Am I the only one who likes the 2 prequels, Alien 3 and thinks Aliens is overrated?

No, I love them as well and yeah I think Aliens is a bit overrated. Don't get me wrong, I love Aliens, but fans expect every new film to be exactly like it and if it's not it's crap. I love the prequels and Alien 3 for the nihilism and religious tones. It's an interesting mix for sci-fi/horror. Alien 1 was a bit nihilistic as well. Plus, they are far more compelling stories compared to Aliens (which I think is a great film).

Alien 3 is my favourite of the Alien films. I like them all, even Resurrection (though I usually skip the Newborn confrontation scene on the Betty lol)

I feel like the only one who loves the Newborn XD He was cute and terrifying at the same time. I wish they kept his genitalia lol

I like the Quadrilogy but the prequels not as much. 1 and 2 are outstanding. 3 was a grower for for me and AR is a good film as well. There are quite a few members who like A3 and I have noticed over the year members giving props to AR. 

I agree about the NB. I also think its death was among the most disturbing in the entire series- Sort of reminded me of an abortion in a way. The NB was scared, in pain and didn't understand what was happening while watching its mother stare it down as it slowly got sucked into the abyss.

Lawrence of Arabia I appreciated what they tried to do with the Newborn, agreed there are some pretty fearsome scenes with it. I like how much of an abomination it is, it is offensive to look at - I say that in a good way.

But its crotch-thrusting body does freaks me out lol.

Yeah, you're not gonna find anyone who likes the prequels here. Ironic considering it's the forum for the film. Best to look elsewhere. 

Lawrence of Arabia We all like what we like or hate what we hate. If we all agreed about everything this forum would be pointless and boring. 

I liked A:C more than Prometheus, but Aliens is far and away the better film for me. 

I really do hope those at fox decide to atleast finish up the prequels with at 1 more movie. Blomkamp can direct the sequel to The Lone Ranger. Also lets not forget that Weaver was a producer on Alien 3.

I loved both of the prequels as well! Watched Covenant for the second time at the weekend and it was excellent,I wasn't too sure when I saw it in the cinema but Fassbender was masterful again, I loved the second viewing after not knowing really what I thought of it in the cinema! Alien is a brilliant film but the rest then are dribble really, Aliens is ok but not great!

I dislike the prequels for several reasons, like the sheer stupidity of most characters, the deconstruction of the mythic Space jockey and xenomorph and last but not the least this abomination  called David.

I like Alien 3 because most characters are insane but not stupid. My favorites being Dylan and Morse. Moreover the sacrifice of Ripley is according to me one of the greatest moment of the franchise.

I don't think that aliens is overrated as it has great characters (personnal favorite is Hudson), tries to bring a deeper understanding of the Xenomorph hive, has lot of action, has great score and visuals and was the first movie of the franchise i watched.

I even somehow like Alien Ressurection for its craziness, the hybrid Ripley, the characters and some insane scenes such as the chest burster birth or the xenomorph escape from their pods. I don't really like the newborn as i find it a bit too disgusting. 

And last but not the least i find that some aspects of AVP (the flashback scene especially) and AVP:R (the pragmatism of military at the end and the sheer efficienty of the wolf predator) are quite interesting.

As you can notice, the characters of a movie are very important for me to enjoy it. I strongly dislike stupid and useless characters as for me they make the monster look less frightening and less impressive and they make the whole movie way less entertaining.

I love alien 3 so much more than aliens. it just seems like it is a more thoughtful although more deppressing movie. I actually admired its guts to kill of newt and hicks alot. it also has sigorny weavers best alien proformance in my opinion. 

"Yeah, you're not gonna find anyone who likes the prequels here." - LOL

I watched the films in release order and Alien 1979 was the best.

Then Prometheus got the place and now Covenant is my favorite of all.The only thing I dislike is the ending.

The thing is, each movie is of a different genre, therefore naturally there will be division of fans about which is preferred.

Alien:  Sci-fi/Horror
Aliens: Sci-fi/Action
Alien3: Slow-burning horror
AR: Sci-fi/Comedy/Horror
AVP: Action/Thriller
AVPR: ?
Prometheus: Sci-fi
AC: Horror

No two are of the same specific genre. It is little wonder then that the movies are recieved differently by audiences. In answer to the OP's question, I personally really like the prequels - Alien Covenant in particular which has became my favourite of them all - mainly due to the cast/characters which I thought were superb. I've read so much hate regarding the characters of AC which I don't fully understand as I found them real and engaging, but each to their own - different strokes for different folks as they say :) 'Aliens' for me hasn't aged well and has became one of the weaker installments over time; but I prefer dialogue over action so that's to be expected.

No, you are definitely not the only one who thinks this Jay Johns.

Ridley's movies and Alien3 are at the top of my list. Love em. I had to make myself like Aliens after seeing it in the theater, but it is so dated in that cheesy 1980's Rambo action movie genre that I find it hard to watch now.

Alien 3 got back on track to the horror that Ridley and Co. created in the original, and the assembly cut made it even better. Resurrection never quite worked for me, so I ignore that one, and those awful AVP things.

Definitely agree Aliens is the worst of the bunch. I really cannot even sit through it any more. An epitome of the "Big 80's".

Aliens is a moron movie. I mean you cannot even look for flaws because there are only flaws. I only liked 1 minute of it, with the aliens swarming in the dark when the colonial marines entered their nest. Man, I cannot watch Newt screaming again. So terrible.

I enjoyed aliens, its just not really what I would call a great movie. I could watch alien 3 about 20 times and each time I would see a new religuiuos referance, or philisophecal question. 

Alien 3 revived the franchise after the genocide from Aliens. Alien 3 had a sort of medieval sense of isolation and in means of confronting the Alien, it was as medievally good as GoT. The dog alien was way better than the ant queen. I liked this movie since the first viewing in theater.

I'm glad I'm not the only one to enjoy (and understand) what Ridley's doing with the prequels :) Sorry guys for being a bit melodramatic but the incessant hate coming from some of the fans is overwhelming sometimes. Like, instead of looking to see what Ridley's trying to portray all you hear is what you didn't want. I'm glad we aren't getting Neil's Aliens 2 as I feel it would dumb the franchise down as opposed to Ridley embracing the legacy so far.