The Alien movies...oh so many.
Now the big question is not should you watch them but what order to watch them.
Best
first-time experience: Release
order.
Best for lore analysis: Chronological.
Best single entry: Alien horror or Aliens action, depending on your
taste.
Or something else....
Release Order (Recommended for first viewing)
Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Alien: Resurrection
Prometheus
Alien: Covenant
Alien: Romulus
Why? -
You experience the shift from pure horror to action to darker sci-fi naturally. The mystery of the Xenomorph is preserved early.
You get to see the special effects and film-making techniques evolve in real-time.
More importantly, the prequels (Prometheus and Covenant) assume you already know what a Xenomorph is and they function better as "origin stories" that answer questions raised in the original films.
OR
The Story in Chronological Order (In-universe timeline)
This
follows the story timeline, but changes how mysteries unfold.
Prometheus (year ~2093)
Alien: Covenant (~2104)
Alien (~2122)
Alien: Romulus (~2140s)
Aliens (~2179)
Alien 3 (~2179)
Alien: Resurrection (~2381)
Why? -
It creates an ongoing story about the creation of life and the hubris of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. You get a clean lore progression (Engineers to Xenomorph origins to Ripley).
It makes Alien: Romulus feel much more connected to the "modern" prequels, as it sits perfectly between the original and the first sequel.
OR
Best Narrative Flow (Hybrid Order)
Alien
Alien: Romulus
Aliens
Alien 3
Alien: Resurrection
Prometheus
Alien: Covenant
This order allows you to start in the "grimy" world of the Weyland-Yutani miners and marines before pivoting to the high-concept creator lore.
It keeps the momentum of the Xenomorph threat moving forward through the timeline and then uses the prequels as a "How did we get here?" finale.
It aims to preserve the original mystery and tonal escalation, while integrating newer films where they add context rather than dilute it.
Hmm... which one?.... why not do them all? one order this year and another order next year and so on! The one "good" thing about aging is your memory isn't as good as it use to be. There's always something you missed the first time around.
For me, I’ve only seen them in release order, so I’ll be bingeing them next in 'Chronological Order', hopefully over 7 nights in a row if all goes well.....
Then it'll be time to replay 'Alien Isolation' on the XBOX again, pretty sure my heart can handle it... 😱
As for the Alien/Predator movies, I don't feel they fit in with the Alien universe but are a separate line to the Alien timeline/story.
These two being;
Alien vs. Predator (2004) and AVP: Requiem (2007)
Still good films and definitely worth watching, as are all the Predator movies!