A Good Action Packed Sequel.

Rating: 7/10 (20 January 2005)

James Cameron's "Aliens" is the sequel to Ridley Scott's 1979 film "Alien". In that film, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) was the sole survivor of her spaceship's crew that was decimated by an alien. This film focuses on Ripley and her return to the planet from "Alien" where the alien eggs are located.
After finally being found by The Company after floating aimlessly in space for many years, Ripley is horrified to discover that the planet from "Alien" has been colonised by humans (who have no clue that they share the planet with alien eggs). When The Company loses contact with the planet, they send a representative (Paul Reiser), a team of marines and Ripley to investigate. Upon their arrival, they find a terrified girl called "Newt" (Carrie Henn) who tells them what happened to the rest of the colony (see the title of the film).
While not quite as good as the first film, "Aliens" still has a very satisfying plot. Whereas "Alien" focused on suspense, "Aliens" is an action movie. Moreover, as far as action movies go, this film will surely be rated highly among them if the audience buys the story. Here lies the problem with the plot: that it may not be entirely believable to all viewers. For instance, Ripley and Newt develop a sort of mother-daughter relationship that explains a critical decision taken towards the film's end. Those who do not believe the bonding was strong enough (myself included) will think the decision is ridiculous. Further, the plot does not properly explain why Ripley would ever want to go back to the alien planet. We know that the alien's image still haunts her dreams and for her to be rid of it she must see them eliminated, but is this really a sufficient reason? With those exceptions, the plot is still good and action-filled. Thankfully, as in the first film, there is a long period to build the story and characters before anything takes place.
If one finds the Ripley/Newt relationship believable then Sigourney Weaver's performance is good, otherwise, it is ordinary, noted only for her strong female role. Paul Reiser and Michael Biehn can be enjoyable at times, but they do not have the skills to demonstrate the few complexities of their characters. Ms. Henn seems quite an annoying child actor whose job is to get into trouble. The most enjoyable performance comes from the foul-mouthed tough-guy, Private Hudson (Bill Paxton) who quickly turns into a frightened wimp after an alien encounter. Lance Henriksen also does a solid job as the android, Bishop.
James Cameron's direction is this film's highlight. Cameron obviously seems to have a knack for the science-fiction/action genre as he demonstrated in The Terminator (also starring Biehn). If there is one flaw, it is his overuse of hordes of aliens, which takes away the mystique the alien had in the first film and makes the creatures seem more vulnerable.
Visually the film looks decent. There are still tight claustrophobic sets and dark lighting that add to the feel of the film. The models used are not as convincing however, so that the first film that was released seven years earlier actually looks better.
Overall, "Aliens" is a good action movie and a good sequel that can actually be enjoyed without seeing the original film. Actually, viewers who have not yet seen the brilliant "Alien" may enjoy this film more if they see it first.