Review of Aliens (1986) by Spangle — 11 Aug 2014

This is the rare sequel that is just as good as the first one. I think I would give the first one a slight edge, but that is no knock against this one because it was honestly awesome. Sigourney Weaver is fantastic here as expected as she reprises her role as Ripley.

The whole cast really does a very good job as well. The direction from James Cameron is also great and I liked the added action sequences, but I am glad that he did not ignore the horror elements brought by Ridley Scott in the first film.

He did a very nice job blending the scares from the first one with a more actiony premise. This combination of thrills with the action is ultimately the film's largest success, as it makes it a very fun one to watch.

It is hard to look away throughout because so much is always going on. The special effects were also, largely, good. There were some sequences that looked beyond fake, but all of the stuff with the aliens was convincing and well done.

There are definitely some moments that feel a bit cliche here, but regardless of that, Aliens is a very successful sequel that takes what Alien did great and adds a little bit of greatness to it.