If given the choice between the first two Alien movies and the entire Alien and Predator franchise, I'd take the first two without a moment's hesitation. And forced to choose between the two films, I'd take James Cameron's fast-paced, action-packed sequel over Ridley Scott's horrific masterpiece. While neither film can really be directly compared, I just enjoy Aliens more. It's my all-time favorite movie, period. And much like its predecessor, there's almost nothing bad to say about it.
The cast is solid and likeable (or, in Burke's case, hateable) and they know their roles well. Sigourney Weaver offers a further developed version of Ellen Ripley. Whereas in the original film she was just a terrified member of the Nostromo who managed to survive, it was this movie that turned her into the Action Hero she's known as today while showing just enough of her vulnerable/motherly side. Michael Biehn turns in a solid performance as Dwayne Hicks, a competent soldier who manages to be a strong character without overshadowing Ripley. Unlike many people of this type, he's actually likable (
). Paul Reister's character, Burke, is my least favorite. But that's actually to his credit. I found his character convincing enough as a villain that I was genuinely disappointed when I didn't get to see him get ripped apart by the alien. Bill Paxton brings in the comic relief very well. Newt (Carrie Henn), Bishop (Lance Henriksen), and Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) all fill their roles just fine, and manage to be very entertaining, but there's not much to say about them.
While people have expressed disappointment at the evolution of the original Alien to a swarm of creatures, I feel it was the next logical step. A singular alien picking apart the team one-by-one would be nothing but a rehash of the original. The facehugger creatures return and the Alien Queen is a truly frightening creation, very on par with the original monster. The special effects are magnificent. There's honestly very little wrong with them. And Horner's fast-paced score fits the movie very well. And even without the horror elements, we still get plenty of gore with the chestburster scene and the many instances of soldiers blowing aliens apart.
One reason why I think Aliens succeeds so well is because it doesn't follow in the steps of the original. Cameron makes his own film. It's not a horror movie - it's a suspenseful action movie with a science-fiction theme. And it brings with it a strong cast and script, a strong musical score, excellent effects work, and Cameron's great direction.
Awesome movie, definitely. Give me this movie and Ridley Scott's film and you can keep everything else.
