Aliens

Aliens (1986)

Director: James Cameron

Writers: James Cameron (story and screenplay), David Giler (story), Walter Hill (story), Dan O'Bannon (characters), Ronald Shusset (characters)

Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henrikson, Bill Paxton, William Hope, Jenette Goldstein, Al Matthews, Mark Rolston

*** This review is dedicated to my Aunt Kathryn, who helped foster my love for all things cinematic. She's not dying or anything (though she's getting up there in years), but I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge her impact on my life. Thanks, Kath, I love ya, you old harpy! ***

Synopsis:

After floating aimlessly in space for more than half a century, Ellen Ripley's (Weaver) escape shuttle is discovered by a deep salvage team. She awakens on a space station near Earth, traumatized by the events on the Nostromo and facing legal troubles due to her actions taken to destroy the alien threat. She learns that the once unoccupied planet where her crew discovers the alien is now home to a small group of colonists. When contact with the colony is lost, company man Carter Burke (Reiser) convinces Ripley to join a platoon of Colonial Marines led by Lt. Gorman (Hope) as a consultant traveling to the planet LV-426 to investigate what happened to the colony.

First Impressions:

This film always has a special place in my heart, as it was the first R-rated film I ever saw. My aunt, who was also a big movie buff (see above), was a huge Sigourney Weaver fan and introduced my brother and me to this film. I was 11 or 12 when I saw it, and it both terrified me and enthralled me at the same time; it's one of the films that got me interested in movies as a young pre-teen. It has consistently remained at or near the top of the list of my favorite movies of all time. However, it's a film I don't often revisit because it's such a visceral and hectic movie that I have to be in the right mood to watch it. That being said, let's dive into the review.

Story/Direction: 

"Get away from her, you bitch!"

I've commented several times how much I enjoy James Cameron's writing and direction. I honestly think he's one of the more gifted filmmakers of his generation, and he often gets overlooked in this day and age. I think what he did with Aliens is remarkable for a couple of reasons. First, he took a landmark horror film and turned the sequel into an all-out action extravaganza that still maintained a lot of the creepy and scary elements of the first film. Mark my words, that's not easy to do. Secondly, from all accounts, this was a challenging shoot due to the tension between Cameron and the British crew, who didn't think much of him. Nevertheless, to craft the film he did on the budget he had, which was pretty small even by 1985 standards, is a true achievement and resulted in one of the greatest sequels of all time. 

The interesting thing is, from a story standpoint, there's nothing really original or groundbreaking. It's a plot that you could easily find in an old-school WWII movie or even an old Western. That's the thing about Cameron, though; he has a way of getting the audience invested in fairly well-worn stories. I think the main reason for this is because he surrounds the protagonist with interesting and fully-formed side characters. Because of this, the audience becomes attached to these characters, making us feel genuinely bad when they inevitably die. 

I also find Cameron's wheelhouse really is the sci-fi genre. I know he's done other types of films, but science fiction is really where he shines. He has a talent for making a world seem futuristic but still relatable at the same time. His worlds feel real and lived in but still approachable and don't require 25 minutes of exposition to introduce to the audience. Of course, this is also a byproduct of the era the film was made in when filmmakers trusted their audience a little more, and moviegoers weren't so pedantic. 

Acting/Characters:

In my last review, I avoided talking about Sigourney Weaver's turn as the protagonist Ellen Ripley. The reason I did is that I think that while Weaver did a great job in the first film, the character of Ripley really came into her own in the sequel. What Cameron and Weaver did with the character was really trailblazing in that she was really the first true female cinematic action hero. For my money, Ripley belongs in the pantheon of great action heroes of all time, and I don't just mean for women. She belongs up there with Martin Riggs, Jon Matrix, Paul Kersey and James Bond. She's tough, steps up during a crisis and isn't afraid to smack the shit out of someone if they get out of line.

To top all of that off, Ripley has a pretty great arc in the film as well. She starts out a bit of a mess after her experience on the Nostromo and finding out that her daughter died while she was in space. She's still unsure of herself when she arrives on LV-426 until she meets Newt (Henn), a young girl who managed to escape from the rampaging aliens, and begins to bond with her. From then on out, Ripley turns on full mama-bear mode and basically runs the show. By the end, she's ordering around a group of experienced marines like she's a drill sergeant. It's really one of the great performances in the genre and earned Weaver an Academy Award nomination.

The rest of the cast is excellent, with Cameron regular Michael Biehn as the chill Cpl. HIcks, Bill Paxton as the frantic Cpl. Hudson and Jeanette Goldstein as the badass machinegunner Vasquez. Shout-outs also go to Paul Reiser, who is delightfully slimy as corporate sellout Carter Burke and Al Matthews as the cantankerous Sgt. Apone. Incredible cast all around.

Visual Effects

For a 35-year old movie, the special effects hold up very well for the most part. Like many films of its day, some rear projection/green screen shots look iffy on modern hi-def TVs. Other than those, though, the effects still look pretty great. The creature effects, in particular, are outstanding, thanks in large part to the great Stan Winston. The aliens themselves look pretty similar to the original film, except they seemed smaller to me. Cameron also made them appear more bug-like by having them crawl through grates and above ceiling tiles. Of course, I can't talk about the effects without mentioning the Xenomorph Queen, which still looks impressive, three and a half decades later. The creature was entirely shot on camera and was a massive puppet that needed 3 of 4 guys to operate. It really is one of those old-school bits of "movie magic" that outshines modern CGI attempts. 

The production design for the film was also top-notch and picked up on the "used future" aesthetic from the first film. As a result, there is a stark contrast between the stark whites of Gateway Station, the sleek gunmetal blue of the marine ship Sulaco and the dark greys of the colony operations center. It gives the film a dark mood and meshes excellently with the action on the screen.

Score/Soundtrack:

The music for the film was composed by James Horner, and he produced one of the better, non-John Williams musical scores of the 80s. Horner made good use of some of the themes used in the first film, composed by Jerry Goldsmith, which gives the film the same eerie and mysterious feeling. Horner also wrote a lot of original music, most notably the theme from the movie's climax, which is so iconic that it's been used in the trailers for other films more times than I can count. It's really a fantastic musical score. 

Action

It's safe to say Aliens has a fair amount of action, most of which involves the destruction of scores of those acid-bleeding jerk aliens. Seriously, though, the action in the movie is pretty good, and Cameron excels at merging good sci-fi with bombastic action. The action is made even more exciting by using quieter, more tense scenes to bridge the gaps between action. Scenes of note include the sortie into the alien nest, the escape from operations and, of course, the finale, which is one of the most edge-of-your-seat final action sequences in film history. It's the Alien film that you come for the creep factor and stay for the action.

Final Impressions

I still love this film. It remains one of the greatest film sequels of all time and is etched in stone on my list of favorite movies. There's something for everyone in this film, whether you're into sci-fi, action or horror (probably best to keep the kids away from it, though). Seriously, if you haven't seen this film, watch it, and if you have, watch it again. It's worth it.