Directed by:
James CameronScreenplay:
James CameronCinematography:
Adrian BiddleComposer:
James HornerCast:
Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, William Hope, Jenette Goldstein, Al Matthews, Mark Rolston, Ricco Ross (more)VOD (5)
Plots(1)
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor from the original ALIEN, is awakened after 57 years of drifting through space, her stories disbelieved by Company executives who tell her that the alien's planet is now inhabited and colonized. When contact is suddenly lost with the colonists, Ripley returns to the planet with a squad of marines, an android (Lance Henriksen), and a Company executive (Paul Reiser) with a mission of his own. Once on the planet, no survivors can be found except for Newt, a little girl who awakens motherly instincts in Ripley just in time for the acid-blooded aliens to attack in what quickly becomes a one-sided battle for sheer survival. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (14)
Whereas in Alien Ridley Scott pitted defenceless explorers against an invisible threat, in the sequel James Cameron pitted well-armed Marines against a swarm of threats that are visible in all their “beauty”. He replaced disarming fear with disarming adrenaline-fuelled action. In relation to the first film, Aliens could be faulted for its lack of horror intimacy, but here the director replaces that with a cannonade of great ideas, a brilliant plot packed with unparalleled scenes, and his usual technical perfection. It’s an exemplary sci-fi spectacle full of action and suspense that makes your blood run cold. In the context of the genre, giving it anything less than five stars would be an act of barbarism. P.S.: The Director’s Cut, in which we follow the inhabitants of the base before Ripley’s crew lands on the planet, definitely does not detract from the film’s suspense and mystery (“What happened here?’), but rather stylizes those aspects in a different context (“What happened to them?”). And it gives some of the plot elements a broader meaning.
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James Cameron is a master with a capital M, and when he took over the director's chair from Ridley Scott, he certainly didn't do the first Alien a disservice. Cameron doesn’t skimp, in fact, that word may not even be in his vocabulary, and delivers a perfect and technically proficient sequel about alien monsters. Of the cast, Bill Paxton honestly bothered me a lot, but otherwise I have no other complaints. The music is pretty unremarkable, but the sound effects are very good. Just looking at the spaceship or the model of the alien queen made me stare and wonder if the movie was really a quarter century old. All in all, a very good sequel with a lot more monsters, action and technical gadgets.
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A really good action film, even one of the best. It has perfect craftsmanship, but compared to the original Alien, it's just too uniform and predictable. Cameron is undoubtedly a great fachman, but one sees through Aliens very quickly. Still, some of the ideas are unforgettable (for example, cameras in the soldiers' helmets). High above standard in the genre. And after seeing the SE I can only add another star. The excellent atmosphere is guaranteed by both the added additions (e.g. Newt and Ripley's deep relationship is much more logical) and the excellent THX packaging... I enjoyed the atmosphere almost as intensely as I did the first time. :o) Light predictability remained... I'm not so sure about the uniformity anymore. Of course, from a filmmaking point of view, Cameron did not achieve Scott's vision, but one cannot ignore the fact that his visions predetermined the form of science fiction not only in film.
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Clearing a seemingly unattainably high bar was an impossible task, but James Cameron did what he could. Ripley still works, and even Newt, Hicks, and Bishop quickly grew close to my heart. Still, I only started to like Aliens after seeing the extended version, which truly gives the right charge to the psychological background of the first half. The film's success with the audience is also due to the timeless action and breathtaking moments full of elegantly deadly antagonists.
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Cameron took it radically in his own way and plays on a rather belligerent string. Compared to the first film, there’s less atmosphere and mystery, but the suspense hasn't disappeared and James shows his immense talent and sense of perfectionism in his second big film (not counting Piranha...ahem.).
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Gallery (120)
Photo © 1986 20th Century Fox
![Aliens - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/158/510/158510083_3c4fb7.jpg)
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