Sheer, unadulterated movie-making magic...A true tour de force...

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2017)

This film should be required viewing at film schools across the world. With the recent release of Alien: Covenant, I am confident fans of the franchise have dusted off their copies of all the preceding films and engaged in a Xenomorph marathon.
Literally volumes have been written extolling the genius on display in Aliens. I whole-heartedly agree with all of the praise, but to me what truly stands out in this film is not so much the bombast (which is unbelievably great) but rather the writing and characterizations.
Budding directors take note: despite a large, ensemble cast, we the audience actually CARE about every single character on screen. Sure we have stereotypical archtypes, but they are so effectively written and exquisitely acted that everyone actually feels REAL. As a result, we truly empathize with the entire group. We feel their initial bravado which then, in a literal heartbeat, turns into sheer, abject terror as these hardened professional soldiers encounter a foe right out of their darkest nightmares.
Superlative effects and atmosphere still takes a back seat to brilliant character development and no-BS, non-exposition-laden writing. Think for a moment exactly how many lines and scenes from Aliens has become embedded into the public consciousness.
Ridley Scott is a brilliant director - his body of work speaks for itself and anyone who argues against this point is on very shaky ground. I retain hope that Ridley's end-game vision of the Xenomorph franchise will eventually find its feet, especially with the introduction of the Engineer race in Prometheus, which so far, after the current duology of Prometheus/Covenant has been amazing appetizers yet unfulfilling.
That said, we should all be thankful that we also have the equally brilliant James Cameron and the truly masterful vision he created in Aliens.
Absolutely Aliens is a must-watch, bucket-list film. Period.
"They're soldiers...they're here to protect you." "It won't make any difference..."