Review of Aliens (1986) by Brent A — 28 Sep 2013

Aliens. James Cameron's 1986 sequel to Ridley Scotts" 1979 film Alien. Aliens definitely falls under the category (maybe it invented the category) of not anything like the first film. Well it depends on how you think of it I guess. Not sure if anything like this could be pulled off in today's film climate, but that's another story. The film brings back Sigourney Weaver and the Alien(s) and we go from there.

Cameron decided to amp up everything to eleven in comparison to Alien. Did it work? You bet it did, mainly because Cameron kept what helped make Alien what it was and built on it, instead of simply recreating the first film. He and others involved brilliantly kept the characters and changed the game. It was bold and created something so different. Again that is another story for another day.

Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley was nothing short of fantastic and the film would have been cliché action nothingness without her. I even feel this is a case of two movies. We have the first part of the film. The part with the marines, and then the final half hour of the film. The first part and the final part composing the first of the two movies in the analogy I'm making. Ripley is such a strong character that most of the other characters, fine as they were in their roles, looked bad in comparison. Lance Henrikson as Bishop being the big exception. He looked cut from the same cloth as Ripley and functioned perfectly as something bigger in the film. Mostly based on what happened in the first film. Michael Biehn as Hicks gave another good component to the larger picture to the life of Ellen Ripley.

The story seemed inevitable, but no less important to tell and played out much like you would expect. This all seemed to take a backseat to the story and relationship between Ripley the young girl found alive at the station Newt and the aliens themselves. It was a great addition to again what would have been cliché action nothingness otherwise.

Cameron did a fantastic job filming this one. The sequences played out visually perfectly and added immensely to atmosphere, tension and what was written. He made everything extremely watchable. Avoiding what was not needed and would have amounted to a distraction to what was on screen.

Did the marines seem a little hammy, cheesy or whatever you want to call it? Yes. Did it work? Yes. Mainly because they were nice additions to the film and not the film.

You sit through the film mostly thinking that this is a good film. A film that could have ended at the escape and we would have went home happy and the film would have faded into mediocrity. Cameron had something different in mind though. That was the final half hour when Ripley goes back in to the facility. What unfolds there is what makes the film as memorable as it is and Cameron creates one of the most tense well shot and important scenes in action film history. It is stark, spine tingly good and seems to pass by in mere seconds. It has so much to it and every second is wonderful, awe inspiring and what movies are all about. At the very least this scene is a must watch for all.

Aliens is a great film. A fantastic film. Quint-essential action if you will. It has and will stand the test of time as one of the best franchise pieces ever made. Cameron and co. make a masterpiece and Sigourney Weaver continues to carve out a masterpiece of a character. An action masterpiece. No more, No less.

4 out of 4 stars.

Would I watch it again? Yes. I will watch this film (along with the other alien films) until the day I die.