"Aliens" Review

Title: Aliens

Directed by: James Cameron

Screenplay by: James Cameron

Year: 1986


Something that I find rather intriguing is the title of this sequel. Instead of the arbitrary number system, the film title is just the plural form of Alien. I don't know why, but I just find this very creative and clever. But seven years is quite a long time for a sequel to be released and the change in directors could put doubts in anyone's mind. So, did Aliens capture the same magic as its predecessor? Or did it fall into the infamous "sequel-trap"?

The story begins with Ripley's ship from the last film being found and taken to a space station. She wakes up from her stasis only to hear that the happenings of the Nostromo occurred 57 years ago. After giving her account of the Nostromo and hearing that the planet LV-426 is home to a small human colony, Ripley warns the company of the danger on the planet, but, of course, they don't listen to her. However, when a certain incident occurs on LV-426, Ripley along with a team of marines is sent to investigate.

Right off the bat, it is easy to tell that Alien and Aliens are two very different films. Simply compare the tag lines.

Alien: "In space no one can hear you scream." This, like I mentioned in my review of Alien, suggests a horror film in a sic-fi universe.
Aliens: "This time it's war." This suggests a more action-adventure based film with a sci-fi setting.

The direction also makes this apparent. Ridley Scott focused on a more claustrophobic feel for Alien because it suited the movie better. James Cameron has his fair share of close shots, whether for intimacy with the characters or for suspense, but because he is directing what is essentially an action film, he pulls the camera back and allows the audience to get a good view of what is happening. The pacing is much quicker than that of the first film. The first act is noticeably slower than the second and third acts, but it's all for the best. Aliens proudly carries the torch of tension that the previous film ignited. One of my favorite sequences is when the team is searching the empty colony and find small clues that hint towards the titular threat. The entire scene had me in suspense and it paid off. However, though Aliens centers more on action, it has not forgotten its roots in horror and suspense. This time around, we get to see more of the Xenomorphs than we did last time, which works in favor of the movie given its change in genre.

*SPOILERS AHEAD* Thankfully though, James Cameron understood the fear of the unknown. Though he shows us more of the aliens than Ridley Scott did, it is obvious that he knew the right moments to show them. One particular scene that exemplifies this is the scene with the turrets. When our heroes are holed up in a building, they set up some turrets which will automatically fire at the Xenomorphs when they come within range. When they do come in range, we don't see the aliens though. We only see one of two shots; either the turrets firing or the computer screen that shows the number of bullets rapidly diminishing. This is inspired directing as it really establishes the Xenomorphs as a credible threat without showing them. Seeing the faces of our heroes as they watch they symbolic hope for destroying these creatures quickly vanish is more than enough to establish the aliens as a force to be reckoned with. Another example is when the sensor shows that the aliens are approaching the door to the room where our protagonists are trapped. We see through the sensor that the aliens are getting closer but never do we see beyond the door what is really happening. It focuses more on the character's reactions emotions than the aliens. Everything we need to know about the situation is given by their faces. And to further add to that, though we cannot see the Xenomorphs, we can certainly hear them. There is beauty in mystery, and James Cameron understood this.

Speaking of the main characters, Sigourney Weaver returns to play Ellen Ripley and she does a mighty fine job of it. She expertly gets the emotions of the character to come across naturally. One of my favorite moments with her is I believe only found in the director's cut, where Ripley finds out that her daughter has died in the time that she was in stasis. I can understand why this was cut, as it adds nothing to the overall plot, but it does add quite a bit to Ripley's character. The emotion might seem tacked on when on paper, but Weaver's performance sells it. Joining her is Paul Reiser as Carter Burke, a representative for the company, Michael Biehn as Corporal Hicks, one of the marines' squad leaders, and Lance Henrikson as the android Bishop. In addition to numerous other marines, Ripley meets a young girl named Newt (played by Carrie Henn). Carrie Henn was a very good child actress and was well deserving of her Saturn Award for this film. We become as attached to this cast of characters as much as we did to the crew of the Nostromo, especially with Newt.

The musical score is really good as well. Nothing really stuck out to me, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The soundtrack added a lot of atmosphere to the world, blending well into the background. The effects really deserve some credit though. The lighting is just as good and atmospheric as Alien's and the sets have the same claustrophobic feel that the first film employed. The look of the Xenomorphs is also a major credit to the art department. The aliens look incredible to this day and are arguably the best aliens ever put to film.

*SPOILERS AHEAD* Oh! and that queen Xenomorph...that is a thing of absolute beauty. The way it moves, the way it looks, the way it sounds...It leaves quite an impression to say the least. However, I do have one little nitpick. The elevator moment. The queen alien uses the elevator which conveniently is right there as soon as she gets there. Wouldn't it have been more awesome if the queen actually climbed up the shaft? That would've made it an even bigger threat (and it's already menacing as it is). This is just a small point and doesn't really have any bearing on my opinion of the film, but it still bugs me. Perhaps the production values couldn't have allowed for that, but that is not evident by the rest of the movie.

*SPOILER FREE* Now, just because Aliens is not labeled as a horror film does not mean it is void of any scares. No. Aliens provides some very good heart stopping moments. Much like Alien, I was constantly on the edge of my seat. The action also never really let up. Whenever I thought that the action was about to end, James Cameron threw in another little sequence just to keep the audience's heart rate up. Aliens is an excellent blend of action-adventure with sic-fi and a little dash of horror. The result is one great film. I consider Aliens just as good as Alien despite how different they are. Aliens  is arguably one of the greatest action films ever made and certainly one of the greatest sic-fi's ever to grace the big screen.

Grade: A+