My favorite film of all time

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2000)

I remember first seeing this masterpiece when I was about 9. 10 years later it remains the best movie I've ever seen. In true James Cameron style, it is an action movie with much, much more than action. The characters are all well defined, and in the first 15 minutes there have already been many internal conflicts established. It is not just marines vs aliens. H.R. Geiger's aliens are absolutely excellent, and despite the revolution in CGI SFX, they still don't look dated at all. This dark movie has a malevolent and brooding atmosphere which is maintained throughout the film, by brilliant direction on the part of Jim Cameron, and excellent acting by all involved, especially Bill Paxton as Hudson, who remains my favorite screen character of all time. It is such a pity that the next two films in the saga were so bad, and that they don't make action movies like this anymore.