The Special Edition vastly improves the story - SPOILERS

Rating: Null/10 (31 October 2000)

Most "Special Editions" are designed to milk a few extra bucks out of a film by adding scenes that were usually excised for a good reason and enhancing the special effects (See Close Encounters - The Special Edition and any Lucasfilm stuff). In the case of Aliens, though, Fox forced James Cameron to make cuts that drastically changed the motivation and development of characters, especially Ripley. When I saw Aliens, one of the main criticisms I had was why Ripley was so obsessed about saving Newt. Here is a character whose sense of self-preservation is enormous, but she is willing to commit suicide to save a kid. The special edition restores scenes that explain her actions. After arriving on Earth, she asks to see her daughter and is devastated to learn that she died at age 67 (Ripley promised her she'd return before her 11th birthday). Newt acts as a surrogate child, and Ripley needs to save her to make psychological amends with her daughter. Additional scenes build on the relationship between the two, and it's sad to see them removed from the original. Fox decreed that the scenes made Ripley seem weak and too emotional; her character had to be consistently tough, according to the studio. Sadly, the missing scenes could have earned Sigourney Weaver the Oscar for Best Actress, rather than just a nomination. The other scenes I don't understand being removed were the ones from the Sentry Gun subplot. These are well-crafted action sequences that provide the viewer with the understanding of just how single-minded the hive Aliens are in their goal. One major criticism of the movie has been that the creatures in this movie don't act as craftily as in the original and instead act in a mindless "KILL KILL KILL" manner. For me, the video-game like onslaught of Aliens makes total sense, especially in view of the insect correlation. One alien alone on a ship would act more cautiously, because there are no others like it yet. Total self-preservation was the key. However, in a hive, the insects/aliens act very much like bees; the aliens' sole purpose is to protect the hive and Queen. The sentry gun sequences only serve to enhance this aspect of the story. There are scenes in the special edition that weren't absolutely necessary, but they are enjoyable nonetheless. The sequences of Newt and the other colonists before the disaster were an interesting contrast to the feral Newt of the theatrical release. If you haven't seen the special edition, I highly recommend it.

One other note: Of the many criticisms I have of Alien3, my strongest objection was to the way it treated the characters from Aliens. Killing Hicks, Newt and Bishop was a poor choice; watching the series in order completely diminishes the importance of the final 30 minutes of Aliens. Unfortunately, the series has become Sigourney Weaver's Alien saga, and the post-Aliens sequels are all pathetic (and poorly conceived)attempts to match Ripley up with the monsters. As far as I'm concerned, Ripley should have disappeared after Aliens and a whole new spin placed on the series. In an interview, Weaver scoffed at ideas like Aliens versus Predator as comic-book junk. If she's ever read any of the comics, she'd have known that not all of these stories are bad and some are very creative. I'm not saying that the Alien saga has to go in that direction, but it just shows that Weaver will do anything to keep the series firmly in Ripley's grasp. What's next, the Ripley Ghola? Dune meets Aliens? All I can say is that it's sad to see a series that had so much potential pigeonholed the way it's been.