Superior Sequel

Rating: Null/10 (4 May 2002)

Vastly more entertaining and exciting than the original, Aliens takes the central character of Ellen Ripley and brings her back to a colonized planet with an alien presence amidst doubts by crew going with her of her sanity. All that changes of course once arrived on the planet and having met the alien presence. Director James Cameron does everything right in this film. The acting is very good, with Weaver giving a compelling performance filled with depth. Lance Henriksen does an equally impressive job as a robot of sorts. Paul Reiser plays a low-life scum with amazing conviction. The rest of the cast works very well. Bill Paxton plays an annoying marine-type fighter cracking under stress. I was annoyed with him in short time...to put it shortly. Cameron steps the pace of this film up ten times what it was in Ridley Scott's ground-breaking original. There is no lack of suspense. The alien(s) is/are impressive as our the climatic scenes in the end of the film. Like the first film, Aliens has a message about science versus life, corporate greed, military goals, and much more. The band of gung-ho marines revel in their jobs of fighting prior to reaching the planet, yet once they land change their minds quickly, an interesting footnote to the reality of violence for those that believe they are indestructable. A great science fiction film!