Aliens (1986)

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In the not-so-widespread tradition of film franchises where a sequel is widely regarded as being better than the original, it's tough to argue against 1986's 'Aliens', brought to us by James Cameron in his prime. He also did 'Terminator 2', which falls under the same category. The dude knew how to take everything good about a film's predecessor, bring more lore to the table, advance the story and characters, and bring us mind-blowing special effects. One could watch either 'Aliens' or 'T2' on the big screen now, and they each hold up almost perfectly.

One could draw quite a few parallels between the two best Cameron films of all time (which I understand is debatable, but I'll die on that hill), but we're only here to talk about one of them, so let's get on with this sci-fi/horror/adventure/action/drama epic. When we last left the crew of the commercial space tug, Nostromo, everyone was dead except for its warrant officer, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), and Jonesy; a cat whose fate is ultimately unknown, but at least we never have to think about the little buddy getting ripped to shreds by a Xenomorph. After all the action, the two go into stasis mode, and the credits roll.

Fifty-seven years after the events of the first film (now making it 2179), chance brings the Weyland-Yutani Corporation into her path, and she is eventually awakened and debriefed. Ripley sticks with her story about checking out a distress signal and eventually dealing with an alien creature that tore her crew to shreds. Her story is hard to buy, however, since now, that same area is colonized, and everything has been fine. Of course, it's not long before they lose all contact with the colony, and need to go check it out.

Ripley is understandably apprehensive, but unfortunately, she's the only person there who has had any type of experience with the Xenomorph creature. Headed by a guy named Burke (Paul Reiser), the mission includes a group of well-trained marines this time - primarily Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn); Private Hudson (Bill Paxton); Lieutenant Gorman (William Hope); Private Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein); Sergeant Apone (Al Matthews); and their android, Bishop (Lance Henriksen). This is where we start to take this is a bit less horror, and a bit more action with horror elements. The intro to this team is almost like asking the audience to "buckle up."

Upon investigation, they find a girl named Rebecca, but we call her Newt (Carrie Henn). She's the sole survivor of an off-screen Xenomorph attack, and essentially becomes Ripley's purpose throughout the film. She has to try to get Newt the hell off this rock, and to safety. But complicating things are a combination of people we don't know if we can trust, an army of Xenomorph drones and warriors (which many say are the same thing, but I don't really know), and last but certainly not least, our first look at that "bitch," the Alien queen!

This film's place in cinematic history is a bit unique, as I might argue that it set the bar for sci-fi action to come so much so that a lot of alien movies outside of this franchise are often said to be inspired by, compared to, or even just straight-up copying it. Personally, I could see films like 'Attack the Block', 'Cloverfield', 'Pitch Black' and 'Starship Troopers' as prime examples of titles I absolutely love, but admittedly see taking a lot from this in some way or another. It seems hard to avoid if you want an alien who's also a monster.

Over the years, 'Aliens' has become a personal favourite, and remains the only film in the franchise (including the original) I don't need to be in the mood to watch before putting it on - any old time would be just fine. In short, the movie is an action-packed, if a bit horrific, roller-coaster ride, and defines what sci-fi action should look like. It's also the only one of these movies I feel has aged incredibly well, and something to point to in order to show kids these days how amazing things could look in the 80s with the right crew behind the wheel.

5/5

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