Without a doubt, the Alien Franchise took off with the first movie, Alien.
However, it wasn't until we got a full viewing of the vision of James Cameroon in its sequel, Aliens, that the series truly came to life.
Like the first movie, this one starred Sigourney Weaver, but unlike the first, this film totally rewrote the genre of the series.
The first movie centers around the crew of the Nostromo, and their struggle against an extraterrestrial parasite.
The movie was an excellent blend of science fiction, noir, and horror theme and aesthetic, so much so that it helped define its own genre.
And while a lot of the specific aesthetic elements remained intact, in the second film, the elements of horror were greatly reduced, in exchange for action and adventure.
In the second film, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has been frozen in her escape pod for the last 100 years.
Everything she knew about Earth and life has changed.
Her daughter grew to old age and has even died already, and she is estranged from the remnants of her family.
Yet all of this, and no one believes her story about the Alien menace that plagued the Nostromo.
Then, a distress call is received from the planet where they found the Alien creature, which has been turned into a colony.
Ripley is asked on a search and rescue mission with a number of marines, whom arrive to find that the colony is deserted.
As their search continues, they quickly conclude that Ripley's Aliens are real, and they are the cause for the disappearance.
As the movie continues, the marines become stranded, as the Alien Hive attacks.
We, the viewers, learn more about the Alien life-cycle, and in the end, a battle between Ripley and the Alien Queen ensues.