Without question the greatest Alien movie of all time. Characters were enjoyable and the tension of the movie never let up. James Cameron sure loves using the same actors in his movies. The Alien ambush is a classic scene.
I loved "Alien". I really did. But I found myselft disappointed with "Aliens".
After floating around in space for 57 years, Ripley and Jonesy the cat are found by the company. Ripley continues to have horrible dreams about the alien. She gives her report and the company refuses to believe her because they have set up a colony there for the past 20 years without complaints. Suddenly, the company loses contact with the colony and ask Ripley to go. Ripley refuses at first, but the representative from the company assures her that they are going to destroy the creature, not study it. Which is total bull, but for some reason Ripley believes him and decides to go.
Here arises my first dissatisfaction: Ripley knew that the company was no good from the first movie, but she gets fooled by them again. It brings to mind the saying, "Shame on you if you fool me once. Shame on me if you fool me twice." However, without Ripley's consent, there'd be no movie or, at least, no movie with Sigourney Weaver and that wouldn't be as fun. Moving on.
Ripley goes with the Marines and the representative from the company. Ripley tries to warn everyone that they could be in bad trouble, but nobody really pays attention except Corporal Hicks. They arrive on the planet and find that no one is there and the colonists had set up a lab to study the aliens. The crew moves on and finds an eight-year old girl, who appears to be the sole survivor of the planet.
My second dissatisfaction with the movie: we know wihin the first ten or twenty minutes of the movie that aliens are on the planet. But we have to sit through another thirty to forty minutes of nonsense, i.e. the little girl and the disbelief of the crew, until we actually see the aliens. The pacing was almost unbearably slow for me. I was actually bored a couple of times, which never happened to me in the first movie.
So the movie progresses on...slowly...and finally a nest is found with all the colonists in it. It turns out that the alien keeps the colonists alive so they can be used as hosts to produce more aliens. So now we are dealing with hundreds of aliens, not just one. Ripley tells the commanding officer to order the crew to pull out and not to use their guns, but of course, no one listens and the aliens attack the Marines. Ripley saves those she can, but inevitably some have died.
My thrid beef: Ripley told the Marines that they could be in bad trouble and they laughed at her. Now that they find the aliens, they bitch and moan consisently throughout the movie. SHUT UP, for Christ sakes. My fourth annoyance: in the first movie, the alien's blood damn nearly ate through the ship and that was only a little bit. With hundreds of aliens, wouldn't everyone just melt and die or, at the very least, just lose arms and legs after shooting the aliens and splattering blood everywhere? Ah, the joys of plotholes.
And the movie goes on...and we find that the company is up to their old tricks (which anyone with brains or anyone that saw the first "Alien" could have guessed at the beginning of the movie) and Ripley takes care of the little girl and the aliens get in the ship and attack people...etc. etc. etc. And then comes the best part of the movie. The annoying little girl does something useful and gets kidnapped by the aliens. Therefore, Ripley has to save her (which makes me think--doesn't Ripley always have to go back and save her pets? She had to save Jonesy the cat in "Alien" and now she's saving the little girl. But I digress). And has one hell of an awesome showdown with the queen, which is like the alien on steroids due to its gigantic size. I rated the movie an extra star due these last 40 minutes.
Overall, it was mainly the pacing that was so horribly slow for the first hour or so, that turned me off this movie. I could watch (and I have) the entire movie of "Alien" again and again without feeling bored. But with "Aliens", there'd be several parts I'd definitely fast-foward through.
The rare sequel that surpasses the original. James Cameron ups the ante from the original Alien in almost every way. The fear, the claustrophobia, the action, are all brought up to a level that has never been matched in any subsequent Alien movie. Often duplicated, never equalled. The movie is rich with original characters that you come to love quickly. Sigourney Weaver became the template for all future tough chicks in movies. Motivated by her fear of the past, and her desire to face those fears drive her. Michael Biehn is in full on tough guy mode, and solidified himself as one of the most dependable everyman tough guys in movies. Bill Paxton has an iconic role as Pvt. Hudson, a space marine who is equal parts loud mouth tough guy, and loud mouth fraidy cat. Lance Henrickson became a staple in the Alien franchise after this, playing the robot Bishop, who represents another fear that Weaver's Ripley must overcome. Carrie Henn is an adorable little girl that proves more capable of taking care of herself, even without the aide of the Marines sent to rescue her. The movie is chock full of suspensul action scenes, and expands on the alien creature from the first movie. Not just in terms of having a planet full of the creatures, as opposed to one in the first movie, but in terms of the creature's life cycle. Instead of the warrior aliens, we are introduced to the amazing Alien Queen, and her final throwdown with Ripley is one of the great fight scenes of all time. This masterpiece was further enhanced after its initial release with an extended edition that showcased several key scenes both before, and after the aliens wreak havok. Storylines are extended, and characters are further fleshed out, making the movie even better than it was to begin with. Another feat I didn't think possible. There have been several movies with the alien since this film's release in 1986, but none can match the perfection of this. One of the great movies of all time.
Okay for a follow-up, far from as good as the original.
The suspension from the first movie has been replaced with macho action, we get a whole gang of random soldiers who are going to destroy the alien this time. There are some characters that have personality though, so it's not a total waste. I love Newt! She is so cute and her actress is perfect.
