Alien - my favourite all-time movie. Scariest film ever made. Modern classic (if the term isn't mutually exclusive). Progenitor of the entire Alien saga. And the best one-word film title ever - it's pretty much self-explanatory. Of course, being as successful as it was, there just had to be a sequel. And lo and behold, we have the rarest of rare cinematic events - a sequel which is just as good as the original!
Before I go any further, a word about the film's title. Now, instead of just calling it "Alien 2", the makers opted for the slightly odd title of "Aliens". This IMMEDIATELY heightens your expectations and the sense of danger before you've even seen the film - after all, the first film was called Alien because it had 1 alien in it. So the sequel is called Aliens. Plural. Again, it's pretty self-explanatory. And for anyone who has seen, or even knows a thing or two about the original, you know what to expect. And as your sphincter trembles with fear at the thought, you enter the cinema, as ready as you possibly can be for the experience......
PLOT: After her escape from the Nostromo at the end of Alien, Ripley has lain in stasis for 57 years, floating through space. After eventually being picked up by a deep-space salvage team, she is hung out to dry by the company executives who held the Nostromo's pink slip. In the process, she discovers that the moon where the Nostromo fatefully landed has been colonised, and given a name - LV426 (or to those of us in the know, Acheron - the name of the second river in the Kingdom of Hades). Of course, something goes wrong on the planet, and Ripley is "asked" to go there with a squad of marines to investigate. Once there, the soldiers encounter an entire nest of the creatures, and are decimated. It falls to Ripley and a Marine Corporal, Hicks, to get them out of danger and
off the planet, preferably killing the bugs in the process. That's all I'm going to say, as any more would give too much away for any of you yet to see it, but suffice to say that the tension never lets up, and the story unfolds very nicely indeed, thank you.
CAST AND CHARACTERS: One thing you might notice about the film's director, James Cameron, is his propensity for utilising the same acting talent in his films. Michael Biehn (Hicks), Bill Paxton (Hudson), Jeanette Goldstein (Vasquez) and Lance Henriksen (Bishop) all feature prominently in at least 2 other Cameron films each. Obviously these actors are comfortable working for Cameron, as they are all absolutely marvellous in their roles. Biehn as the cool and calm Hicks is the best character in the entire Alien series as far as I'm concerned, and Biehn is never bad in any film I've seen him in (particularly as Ringo in Tombstone). Bill Paxton as the cowardly Hudson also sticks out, and even some of the short-lived soldiers have great little moments before they become bug food. But, of course, this film belongs to Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. After finding stardom in the first movie, then enhancing her stature in films like The Year Of Living Dangerously and Ghostbusters, she returns to the role of Warrant Officer Ripley, and just blows the rest of them away here. Weaver was nominated for an Academy Award for this film, and it's criminal she didn't get it - she manages to be strong, weak, vulnerable, dependable, smart, determined and terrified all within a few minutes - and is utterly convincing at all times. She moves the character away from her sheer terror of the beasts to a steely resolve that they're not going to scare her any more. A brilliant display.
One wee trivial titbit - there was a programme on Channel 4 a couple weeks ago all about the Alien saga films, and featured interviews with many of the actors in the films. The most intriguing interview was the one with Carrie Henn, who played the little girl, Newt, in Aliens. Seeing her 16 years on, apparently in her mid 20s and not a squealing wee girl any more was a strange experience to say the least!
SETS AND DIRECTION: Although The Terminator was the film that made Cameron's name, it was Aliens and Terminator 2 that cemented his place at the head of Hollywood's A-list for directors. The action is slick and well-paced, and all the set-pieces are full of tension - particularly Ripley's "search" towards the end of the film. Cameron uses the backdrops and sets well in his shooting of the film - the environments are all cold and sterile, fitting in with the bleak future the Alien films depict. The complex is full of endless, souless metal corridors, and the emptiness of these passageways conveys menace and danger at every turn. The best trick Cameron pulls on the viewer is that when the aliens attack, you think there's hundreds of them swarming all over the place - in actual fact, there are never more than SIX on screen at the same time (they only had six suits!). A masterful piece of vision by Cameron all round.
