Aliens or Terminator: Which franchise should have stopped after two?

[Shinobi Shaw]

The series started as a causality loop. It was the second film that first deviated and changed the stakes. That's why I never minded 3 flipping back the other way.

Right, and I am so not mad at that because like they said… “the future is not set, there is no fate but what we make”.

To have them all fated now to be in the middle of a future war they spent 2 movies fighting against is a drag IMO.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Terminator has fallen further from the quality of the 2nd. Terminator's story could and should have finished after number 2.

I personally don't like Aliens very much, I much prefer the slower pace Alien approach, and why I love Alien 3.

 

[henzINNIT]

Right, and I am so not mad at that because like they said… “the future is not set, there is no fate but what we make”.

To have them all fated now to be in the middle of a future war they spent 2 movies fighting against is a drag IMO.

See I was always more of a T1 fan so I was more bothered that 'No fate but what we make for ourselves' was basically a retcon that T2 introduced and wasn't part of Kyle's speech to Sarah.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Aliens is a masterpiece. It's one of the greatest movies ever made. Alien 3 is ass.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

[glares in Sarah Connor Chronicles]

To be fair I only saw a few episodes and somehow lost interest so I can't give it a fair appraisal.

 

[kguillou]

Terminator’s story was done after Judgement Day. Period. Its over.

Aliens i feel is a franchise that you could draw more stories out of if you wanted to, and they have obviously, but theyve not been very good. I liked Prometheus and Covenant but they for sure werent tapping the potential of the OG Alien films.

 

[Ctfxcwatcher]

Terminator. Honestly I can't believe the Terminator franchise peaked 31 years ago.

Also, I might be wrong on this(feel free to correct me someone) but didn't James Cameron criticize The force awakens for being a rehash, but that's basically what every Terminator film has been since the 2nd one and even the newest one he worked on? The franchise is just very very stale and never really let John Connor live up to the hype. A lot of these franchises that clunk out, clunk out because they don't move the story forward/and or aren't building to some big pay off.

 

[Slick]

I would say both should have stopped after their sequel’s and I know it’s not a film but we did get Sarah Conner Chronicles out of the Terminator franchise.

 

[samsnee]

Even as a 13 year old kid at the movies, I was never okay with the ending for T3. I haven’t watched it in years, but I just really hate the idea of Judgment Day being inevitable.

Why put the audience and your characters through all those films and sacrifices just to unleash the one thing they’ve been fighting to keep from happening?

Damn you greedy film execs.

But that’s what is brilliant about it. The future war has to happen. Otherwise Conner can’t send Reese back and be born. So it’s a way to close that loop. You can’t stop judgment day, only delay it.

 

[chamber-music]

Totally agree on this point especially. Earth could be a near-apocalyptic wasteland for all we know in the Alienverse. Heck, it might as well be post-apocalyptic with half (or more) of humanity wiped out, since the movies have established that there are space "cargo trucks" and galaxy-faring starships (I mean why else would things like these be built?). We know virtually nothing about Weyland-Yutani either - the only movies that have actually shown Weyland and Yutani were the AvP movies, but we don't know anything else about "the company" that's constantly mentioned in name in the movies. I mean heck, I'd be interesting in seeing the formation of Weyland-Yutani and the first spaceships that they send out and the first extraterrestrial lifeforms they collect, with the science & political intrigue that might come from company scientists and/or executives. That could've been a TV series right there - maybe it sounds like Star Trek a bit with that description, but would definitely be something I'd watch.

They explored Weyland's origin in the Prometheus with the viral marketing and deleted scenes for the movie. They also did some more exploration of Guy Pearce Sir Peter Weyland's character in the tie in material (books, comics and so on )

The future Earth in the Alien universe is one ostensibly ruled by mega-corporations like Weyland-Yuntan. Multinational corporations that have so much influence and unchecked power that they are the defacto rulers of their respective fiefdoms. James Cameron said he saw the corporate/military collaboration in pursuit and protection of commerce like the Dutch West India Company.

Noah Hawley's upcoming prequel Alien FX TV show is supposed to explore the Earth of Alien and the social economic and political status.

 

[J.Drangal]

It's always best to make up your own mind, but I've read so many negative reviews about the progress of these two sagas that I'm rather pleased that, so far, fate has only made me watch the first two films of each.
And I really liked what I saw, but I honestly feel like neither of them were calling out for a sequel, both just seemed complete. In Aliens, Ripley destroyed the alien queen and recreated a family, while in T2, Sarah Connor and her son apparently destroyed the time loop that dooms the future.

Sure, there's always a little room to create something more, but I love when a franchise leaves that to the viewer's imagination. It allows these universes to truly continue to live on in our heads.
I guess it will stay that way for me.

Spoiler

In fact, as I type this, I remember seeing Covenant, but I pretty much forget it... So anyway.

 

[:eek:]

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Rivalry With Sylvester Stallone Made Actor Want A Deadlier ‘Terminator 2’ But James Cameron Shot Him Down – Deadline

 

[samsnee]

Yeah Arnold said something similar in his Netflix doc, which I highly recommend. Cameron said no killing, so Arnold asked if he could shoot them in them kneecaps, which ultimately made it into the film.

 

[Spider-Fan]

The clear answer is BOTH. Both franchises ran out of ideas after movie 2. I don't hate Alien 3, but I don't love it either. I would go on if it never existed. Every Terminator film after 2 hasn't just been bad, they've been garbage and each worse than the last.

 

[TheVileOne]

Terminator because the sequels have just been sordid.

 

[Matt.S99]

Hard choice. The only really good project to come out after T2 was The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Which should have gotten another season.
I’ve only watched it once, but I thought Dark Fate was okay. May give it a rewatch soon.

With Alien, I thought 3 and 4 were at least mildly entertaining. The prequels were HUGE bores, though.

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

Terminator. With the Alien series, Prometheus and Covenant are at least beautiful films to look at despite the stories being half-assed.

 

[Incarnadine]

Tough call, but I'd have to go with Aliens.
There is literally nothing after the first 2 Alien movies I'd ever watch again, but for the Terminator movies I rather enjoyed Dark Fate. Everything between T2 and DF is on the same level as the later Alien movies so DF breaks the tie.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Terminator.

It should never have been a franchise. T2 only worked because Cameron didn't have the money or the tech to realize his full vision in '84. It had a definitive ending with closure.

Alien is a franchise that could support multiple stories and characters and was fully expanded and fleshed out with Aliens. They just kept making bad films.

There's definitely more stories left to be told in the Alien universe. We've seen everything we need to see with Terminator. At least in it's current form.

 

[Incarnadine]

Just wait until the inevitable Alien vs. Terminator movie.:joking:

 

[MadVillainy]

Yeah I think Terminator if I had to choose.
I really don't get why it was so hard for people to get right. It is not that difficult of a concept. And honestly T3 and TS had good ideas on paper they just didn't execute.

I think they just kept hiring the wrong people. But yeah Terminator

 

[Sithborg]

Part of the issue is that T2 was just such an iconic action film, that is what the execs want out of a Terminator film. And big dumb action films are not a great vehicle for some of the fun questions the Terminator franchise asks.

I miss SCC.

 

[Mysteryman]

The clear answer is BOTH. Both franchises ran out of ideas after movie 2. I don't hate Alien 3, but I don't love it either. I would go on if it never existed. Every Terminator film after 2 hasn't just been bad, they've been garbage and each worse than the last.

YOU BEAT ME TO IT!

 

[Idreamofdemetri]

Both.