However, sometimes the action just takes over the movie, making it more than a little boring. I mean, in the first movie, what was so great about the ending was not the actual death of the alien, it's when Ripley runs terrified in the hallways not knowing where it is: the suspension. Here the last scenes drags on what feels like forever. As much as I love Newt, the ending was waaaaaay too long.
After a group of marines discover a colony on a derelict world that has been infested by serpant like acid bleeding creatures...One woman takes a stand against all odds and faces her fears to save the only survivor... a young child.
As much as I love this film, personally I disagree with the claim that this sequel is better than the original horror classic.
Much more action packed and gory and a much thicker plot is great, but this just didn't have the atmosphere the original held. Maybe this is because there are much more locations used instead of just the ship like in the original and therefore this didn't have the claustaphobia factor.
However, this still remains a 5 star film because it is still stunningly good. Well done James Cameron, but sadly you didn't quite top the first film.
Usually hated upon, but for my money Aliens is a strong successor to the original, and a stylistic accomplishment for director James Cameron. I recently just rewatched this, and was pleasently surprised by the atmosphere created; the special effects are marvelous for the time, capturing the claustrophobia of the situation perfectly. Sigorney Weaver does an excellent job reprising her roll as Ripley, and the other cast members are equally adroit. Not a taut thriller like the original, Aliens is still a quality action/suspense/sci-fi movie.
James Cameron takes on the legend of planet LB421 in this harsh space marine pounding action follow up set 57 years after the original, after a long sleep. When Weaver's Ripley awakens almost 60 years later, she finds that some idiots colozed the planet she had been to, and now the colony is in trouble, so she and a crack team of space marines are headed theere. Not as scary so much as more action packed this time around. One military oddity, "A holes and elbows" doesn't mean let's get going. It means get down and pick up the stuff you dropped. Just saying.
Not quite as good as the original, but still pretty good. I just have a hard time taking anything with Paul Reiser seriously. Nonetheless, it's got some good action and we get multiple aliens this time out.
Better than the first Alien, this time there's more than one (hence the title). There's more action in this one and some of the acting is better as well. Also introduces a new breed of Alien...the Queen.
Are they good at coming up with names for movies or what? I mean, the first one was great: 'Alien', but it really took a genius to come up with this sequel, 'Aliens'. (Or Alien 2, which is brilliant as well). Wow. These guys really have imagination.
Amazing film. Best one I have watched so far. Shame Sigourney Weaver didn't win Oscar for performance. A very tense film. Awesome visual effects. Better than the first one because there are more than one aliens involved in this film. Really clever how the Alien Queen was sent into outer space!! When Ellen and Newt met the Alien Queen and with the other aliens surrounding them, I thought how the fuck is a woman supposed to escape with a little girl in her arms?! One of James Camerons best films. I preferred Titanic. Warrent Officer Ellen Ripley really holds the Alien cycle together. This is my fathers favourite film so that is another reason why I love this film.
Amazingly suspenseful, wonderfully done. The aliens look increadibly good despite the fact, and indeed because of the fact that you never see much of them. Quick cuts here and there between the aliens was done wonderfully. The film was inreadibly suspenseful, and was enhanced by some great camera work. When the marines are in the aliens nest/den and shooting everywhere viewing the chaotic action from the monitors was a superb way to go. An all around fantastic film.
Letīs rooock!! Aliens is kick-ass space shoot up and goddamn,is for me the best action flick ever alongside Die Hard.James Cameron is absolutely amazing.Heīs the only guy that can make a sequel 100 times better than the original.I loved it all from the story to the amazing perfomance of Sigourney Weaver,the real badass woman as the only proof that women can kick butts too.Just like it says in movie poster:This time itīs war!!
Sequel to the classic sci-fi horror film alien. This movie is more action oritented than the first one and it's just as effective. Directed by James Cameron.
Possibly one of the greatest film sequels of all time, alongside the likes of Terminator 2 (also a James Cameron film), and The Empire Strikes back. The effects are great even today, specifically the aliens, who look disgusting and creepy. More action than the first Alien film, this still builds up suspense well and has a fantastic ending. The score to the film is also very good and well recognised, as part of it has often been used in trailers. James Horner did a good job especially as he basically composed the score overnight. By most accounts James Cameron is a difficult director to work with and is something of a perfectionist. He knows what he wants and he usually gets it and produces outstanding films.
an improvement over the original..action is more hardcore..and the ground rules already are established..so the story can focus more on the action and suspense and less on explaining what or who the alien is...movie moves at a better pace, and is supported by accomplished actors....
I think it the very greatest movie of all time. I'd argue it could be the the top movie in three separate genres. James Cameron's work on this movie is just so freaking amazing. There's a very strong cast full of great personality and characters you really care about. Ripley is just such a champion. The sets look absolutely incredible. I admire all the hard work that had to be put in to making the scenery look great before CGI was an option. I love how the sets look so futuristic and yet so rugged and conceivable at the same time. Everything about the movie is just perfect. The musical score is great. The story is brilliant. The action is relentless. And the newfound relationship between Ripley and Newt, among other things, makes this more than just another mindless action movie. It is so deep, so touching, so monumental, so flawless, so incredible. I watch this movie like once a month.
MCT:July 23, 2008
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