DELETED SCENES: As you may or may not be aware, there is a "Special Edition" of Aliens, including 15 minutes of added footage which Cameron had to cut on the orders of 20th Century Fox, who had deemed the film too long. These scenes include more detailed shots of the film's environs, along with some character building for some of the minor players, and a large section detailing life on the colony before the aliens were introduced to the base. Now, opinion is split in the Aliens community about these scenes (of which there are only about 20 seconds added to the last 20 minutes). Many think that they were unnecessary, with 2 in particular causing offence. The first is the establishing shots of colony life before the bugs attack. Dissenters state that these tell the viewer too much, as once the marines arrive, their questions of "what the hell happened here?" are negated, as we already know what's happened. Well, I for one think these scenes add to the horror of the film - you see a "before" shot of vibrant life, and an "after", with no-one left after disaster befalls the colony. And the film's title kind of tells you what happens before you see it anyway! The other scene to arouse dissenting voices was the use of the "sentry guns" to wipe out a huge number of bugs in two separate attacks. Many feel that these reduce the "power" of the aliens to sheer numbers, and detract from the mystery and horror of the things. I disagree - with the addition of these scenes, you know that the bugs tried to reach the survivors 3 times, not just the once, so there's a lot more danger away from the camera than you are originally led to believe.
On the whole, I think the Special Edition is superior to the normal one, as you get to know a lot more background and supplementary data, and it helps you establish in your own mind the circumstances of the film.
PLUSSES: The film is brilliant overall, and there aren't many things about it that stick out as being particularly better than anything else. The main plus I will give the film in general is that it showed that, when done properly, you could merge 3 different film genres into one movie, and that it could hold its head up proudly in each - Sci-fi, Horror, or Action.
MINUSES: While not as psychologically terrifying as Alien, Aliens is still a very scary film, and is not recommended for those of a sensitive disposition. You have been warned.
SUMMARY: Aliens is an absolute treat of a film, with a broad spectrum of appeal - it appeals both to loyal fans of the first movie and to the cinema-going public in general. Due to its slightly more "mainstream" style it is more readily accessible to Joe Cinema-goer than Alien, and is therefore held up as being better than the first. I feel they are equally good, but I prefer Alien ever-so-slightly, just because I do. So there. An excellent film that despite being 16 years old has yet to show its age, Aliens was the first "big bad monster" film to REALLY hit the big time. If you haven't seen it yet, you should. You'll never call anybody a "bitch" again.........
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Production Year: 1979 - Science Fiction - Director: Ridley Scott - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Willow Smith, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Alice Braga
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
very well written and give me a sense of actually being involved
pdoyle007 28.12.2003 21:31
Great review, I love this film. The special edition also has a scene where Ripley finds out about her own daughter which explains why she's so attached to Newt. Apparently a scene was also filmed where she finds Burke near the end after he's been impregnated and she helps him commit suicide but that didn't make either version.
James Cameron'sAliensdigests all the virtues ofAlienand regurgitates them bigger, louder ... more
and brasher than before. By the simple expedient of turning the singular beast of the original into a plural, Cameron transforms the franchise's focus from horror ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
James Cameron'sAliensdigests all the virtues ofAlienand regurgitates them bigger, louder ... more
and brasher than before. By the simple expedient of turning the singular beast of the original into a plural, Cameron transforms the franchise's focus from horror ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
In this action-packed sequel to Alien Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley the only ... more
survivor from mankind's first encounter with the monstrous Alien. Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew are received with skepticism until the mysterious d...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
JamesCameron'sAliensdigests all the virtues ofAlienand regurgitates them bigger, louder ... more
and brasher than before. By the simple expedient of turning the singular beast of the original into a plural, Cameron transforms the franchise's focus from horror t...
Postage & Packaging: Check Site. Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Excellent presentation of the film itself in terms of both image and sound; comprehensive photo gallery; interesting interview with James Cameron. Disadvantages: No Director’s Commentary; only one trailer included; no music audio options — essentially, this is not an extras-lite DVD, but it simply has nowhere near as much content as the Alien DVD it follows.
Advantages: great, fun movie, excellent C.G effects and loads of extras!!!!! Disadvantages: a little tame on the gore and violence factor compared to the previous films!
![Aliens [1986] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78518282.jpg "Aliens [1986] [DVD]")
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![Aliens (Two Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1986]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78541008.jpg)
