Review of Aliens (1986) by Kai82 — 08 Nov 2020

The rare case of a sequel that rivals an excellent predecessor. Even more it changes the formula. While Alien is pure science fiction horror Aliens is more science fiction / action with horror elements.

It continues Ellen Ripleys story. After surviving the events of Alien she drifted in space for 57 years until she is found by another ship. After telling her story no one believes her and she is turned into an outcast.

However she got the information that on the moon where the eggs were found a colony was established. After the contact with the colony is lost she is recruited for investigation together with a group of space marines.

So starts the story. It is intense, has great action, suspense and creates this feeling of distrust and dread that makes this movie remarkable. The menace is so intense that you are lost in the immersion.

The great actors / acting increase this effect. Again Sigourney Weaver delivers an awesome performance as Ellen Ripley. Michael Biehn as Dwayne Hicks is equally awesome and became one of the most acclaimed characters in the franchise.

Must I even praise Lance Hendriksen as Bishop? He is a great actor and he nailed his role. Special praise also to Carrie Henn as newt. Good child actors are rare and deserve even more praise. If I think about it this movie has a lot of favorite characters of the franchise so I can call it the gold standard all other movies will be compared to.

Of cause I must also praise and mention James Cameron as director and writer and Gale Anne Hurd as producer. They tired to make something a bit different than the original while staying also true to it.

There are so many cases in changing too much and pissing off fans in movies, videogames or books. Here it works and was acclaimed by fans and critics. Then there are the sets and Alien design. They did again a great job in delivering the mundane of science fiction that looks natural and believable.

The Alien design were from H. R. Giger from the first movie except one that was done by James Cameron himself. These effects and care made the difference. Everything looks whole. Overall this is again a cult classic and must see.

It cemented the status of the franchise and is one of the rare sequels that rivals the original movie.