Review of Aliens (1986) by Manicure — 22 Nov 2020

I appreciate that James Cameron went for "Aliens" instead of "Alien 2" with the title, as aesthetically we are talking about a completely different kind of movie. The eerie darkness and subtle Lovecraftian horror of "Alien" get replaced by a way more bombastic and adrenaline-filled approach. The raw and gritty art direction is gone for pure sci-fi sleekness, with sparkling lights, bright blueish photography.

Ripley is back on LV-426 with a full team of space marines to shoot the **** out of an entire alien colony. Dozens of monsters, massive shootouts, explosions, comic relief, mandatory child mascot. We even have a badass "Mecha" Ripley fight a pissed off Queen Xenomorph and yell the infamous: "Get Away From Her, You **** The original "Alien" team would have never shot anything like this.

Still, it is pretty solid as a brainless action blockbuster, maybe a bit too long. James Cameron is known for investing zillions of dollars in new techniques and technologies for his films and definitely managed to make something that could impress his contemporaries. The digital effects didn't age well, but the Xenomorphs' looks and movement fluidity have been significantly improved. I am not a big fan of the Queen, though: the concept itself is great, but it just looked like a wooden puppet (by the way, the scene it uses the elevator to chase Ripley was hilarious).