Aliens (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Revived from a cryogenic sleep 57 yrs. after aliens massacred her space crew, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, reprising her role as the lone survivor from the 1st film in this franchise) is back with 'Aliens', directed by the great James Cameron, the 1986 sequel to Ridley Scott's similarly unnerving 1979 horror/action classic, Alien. At the film's start, Ripley's only company was her cat, Jones, until a salvage ship finds her & brings her back to Earth. Once there, she finds herself facing dire charges of misconduct {she was, after all, responsible for the destruction of a space ship} & her claims about the alien are met with skepticism. She is stripped of her license & left to cope with her life & a future without her daughter, who recently passed away of old age.
Then, all contact is suddenly lost with the terraforming colony on LV-426 ... the moon planet where Ripley's crew had discovered the alien. A slimy corporation exec, Carter Burke (Paul Reiser), approaches Ripley with a proposition: join an armed squad of war-hungry Marines to LV-426 as an advisor & have her pilot's license restored. She concurs, but with a stipulation: they land there to destroy the aliens, not to harvest them or bring them back to Earth; Burke agrees. Ripley's crew is a hard-boiled bunch: Troop Commander Apone (Al Williams), wisecracking quipper, Private Hudson (Bill Paxton), austere Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn), cool-headed Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein), taciturn android Bishop (Lance Henricksen), & several others.
Only Gorman (William Hope) is by-the-book and, thusly, reacts poorly to untimely, unexpected developments. Of course, when faced with the plentitude of aliens on LV-426, the other crew members don't know what to do either, as the huge, fanged, acid-bleeding creatures slaughter their ranks and/or trap them in a deserted operations center. There, they meet Newt (Carrie Henn), a cowering girl who is the sole survivor of the aliens' massive attack on the colony. Ripley takes the child under her wing, but Newt is unconvinced that these space soldiers will be able to stop the multiplying army of aliens. Soon, Ripley & co. are fighting time as well as the creatures, as the plant's nuclear reactor starts on a critical countdown. Mayhem ensues.
'Aliens' is even more amped-up, moody & macabre than the chilling 1979 film; if that can be believed. It is absolutely terrrifffyyying watching to see if any of the crewmembers will make it out of their nightmare scenario alive, or get shredded to pieces by hordes of their primitive alien enemies. I think an apt word to describe Cameron's Aliens would be: relentless. Though it is lengthy, with an elongated exposition-laden 1st Act, the proceedings are tautly paced & offer an absolute roller coaster ride of emotions & sci-fi nail biting thrills -- you're sure to be worn-out by the time the end credits roll. And I think that we're additionally invested because, though there aren't complex characterizations, we care about what happens to each character.
The most touching relationship in 'Aliens' is the one btwn. Ripley & Newt {the motherless girl}. The emotional payoff at the end has less to do with any potential 'we defeated the aliens' notion than it does with the bond that develops btwn. these two women. Most action movies lack heart; not this one. And when Newt is kidnapped by the ravenous aliens as a potential host for one of their offspring, it adds an additional layer of emotional urgency to the already-feverish climax. Speaking of the aliens, Cameron gives them real agency as 'characters' themselves; as they function like an insect colony with an egg-laying queen & her soldiers. And these aliens are extremely intelligent creatures who have cunning instincts; which makes them all the scarier.
'Aliens' features a host of standout action sequences: the crews' failed 1st attack & Ripley's well-timed rescue; Ripley & Newt's battle against the 'face-huggers' in the sound-proof lab; the TENSE struggle to keep the aliens out of the barricaded structure; the flight through the corridors & Newt's unfortunate capture; Ripley's desperation to save Newt & battle with the queen; and a surprise '2nd ending'. Small character moments break-up these actions scenes to diffuse tension... but they sure don't last long, ha. To that, 'Aliens' is a wonder of technical prowess behind the camera; with Cameron's powerful sense of claustrophobia, aided by nerve-inducing, shadowy cinematography; the elaborate set & creature designs; the costumes; the acute sound work; the practical effects; & James Horner's music score. I also loved Cameron's following the Jaws model of: seeing less is more frightening.
I mentioned above the nurturing instincts Ripley has with Newt. That is a testament to Sigourney Weaver's poignant acting prowess. And we already know how positively kick-ass Weaver is as an action heroine. She is as iconic an action hero as a Schwarzenegger or a Stallone and, it's why I'd have given her the Oscar for 1986, slightly edging out actual winner, Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God; both are amazing. But yeah, this film would not be what it is without Weaver's visceral contribution. Everyone impresses; including Bill Paxton as comic relief & Lance Henricksen, who plays up the ambiguity of Bishop's android essence. Blending action, sentiment, & adrenaline-fueled thrills, 'Aliens' is the rare sequel that warrants optimal praise.
