With the phenomenal success of the film "Alien" it was inevitable that a sequel would be forth coming what was surprising was that it took nearly seven years before it hit the screen. It was, however, worth the wait. But how to you follow such a groundbreaking film? You make it bigger that's how. For all its grandeur and stunning visuals, "Alien" is a small story, a handful of humans pitted against one adversary on a mining ship. For the second outing, this time with James Cameron at the helm, the story widened, the action factor was geared up and if one alien was scary enough, as the title suggests, this time it's brought its friends. Although this film is clearly a sequel, it does stand alone as a film in its own right and in no way requires the viewer to be familiar with the first. There is an obvious continuity between the films but having no prior knowledge of the previous terrifying episode in Ellen Ripley's life in no way detracts from the enjoyment, in fact seeing the Aliens for the first time in this film is just as awesome as it was for those of us who met them first time around.
After being the sole survivor of a massacre on a mining ship, which resulted in its total destruction, Flight Officer Ellen Ripley (Sigourney
Weaver) is found drifting through space in cryogenic suspension. Upon returning to earth a series of revelations take place. The first is that she has been away from earth for 57 years and consequently her friends and family are gone, she is alone. As if that wasn't enough, the company she works for hold her responsible for the loss of the ship and as such revoke her pilots licence meaning her career is over. Worse than that though is the fact that the planet where they first encountered their nemesis has been colonised by a small wave of pioneering families and as Ripley knows there are potentially hundreds more aliens there and as Ripley poignantly points out "just one of those creatures wiped out my entire crew". When reports of colonists going missing come in, a team of marines is set in to investigate along with Ripley as advisor and a company representative. What follows is a clash between a team of heavily armed marines and a hive of the deadliest predators evolution has ever produced.
The film has retained the look of the original, again a dark maze of corridors and rooms is the main setting for the action, this time a planet based colony complex rather than a space ship. This again allows for the claustrophobic terror and the subdued lighting amongst grim service ways, high tech laboratories and industrial units and we also get some out side shots of the wind blasted planet. He same work man like feel has be created as before and this is why the film doesn't look dated even though film making has moved on so much. Science moves on so quickly and as such our image of the future moves with it rendering many science fiction movies ridiculous looking in a short period of time. With both Alien and Aliens the look is so practical and functional that it still fits easily in our bubble of believability.
And if the look of the film has been maintained it becomes apparent that James Cameron is able to bring to the screen what Scott did so well in the first. With the original film heavy on the drawn out suspense, Cameron combines this with a bigger slice of action. And as the marines begin to encounter their alien foe the film races of in a relentless roller coaster ride of bullets, bombs and blood. But what raises this film up into the shortlist of truly great science fiction is, again the development of the characters. There is so much action there isn't much time to individualize the characters but they at least rise above the level of canon fodder and you find yourself on the side of the good guys very quickly. The marines contain all the stereotypical characters that you expect, the tough talking Sergeant Apone (Al Williams), the wisecracking Private Hudson (Bill Paxton), the sombre Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn), the unflappable hard as nails Vasquez (Jeannette Goldstein) and the synthetic human-with-a-heart Bishop (Lance Hendrickson). Balancing this are Gorman, their mission leader who is so by the book and inexperienced that he's in danger of being shot by his own troops long before the aliens get anywhere near him, and Carter Burke, the slimy company executive with an ulterior motive, played to perfection by Paul Rieser, who is normally known for nice guy comedy roles. A special note has to be made of Bill Paxton who plays a marine cracking up under the pressure and fear of the events and Michael Biehn the corporal who has to take control and hold it all together. Both have worked with Cameron before in The Terminator and both are brilliant here.
Another touch that makes this more than a testosterone fuelled action movie is the relationship between Ripley and Newt, a young girl who has survived hiding in the air ducts. As Ripley assumes the role of mother, something that was taken away from her due to the long time lost in cryogenic suspension, her mission to wipe out the aliens becomes almost secondary to protecting her young ward, almost changing the nature of the movie as it nears its conclusion. But for all its development from the first film and addition of more human issues, the over riding factor that makes this film so good is its pace. One stunning scene after another is presented, be it full on action, or slow suspense, all are masterfully done and pay homage to the first film but also set new standards. It's a film that picks you up and carries you along with it, a film that really does make you want to watch it from the relative safety of behind the sofa, and it's a film of truly awesome film making talent from all concerned. Two more films did follow this one but its all down hill from here I am afraid.
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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
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)
