Aliens (1986) Movie Review

ALIENS is a science-fiction action movie directed by James Cameron and is the sequel to 1979’s ALIEN. The film stars Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ripley from the first movie and takes place 57 years following the events of ALIEN. This time Ripley and a group of marines go to the planet where Ripley and her crew first encountered the Alien creature, except there isn't just one Alien. There are hundreds of them.

The combination of suspense with great action makes ALIENS an incredible film. It was able to develop the character of Ripley further making her a badass action heroine as well as give us some other memorable characters including Hicks, Bishop, Newt and Hudson.

It was the right decision to set this film further in the future because it allows the character of Ripley to be in a state where she finished the last movie. She is still alone, and this time is trying hard to convince the company that she works for what happened to her crew was true. Of course, none of the people believes her as the company set up a terraforming colony on the same planet where her team encountered the ALIEN eggs.

Soon after, the Weyland Corporation Yutani loses contact with the colony on the planet and their representative Carter Burke asks Ripley to come to help them investigate. Ripley initially refuses, but after having recurring nightmares about being killed by the Alien chestburster, she finally agrees on the condition that they destroy all the eggs.

Similar to the first film where the chemistry of the crew is well-realized, in this film you can instantly believe these are a group of marines that have formed a camaraderie with each other.

Even with the Marines and all these experienced soldiers, the film can showcase all deadly these creatures are. The director James Cameron uses similar techniques as the first one to show the threat of the animals. From the ALIENS, camouflaging in the wall to the scene where all the characters are stuck in one room, and the creatures are slowly surrounding them. The film is full of action and suspense at the same time.

The relationship between Ripley and Newt is the central core of the film. They instantly form a mother-daughter bond in which Ripley goes to great lengths to protect her. A deleted scene does reveal that Ripley had a daughter that passed away while she was in stasis.

The adversary between Ripley and Bishop is an excellent addition to the film. It is logical to have Ripley hate androids because of what happened in the first film. The film does an excellent job of letting Ripley trust him, from his volunteering to fix the satellite to his sacrifice at the end.

Burke’s betrayal at the end was hinted at throughout the movie, starting with his connection to the company. The actions of the company hint at their true nature. It isn't the first time that the company has wanted the eggs and the fact that Burke was willing to kill Ripley and Newt to make money shows how evil corporations can be.

ALIEN and ALIENS are some of the best sci-fi films of the modern age.