Incredible emotional journey!!!

Rating: 10/10 (22 March 2012)

This movie is one of the greatest sequels of all time, a masterpiece of movie making and the perfect antidote to the haunting and equally masterful Alien.
Firstly this movie cranks the pace up 10 fold from the suspenseful slower pace of Alien, but it is still filled with suspense and tension. The acting in the movie is top notch and Sigorney Weaver is fantastic as Ripley. The action sequences are incredible and the even in 2012 this movie has hardly dated since 1986 and could stand up against the movies today.
Aliens is essentially a Vietnam War movies in space, the analogy is the same and I heard somewhere that this was intentional by James Cameron. The high tech and over confident soldiers with weapons and equipment are outwitted by their perceived inferior opponents (the aliens) by their resourcefulness.
Despite the movies name 'Aliens', I personally believe the creatures are the focal point for the audience only on a conscious level. On a subconscious level this movie is all about Ripley's emotional journey where she is propelled into a leading role to face her nightmares brought on by her first terrifying encounter in the original movie.
Aliens is a story of empowerment, whereas the original Alien was a helpless struggle against an invincible enemy.
This empowerment is amplified by Ripley eventually facing a bigger and more fearsome version of the creature, the Alien Queen and defeating her in a wrestling match using a hydraulic power loader and eventually blowing her out of an airlock, much like the first movie.
Another aspect of the movie is Ripley's acting as a mother role to the character Newt which is relevant to the start of the movie when Ripley finds out her daughter had died at the age of 66 after she had spent 57 years in hyper sleep. This also heightens the emotional journey and when both are seen in hyper sleep at the end of the movie it resembles an up lifting union as if Ripley is back with her daughter and peacefully sleeping by her without her nightmares. Very symbolic.
This is why I believe it works so well as a sequel and at many levels it is as sophisticated as the original movie which is regarded by many as the most artistic of the two.
Aliens is a rip roaring, hardcore action/sci fi/horror, with great acting, score and pace that only James Cameron could achieve but most importantly this is a fantastic emotional story and because of this it a massive success with depth and gives the audience a sense justice!