A Fantastic Blend of Sci-Fi, Action, Tension and Horror!

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 2001)

Aliens is one of those very rare sequels that are viewed as better than the original by most people. It dares to do stuff that the crew of the original wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. This is what makes it stand out.
Ripley wakes up 57 years after her first encounter with the Alien. She learns that the planet visited in the original movie has been colonised during her slumber. Despite all her fears of the Alien, an unexplained yet understood inner motivation makes her return to the planet. Naturally under the protection of some bad-ass marines.
The cast of this movie is very strong and you can see why James Cameron casts many of these actors over and over again in his movies. Sigourney Weaver manages to show fear and aggression towards the Aliens. Michael Biehn does a good job portraying a character that keeps his cool, but also stays alert and focused. Bill Paxton is completely unforgettable as the cocky bad-ass turned panicky coward, Private Hudson. I won't go into detail with the rest of the cast, but they all give stellar performances.
The special effects of this movie are absolutely amazing. The film is 15 years old and manages to outshine most of the CGI-dependant movies of recent years. James Cameron's theory of motion over appearance works brilliantly. To make the Alien in the first film less human-like, they mostly concealed the beast in darkness, there were still one or two scenes where the Alien's presence was ruined with human motion. In the sequel, Cameron hired the talents of stuntmen and tried all sorts of tricks, the Aliens move so brilliantly that you have to suspend belief that there are actually humans inside. The film is also backed up with fantastic sets and makeup effects from industry expert, Stan Winston.
From start to finish, James Horner's soundtrack adds a new dimension of suspense and wonder. It was also great for fans of the original to hear tidbits of Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack mixed in.
Overall this is a fantastic film and a true classic. This movie deserves every ounce of hype it gets, it's tense, it's exciting, it delivers! Rating: 9/10.