Scottish Fantasy and Horror Writer, I've sold more than 150 short stories in SF, fantasy, and horror...
Scottish Fantasy and Horror Writer, I've sold more than 150 short stories in SF, fantasy, and horror magazines and e-zines; with a story collection, The Johnson Amulet and Other Scottish Terrors, and my debut novel "Island Life" out now.
Member since:31.08.2002
Reviews:22
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Before the overblown Titanic and True Lies, James Cameron was a genre film-maker with few peers. The taut tension of his first Terminator movie made him a natural to have a stab at one of SF's great monsters. And this time, as the title suggests, there are more than one of them.
As in the first movie of the series, it all starts quietly. Ripley wakes in an orbiting hospital facility to find she has been rescued from her "lifeboat", having spent fifty-seven years in hypersleep.
The Company blame her for the loss of the Nostromo, and she is stripped of her officer's license. Humiliated, and bothered by nightmares, she is reduced to running "Waldoes" (futuristic fork lifts which cover your body like a mechanical suit) in the space docks.
That is until Burke, a company man, arrives at her door to tell her they have lost contact with a terra-forming colony on the planet she first encountered the alien. Ripley is persuaded to join a mission to the planet, alongside Burke and a troop of bad-ass marines.
There are some great SF interiors in the ship, and the marines have suitably bashed and battered weaponry, while still looking sufficiently futuristic, but the film drags along for a bit at this stage, with too much exposition and not enough action. But that all changes when they reach the planet.
They find a deserted colony, the rooms and walkways showing signs of a violent struggle. The only survivor is a young girl, "Newt", who becomes Ripley's surrogate child. (Incidentally, the director's cut of the DVD has an early scene reinstated that explains why Ripley forms such a strong attachment to Newt, and is well worth searching out for an insight into Ripley's state of mind.)
When the colonists PDTs (Personal Data Transmitters) are all found to be broadcasting from an area under one of the cooling towers, the stage is set for a series of mind-blowing action sequences.
At their first encounter the Marines get overrun by the Aliens ("In case you haven't been paying attention, we just got our asses kicked."), then their escape craft crashes, leaving them stranded on a site that is in danger of exploding. They retreat to a sealed compound to consider their options. (Again, the Director's cut has added scenes here, where heavily armed robot sentries keep the Aliens at bay at the compound perimeter.)
From here on in its a roller-coaster of climaxes till the end - Ripley and Newt are trapped in a locked room with two face-huggers (released by company man Burke to try to get an alien embryo back to Earth); the Aliens break into the compound for a climactic battle; Burke gets what's coming to him; Newt is taken by the Aliens; Ripley fights to get her back and, finally, we get to find out where the Alien eggs come from.
Ripley's stand off with the Alien Queen is one of the great images in modern SF and you'll be gripping your seat with tension long before the ending.
Sigourney Weaver carries this movie, dusting off her action heroine credentials once more, and is ably assisted by Michael Beihn and Lance Henrickson. But as in all monster movies. it's the monster that's the important thing, and the special effects people can take great credit from this movie - the Aliens are among the best screen creatures ever created and the Queen is a work of art, like some warped dinosaur skeleton painted in high gloss black and brought to life to stalk our nightmares.
Whereas Ridley Scott made a great SF movie in "Alien", Cameron has made a great action movie. The last hour of this film contains enough tension, emotion and excitement to leave you rung out by the end.
I recommend you watch it on a big screen with the volume turned up to eleven and let it take you away for a while. Just don't leave before the credits - there might be another climax yet to come.
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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: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
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
Advantages: More violence, fire power and bleeding than the first Disadvantages: Dated 1986, special effects dont seem good compared to todays special effects, but great for the time
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 (Special Edition) [DVD] [1986]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/127176565.jpg "Aliens (Special Edition) [DVD] [1986]")
![Aliens [1986] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78518282.jpg "Aliens [1986] [DVD]")
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