Review of Aliens (1986) by Norman B — 29 Nov 2013

Bigger and more cooler than the original in my opinion. No cat and mouse game just an all out battle humans v.s. aliens Round 1 fight!. James Cameron completely changes the style up. Where Alien was largely a dark horror flick packed with LOTS of suspense, Aliens is an action adventure, loaded with thrills and wrapped in fun. At the end of the first film, Lt. Ellen Ripley was the only survivor of an attack upon her interstellar cargo ship by an alien creature. She ended up getting into an escape module, getting out of the main spacecraft, placing herself into hibernation, and more or less hoping for the best outcome possible. Fifty seven years later she's finally picked up. Naturally the company she works for is peeved that she blew up an expensive space freighter and is none too willing to believe her story about monsters (They think she's cuckoo). She then gets stripped of her command, demoted, and humiliated. Things are rough for her.

The movie starts with a thrill a minute and works its way up. There's never really a dull moment. The only slight blemish on the film is the crew of Colonial Marines that Ripley has to deal with. They are an embarrassment to an otherwise intelligent script, a group of hotshots who are arrogant, immature, wisecracking show-offs with an attitude. Their presence is meant to add color and excitement to the story, but they are just plain silly to me. No serious military unit would put up with their antics for a minute. Ripley is clearly the only capable character in the bunch, and before long she takes over like Sly Stones Rambo. Maybe it's no coincidence that director Cameron was the screenwriter for Rambo II a year earlier (did some research). Ripley gets the green light to act heroically and, as usual to roam around in her underwear :).

James adds a few surprises to Aliens to make it as different as possible from it's predecessor, but basically it's the same idea. Just more ugly aliens everywhere, some of the best monsters ever designed, and followed by more action. It was the right route to take. We had already been served up the suspense of wondering what the alien creature was all about in the first story, so what was left was fighting a battle royal with a whole army of them. That was the biggest issue I had with Alien I didn't get to see enough of him I was craving more of the ugly guy, but thanks to the amazing James Cameron that issue was an after thought in this installment. Due to it's high octane action and multiple aliens that makes this film one of the coolest sci-fi flicks I have ever seen.