"Game over man"

Rating: 10/10 (14 November 2011)

The 80s were really the first era where video games began to influence the look and above all the experience of movies. This trend arguably began with Star Wars in 1977, although barring some flight sequences near the end the possible link is more about the Computer-generated imagery rather than a game-playing experience. But a decade later, just as virtual reality was starting to become a really exciting concept in both science fiction and modern technology, the idea of an action movie being a primarily first person experience was, well not born as such (the idea was hardly new), but certainly enjoyed a surge that made the 80s a golden age for the genre. Aliens features no CGI, just a fabulous mix of prosthetics, miniatures and animatronics, but it captures much of the pace and passion of the video game age.
Director James Cameron puts a real emphasis on closeness, putting the camera right within the melee. When the marines tool up and jog off to the shuttle, the camera tracks along with them as it were one amongst them. Later we see a scene of chaos and carnage through video monitors from the soldiers' personal cameras. Throughout the picture there's continual movement, from which Cameron's remarkable ability to make not very much look exciting and suspenseful. It's all about careful control of the pace. After the marines touch down on the moon, there's a period of inexorable slowness during which Cameron is able to stave off the action scenes for a surprisingly long time, knowing the audience will be enjoying the suspense. And when the actions sequences come, they are no disappointment, a breakneck mix fear and exhilaration.
James Cameron is a rarity among directors, especially in the field of action blockbusters, in that he writes most of the screenplays for his movies, unaided. As such there's always a very tight co-ordination between how characters come alive both visually and verbally. In the scene where everyone is revived for the mission, Cameron has a short amount of time to introduce a half-dozen or so marines. He gives each one a brief close-up and a line or two of memorable dialogue that nails down their personality, or perhaps some little mannerism like Apone putting a cigar in his mouth before he's even sat up. Any more would break the punchy flow of the movie, any less and it would be a bunch of grunts getting picked off with no connection to us. Despite his brevity, Cameron is very precise in his character introductions. Take for example the scene where we see Newt's family investigating the crash site (only in the special edition, I believe). Cameron employs a careful choice of angles and lighting to make sure that it is Newt's face that stands out more than the others, even though she is a passive character at this point.
Cameron's dedication to his characters is matched by fine performances from the cast. Sigourney Weaver really runs the gamut, from her anger towards the company in the early scenes, through her steely determination before the enemy, to her maternal tenderness towards Newt. What is most impressive about her performance is that she is able to convince us throughout all these shifts in tone – her touching motherliness in no way diminishes our belief in her as a formidable heroine. The bunch of actors playing the marines give some distinctive performances. Given that the dialogue Cameron gives them is very sparse, they all have such narrow windows in which to make an impression. I'm especially impressed by Lance Henriksen, who gives a brilliant interpretation of the android character, mostly deadpan but with the occasional flicker of true emotion.
And all this is important because Aliens is ultimately a very emotional movie. There are some really beautiful story arcs here – Ripley learning to trust an android, redeeming herself after being castigated by The Company and belittled by the marines, and finally regaining a daughter (this is one of the reasons why the special edition is really essential, because it establishes all these arcs properly). And this is really one way that Aliens is very much not like a typical video game, which is unlikely to include any such humanity and poignancy. Aliens stands as not just the perfect audience-involving action movie, but a powerful example of this pure storytelling medium.