Aliens

This time it is war.


This movie is the sequel to Alien from 1979 which reinvented the sci-fi/horror genre. Aliens is a different movie than Alien. It took the Alien universe into a new direction. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returns to the planet LV-426 from the first movie with a bunch of space marines. The signal from the colony on the planet is lost (the colony was established after the first movie).

As the title indicates, we now have several alien creatures. The alien monster was nearly impossible to kill in the first movie. This time the humans have got more firepower and are actually able to kick serious butt.

Most of the characters are close to marine stereotypes, but the cast is really strong. Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen are all performing very well and play some of their most iconic roles. Sigourney Weaver got an Oscar nomination for her performance. The movie was nominated for 7 Oscars which was very unusual for a sci-fi/action movie in 1986.

I like most James Cameron movies from the 1980s and the 1990s, and this is no exception. James Cameron is (was?) a truly a brilliant action director. Aliens contains no CGI. The Alien creatures still look good. Some of the matte painting and the miniatures look a bit fake, but I guess that is OK, when you consider the movie is from 1986. The power loader vs. alien queen sequence is still very impressive (sorry about the spoiler).

 
Although Aliens contains lots of action, it is still a serious and scary movie. One great rollercoaster ride. I watched the director's cut of the movie, which opens up for more character development (we also get a cool sequence with some sentry guns). The original version is also recommendable.

Although Alien and Aliens did not invent the sci-fi genre, they both had a huge effect on both comics, movies and games. This is not just a movie about slimy monsters. Aliens is probably one of the best sci-fi/action movie I have ever watched.