Caitlin Willis - Alien

Caitlin Willis
Intro. to Film Studies
11.14.16

Alien

        I've always been a fan of alien and zombie movies, but I've never been a fan of sitting through older films. I've always felt that older sci-fi motion pictures were bad because special effects weren't as good as today's. However, this movie was actually pretty good and changed my perspective of the older movies, especially those with animations. Though I'm sure not all of them have effects as good as Alien.

        The plot of this movie was good and there weren't any slow part; it moved at a constant flow and was filled with action and suspense. The jump scares definitely got a reaction out of me and my peers though there weren't moments scary enough that I had to cover my eyes. The director didn't hesitate with killing off characters, which was different than movies of this generation.

        The character development of Ripley was amazing. It's cool that this older movie had such a strong female protagonist. She started out as a quieter character, communicating with the others but not quite standing out. But when it came down to it, she was ready to take the stance needed to survive. The plot twist at the end also was a bit funny. She managed to detonate the entire spaceship while she remained on the shuttle with Jones, the cat, but little did she know that the alien was actually on the shuttle with her. She single-handedly defeated the monster that killed the other crew members.

        Overall this movie was good and had a strong plot. It's different than other older movies that I've seen in the best way possible.