Then, all contact is suddenly lost with the terraforming colony on LV-426 ... the moon planet where Ripley's crew had discovered the alien. A slimy corporation exec, Carter Burke (Paul Reiser), approaches Ripley with a proposition: join an armed squad of war-hungry Marines to LV-426 as an advisor & have her pilot's license restored. She concurs, but with a stipulation: they land there to destroy the aliens, not to harvest them or bring them back to Earth; Burke agrees. Ripley's crew is a hard-boiled bunch: Troop Commander Apone (Al Williams), wisecracking quipper, Private Hudson (Bill Paxton), austere Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn), cool-headed Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein), taciturn android Bishop (Lance Henricksen), & several others.
Only Gorman (William Hope) is by-the-book and, thusly, reacts poorly to untimely, unexpected developments. Of course, when faced with the plentitude of aliens on LV-426, the other crew members don't know what to do either, as the huge, fanged, acid-bleeding creatures slaughter their ranks and/or trap them in a deserted operations center. There, they meet Newt (Carrie Henn), a cowering girl who is the sole survivor of the aliens' massive attack on the colony. Ripley takes the child under her wing, but Newt is unconvinced that these space soldiers will be able to stop the multiplying army of aliens. Soon, Ripley & co. are fighting time as well as the creatures, as the plant's nuclear reactor starts on a critical countdown. Mayhem ensues.
'Aliens' is even more amped-up, moody & macabre than the chilling 1979 film; if that can be believed. It is absolutely terrrifffyyying watching to see if any of the crewmembers will make it out of their nightmare scenario alive, or get shredded to pieces by hordes of their primitive alien enemies. I think an apt word to describe Cameron's Aliens would be: relentless. Though it is lengthy, with an elongated exposition-laden 1st Act, the proceedings are tautly paced & offer an absolute roller coaster ride of emotions & sci-fi nail biting thrills -- you're sure to be worn-out by the time the end credits roll. And I think that we're additionally invested because, though there aren't complex characterizations, we care about what happens to each character.
The most touching relationship in 'Aliens' is the one btwn. Ripley & Newt {the motherless girl}. The emotional payoff at the end has less to do with any potential 'we defeated the aliens' notion than it does with the bond that develops btwn. these two women. Most action movies lack heart; not this one. And when Newt is kidnapped by the ravenous aliens as a potential host for one of their offspring, it adds an additional layer of emotional urgency to the already-feverish climax. Speaking of the aliens, Cameron gives them real agency as 'characters' themselves; as they function like an insect colony with an egg-laying queen & her soldiers. And these aliens are extremely intelligent creatures who have cunning instincts; which makes them all the scarier.
'Aliens' features a host of standout action sequences: the crews' failed 1st attack & Ripley's well-timed rescue; Ripley & Newt's battle against the 'face-huggers' in the sound-proof lab; the TENSE struggle to keep the aliens out of the barricaded structure; the flight through the corridors & Newt's unfortunate capture; Ripley's desperation to save Newt & battle with the queen; and a surprise '2nd ending'. Small character moments break-up these actions scenes to diffuse tension... but they sure don't last long, ha. To that, 'Aliens' is a wonder of technical prowess behind the camera; with Cameron's powerful sense of claustrophobia, aided by nerve-inducing, shadowy cinematography; the elaborate set & creature designs; the costumes; the acute sound work; the practical effects; & James Horner's music score. I also loved Cameron's following the Jaws model of: seeing less is more frightening.
I mentioned above the nurturing instincts Ripley has with Newt. That is a testament to Sigourney Weaver's poignant acting prowess. And we already know how positively kick-ass Weaver is as an action heroine. She is as iconic an action hero as a Schwarzenegger or a Stallone and, it's why I'd have given her the Oscar for 1986, slightly edging out actual winner, Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God; both are amazing. But yeah, this film would not be what it is without Weaver's visceral contribution. Everyone impresses; including Bill Paxton as comic relief & Lance Henricksen, who plays up the ambiguity of Bishop's android essence. Blending action, sentiment, & adrenaline-fueled thrills, 'Aliens' is the rare sequel that warrants optimal praise.