REVIEW #94 Aliens (1986)

Aliens is the 2nd instalment in the Alien franchise and is directed by James Cameron. This film leads directly on from the first, when Ripley is discovered by a salvage ship and awoken for the first time since escaping Nostromo. She is then sent back to planet LV-426, to reestablish contact with a terraforming colony, after signal had been lost. 

CAST & THE ACTING 

Sigourney Weaver reprises her role as Ripley and once again delivers a strong performance as the iconic character. I believe her performance stands out amongst films of a similar ilk during that time period because the character is much more relatable. She displays fear but also compassion and determination and she doesn’t seem indestructible or overpowered compared to other action stars of that time. The chemistry between Weaver and Carrie Henn who played the young child Newt really stood out. Their performances emphasised that bond between the characters, which made Ripley’s determination to save the girl understandable to the audience and not just a wreck-less act to generate more action sequences. This sequel incorporated soldiers into the Alien franchise, to name a few; Michael Biehn played Hicks, Bill Paxton as Hudson, William Hope as Gorman, Jeannette Goldstein as Vasquez. They portrayed soldiers convincingly but I did think they played on the stereotypes a bit too much. On the whole the acting was good but I do think we witnessed better performances in the first film. 

PLOT & THE STORYLINE 

The plot leads on really nicely from the first instalment, Ripley being sent as an advisor to planet LV-426 made sense and I liked how they still continued the corruption in terms of being obsessed with capturing one of the Xenonorphs. It felt like the right time to introduce soldiers into the franchise considering the first film was just the crew aboard a ship. However as I mentioned above, the problem with soldiers is films tend to just play on stereotypes which means I struggle to connect with the characters. There were a couple like Corporal Hicks and Hudson that displayed a lot of personality, I was routing for them but the rest I wasn’t too bothered about their outcome. I really enjoyed the relationship between Ripley and Newt, it made me like Ripley even more and created a nice arc for the character. It did feel similar to her trying to save the cat in the first film but nonetheless it worked well. Aliens also developed the Xenomorphs even further, introducing the queen and the behaviours of this colony. This worked well because it made them more of a threat, if they were exactly the same as the first film it could have felt a little stale but this way it kept the intensity high and kept it interesting. So overall it was a nice and clear progression from the first instalment.  

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS 

James Cameron and Adrien Briddle, who was the cinematographer on the film, done well to create a whole new world to what we saw in Alien. LV-426 had been terraformed and humans had began to colonise it, so once the Xenomorphs attacked it created a real apocalyptic environment that created some really good visuals. The alien nest also looked great, combined with the body cam style filming, it created a fast paced, heart racing scene. Models were used again to show the spaceships, a technique I love about older films! Similarly to the first film, it utilised lighting, sound and smoke to make scenes really tense, for example the final elevator scene with the emergency sirens, the strobe effects and the collapsing surroundings made me feel so on edge. 

OVERALL (8.5/10)

This was a great sequel and Sigourney Weaver delivers another great performance. The storyline displayed clear progression from the first film and every aspect made sense. Not only that but they also developed the Xenomorphs further, introducing us to more of their behaviours and of course the queen, this made them more of a threat which kept the franchise interesting and kept the intensity high! I did feel like the characters in Aliens weren’t as good as the first instalment but nonetheless the soldiers did deliver exciting action sequences. The cinematography and special effects were fantastic, creating some amazing visuals and contributed to making heart racing scenes that keep the audience on the edge of their seats! Although it wasn’t as good as it’s predecessor, I still loved the film and it still has me hooked on the Alien franchise! Would definitely recommend. 

Thanks for reading.

Callan