K-SCORE: 91
Writer/Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Carrie Henn
“Why don’t you put her in charge?!”
Spoiler Level: Moderate
So, I have this running theory that James Cameron is not a good storyteller. I’m not saying he’s a bad director, bad filmmaker - just a bad storyteller. He doesn’t know when a story element isn’t working or why, what makes good characters and bad, how to pace a plot, what kinds of messages people will respond to. I stay by this theory, but Aliens is really not the film I should choose to try to prove this. (Avatar and Titanic would be a start.)
As I was rewatching this film for the, I don’t know, fifth or sixth time, I couldn’t help by be amazed that this was made in 1986! There’s a lot of really cool human on xenomorph combat, and the only time the film ever feels old is in the shots of the space shuttle coming and going LV-426. This film features the best of a lot in the Alien franchise, including best acid blood, most compelling cast of characters to be picked off by the terrifying creatures, most threatening xenomorph antagonists, and most exciting film. Alien is different, probably a hair better for all its tension, but this is still very high quality work and took the sci-fi idea and propelled it forward such that people wanted to make Alien films for thirty years and into the foreseeable future.
Newt is my favorite addition. The colonial marines are kind of caricatures, especially Bill Paxton, and none of them develop, but Newt is awesome.
“This little girl survived for 17 days with no weapons and no training.”
“Then why don’t you put her in charge?!”
(Newt solutes)
That little solute is perfect. From then on you can understand why Ripley rededicates her entire purpose in the mission to protecting her new little friend. All of her lines are both cute and right on the money, and she has courage where it counts, making the story so much more fun. The space marines underestimate the xenomorphs and die off, yet Newt leads Ripley through tunnels to the exterior of the station, warns Ripley whenever something comes near, and even uses her little hands to help her up onto Bishop’s shuttle when the queen is in pursuit.
Aliens has some cringe-inducing one-liners like Ripley saying, “Stay away from her, you bitch.” Also, I’ve never understood the purpose of androids in the series. And of course that Ripley chooses to go on the mission at all is crazy, and it’s even crazier how thoroughly unprepared the team is for the threat that, at this point, they should have at least a basic understanding of. Operation: Wander in the Dark until Most Everyone is Fucking Dead… Man. But this is Cameron at his best. The xenomorphs are so cool and so scary that just by upping the ante from the first film and putting a ton of them in one place makes for a good movie. Newt and Ripley, consistent xenomorph biology, more face-hugging terror, and Vasquez and Gorman blowing themselves up in that tunnel all help upgrade Aliens from good to great.
How have I become a fan of this franchise? The best film was made when I was -9, and second best film when I was -3. The third best film isn’t very good and was released when I was 4. No one should speak of Alien: Resurrection unless it’s with intense ridicule. Prometheus is some kind of embarrassing prequel doing its best to ruin the previous stories. It manages to convince you there was never any source material. You assumed the mysteries about xenomorphs: their homeworld, their evolution, their connection to Wyland-Yutani Corp., were out there until you watched that film. So it's a downhill franchise quite a bit older than I am.
… they do fight predators…