Overall, the trajectory of the “Alien” franchise just seemed afraid to let go of a storyline that had already exhausted its vitality. With a resurrected Ripley (because… science?) and human-Xenomorph hybrid, the fourth installment is all over the place. “Alien: Resurrection,” released in 1997, went over even worse. In the end, “Alien 3” is a step backwards for the property, feeling as though it was written by 30 different people due to its twists and lack of thematic focus.

The freshman director was forced to initially shoot the movie without a completed script, several other directors came and went during pre-production and $7 million of the film’s budget was already in the hole from the beginning. In fact, iconic director David Fincher - who made his feature film debut with this film - has since disowned the movie due to the troubled production. While “Alien 3” still works well on its own terms, its lack of luster when compared to the preceding films has always made it stand out as a disappointment amongst the franchise.

“Alien 3” leaned into nihilistic melodrama, resulting in a dark installment that hits like a shocking ice bath after the gung-ho, rip-roaring film that preceded it. Two years later, “Alien” was met with its own relative failure. Outfitted with a head-scratching plot featuring voodoo drug lords and a noted lack of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film is a full-on shlock fest that, while entertaining, doesn’t match up to machismo blow-the-roof-off action of the original. Three years later, “Predator 2” failed to capture its predecessor’s magic - despite it serving as cult classic fodder thanks to its willingness to lean into the outrageous. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the iconic hero Dutch in 1987’s “Predator.” Courtesy of 20th Century Fox/Everett Collection ‘Predator 2’

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