filmmaker Fede Álvarez has another hit on his hands. On top of a global opening weekend of $108.2 million, the Uruguayan writer-director’s ninth installment in the franchise has critics and audiences in increasingly rare alignment, as boasts the third-highest marks behind 1979’s and 1986’s .
The “interquel” — which takes place 20 years after ’s seminal science-fiction horror film and 37 years before ’s action-packed sequel — may be well received, critically and commercially, but it still contains a few polarizing moves per the consensus. Bold choices can often be deal-breakers for longtime fans of a film franchise, but in the case of , there are a number of fans who, despite not being fully on board with every creative decision made, aren’t willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater. For example, when David Jonsson’s synthetic character, Andy, saves his adoptive sister, Rain (Cailee Spaeny), from a Xenmorph, he quotes Ellen Ripley’s famous line, “Get away from her, you bitch,” even though Sigourney Weaver’s iconic character doesn’t say the line for another 37 years in the fictional timeline.
Nonetheless, the meta reference for the audience gave Álvarez one of his most unforgettable moments at the Los Angeles premiere on Aug. 12. The original version of the line also happened to provide Cameron with his first instance of affirmation at the 1986 premiere of .
“That was the only time at the [ ] premiere where [Cameron] realized everybo.