding down the bottom of this ranking. The second full crossover between the properties has awful characters who are poorly written, horrible lighting that obscures much of the action, and a hilariously bad conclusion.
On the surface, the core concept could’ve worked, as could a Yautja/Xenomorph hybrid alien as the villain. The latter development doesn’t make any sense and reeks of the franchise just wanting to do something that sounds cool without thinking through how to make it work. It doesn’t get worse than Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
15
Predator 2
Following up the 1987 classic was never going to be easy, and Predator 2 doesn’t come close to living up to its predecessor. There’s a great cast here, but everyone besides Danny Glover is underutilized; killing off Bill Paxton’s character was a huge mistake.
The idea of putting the Yautja in a city is intriguing, but having so much of it tied to a drug cartel storyline isn’t. The City Hunter frequently speaking English is horrible, too. Despite a solid ending fight – and the Xenomorph skull Easter egg that bridged these franchises together for the first time, the lead-up to it is incredibly disappointing.
14
The Predator
The idea of Shane Black, an original Predator writer/cast member and acclaimed filmmaker behind The Nice Guys, shepherding a new installment with an incredible ensemble cast sounded great. Unfortunately, 2018’s The Predator fails to deliver. Black’s signature comedy is too prevalent, the pacing is too quick, and the action is forgettable.
It’s a shame this one is a swing and a miss, as Boyd Holbrook and Trevante Rhodes hold the potential for a great buddy pairing that Black’s films usually excel with. But, there’s way too much going on narratively and tonally for The Predator to work. It’s no wonder it didn’t relaunch the franchise as envisioned.
13
Alien: Resurrection
It’s never a good sign when a franchise has to resort to cloning a dead character to bring back a franchise stalwart. That’s exactly what Alien: Resurrection does with Ripley. The results are very uneven. Sigourney Weaver, Ron Perlman, and Winona Ryder help make the ensemble a fun time, and some of the Xenomorph action does land.
Resurrection‘s defenders will point to its weirdness as a reason why it works, but that’s also exactly why it’s divisive. This is a huge swing for the franchise to make in an attempt to revitalize an iconic series after a previously controversial film. But with all the cloning, the hybrid, and Joss Whedon’s dialogue, the bad outweighs the good here.
12
Alien vs. Predator
There is an inherently fun factor to Alien vs. Predator as it brings two of sci-fi’s most iconic creatures together for the first time. It’s not the most sophisticated film ever made, relying heavily on cool elements and ideas to make something that is generally entertaining once the Yautjas and Xenomorphs cross paths.
Among the many issues here, though, rest with the reliance on a human cast, with them being the primary focus for nearly the first half. It takes way too long to get to the actual premise of the film, Yautjas vs Predators, and both franchises deserved a better first crossover.
But, the established history between the aliens and Sanaa Lathan’s character using Xenomorph parts as weapons and armor are some of the clever bits this movie has to offer. It’s not great. It’s arguably not even good. But the film does eventually show the promise baked within its premise.
11
Alien 3
Alien 3 is not the worst film in this shared universe, but it is possibly the most disappointing to look back on. The directorial debut of David Fincher boldly kills Newt and Hicks and attempts to take the franchise in a completely different direction after James Cameron infused it with action. Unfortunately, Fincher’s vision wasn’t properly realized through studio interference.
Weaver delivers another strong performance, but the terror is largely missing from the franchise this time around. The CGI versions of Xenomorphs don’t come close to the practical designs put forth previously. And while glimpses of the director Fincher would prove himself to be can be found, Alien 3 is too bleak and loses too much of the franchise’s DNA to really shine.
10
Alien: Covenant
Scott’s second Alien prequel is a mixed bag. After resetting things a bit with Prometheus, its the continued exploration of Michael Fassbender’s David that is most compelling here. The actor is tremendous with his two synthetic roles, making him the standout of another loaded cast, while Katherine Waterson also impresses with a Ripley-esque character.
The rest of Covenant‘s characters are not developed enough (or written well enough) to truly care for. Scott also goes overboard with the CGI Xenomorph, resulting in the terrifying creature losing its believability. There are some solid scares and action beats to bring the franchise back closer to its original status, but its still middle of the pack when ranking Alien and Predator movies together.
9
Predator: Killer of Killers
Taking the Predator franchise to animation was a surprising move, but one that certainly paid off. Killer of Killers connects three different eras together to give us brilliant, fresh stories involving the deadly hunters. The way it all comes together, the different types of Yautjas, and how it expands what we understand about the franchise is very exciting.
While the animation style is neat and the overall story intriguing, the execution of it could’ve been better. Putting essentially four different chapters in a sub-90 minute movie restricts the sections’ ability to flesh out its characters. The ones who are at the focus are compelling enough, but they aren’t as fleshed out as desired.
8
Prometheus
Prometheus has a more divisive reputation than it deserves. Scott’s prequel about the origin of mankind and the Xenomorphs should be seen as a modern sci-fi classic. It manages to return the horror and blockbuster action to the series while taking the story in a completely new and unexpected direction.
It is visually stunning, not only in its VFX but even in its cinematography, and loaded with big stars doing great work: Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Noomi Rapace, and Fassbender. Sure, just about every Prometheus character makes some truly terrible decisions, but there are way more positives than negatives here, landing it in the top half of this ranking.
7
Predators
There are certainly better Alien and Predator movies, but Predators may just be one of the most fun of them all. The cast is magnificent, with Adrian Brody and Alice Braga carrying things, and is even more impressive to look back at now 15 years later.
It has one of the best premises in the entire series and starts off so strong it’s impossible not to be locked in. Predators may go a bit off the rails closer to the end, but the final Yautja fight, Laurence Fishburne in Yautja armor, generally entertaining action, and well-rounded characters make this a blast.
