Aliens

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen
Written by: James Cameron, David Giler
Director: James Cameron
Year: 1986

Rating: * * * *   Stars       +       (Fan Bonus *  )  Total: * * * * *

After surviving the horrible ordeal aboard her spaceship, the Nostromos, Lt. Ripley is rescued from cryogenic hibernation 57 years later, and must return to the planet where the alien was originally brought on board, as the lives of colonists are in jeopardy.

Director James Cameron proves his directorial sensibilities that made his future films like Titanic and Avatar the colossal successes they were in this installment of the Alien movie franchise. While the original Alien was indeed a horror film, Cameron wisely decides not to try and top the horror element, but swerve its direction into an action/adventure tale. While there is still some scary moments, the film amps up the on screen action. James Cameron realizes that once the monster is exposed in the first film, it's hard to make it scary again. So he instead makes the aliens more dangerous. Instead of one alien, there are hundreds, working in unison as a collective hive, and of course something unseen, a Queen alien.

The cast of characters, mostly Colonial Marines, are diverse and compelling. Although most end up as fodder for the Aliens, Cameron doesn't treat them as such. In fact, the aliens don't even get involved till well over an hour into the film. Rather, Cameron builds rapport between the characters and the audience. Hicks (Michael Biehn) is the quiet Corporal who is thrusted into a leadership role. Hudson (Bill Paxton) is a loudmouth, obnoxious smart-ass convinced of his own greatness. Sgt. Apone (Al Matthews) is a Gruff disciplinarian. Lt. Gorman (William Hope) is the man in charge, but lacks any real combat experience, and hasn't earned the respect of his men. Private Vasquez is one tough chick, hard, but practical.  Rounding out this motley assortment is Burke (Paul Rieiser), the company man who's overseeing the mission as sponsored by his company. Bishop (Lance Henriksen) who is an android, and completely mistrusted by Ripley, considering her last experience with artificial humanoids. And of course Ripley herself, who is coaxed into this mission as a consultant.

Once characters and relationships are established, things take a turn for the worse. The aliens attack and only a few survive. With the original drop ship compromised, they need to make their way to the relay station and call down for the spare, which has to be piloted remotely. Also, there is a problem with the cooling system, and the facility is about to explode in less than 4 hours. Not to mention, the aliens are hunting down the survivors. Tension and suspense mounts as this film moves towards its dramatic conclusion.

This formula has been copied in future horror/action films, but rarely with this kind of care. The special effects are fantastic, and clearly fit into Cameron's stylized vision of the future, elements of which can be seen in Terminator 1 & 2, as well as Avatar.

SEE THE TRAILER: Aliens