A Sequel Worthy of the Original

Rating: 9/10 (28 August 2007)

Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returns to her base, only to find she's been asleep for many decades, and her daughter is now dead. She tells the story of the alien, is not believed, but is called into service again once the aliens she spoke of coincidentally become known. (We might ask how they are found almost exactly the same time she notifies them of the aliens rather than years prior or years later, but let's not get picky.) There are now more aliens, including a swarm of full-sized ones (not just the single one from "Alien"). And the queen! Holy cow! And, of course, they have to go deep into the hive to stop the aliens from hurting the colonists (although, in all fairness, I think the aliens were there first).
How often does a sequel really compare to the original? Other than with "The Godfather Part Two", I can only think of one example: "Aliens". The general idea is the same as the first film: group of stranded space explorers attacked by aliens must survive. The difference: more aliens, better cast and better technology (using forklifts to kill aliens is awesome).
I have to give a shout-out to Carrie Henn, who played the young Rebecca "Newt" Jorden. She was amazing, and I really wish she would have continued acting. I hear she's now 31 and teaching in California or something, having never made another film. This is too bad, as she really tied the picture together. I don't know if Ripley needed a daughter figure to replace her dead daughter (this seems very contrived), but it worked.
Lance Henriksen appears as Bishop, probably his best role. In the future, Henriksen sells out and appears in every straight-to-video horror film he can get a part in, but back in 1986 this was a break-through role for him. Forget Data from "Star Trek" (as cool as Brent Spiner is), Lance Henriksen's Bishop is king. Bill Paxton is also great as Private Hudson, with the immortal "Game over, man" line. Maybe not Paxton's best role (he's also great in "Weird Science" and "Twister", you know) and he is a bit whiny at times, but he's a welcome addition to the cast.
As for Paul Reiser, forget that guy. He's only good for co-starring alongside ugly women (here and in "mad About You"). His character of Carter Burke is so typical of lawyers. I prefer the lawyer from "Jurassic Park". But hey, that's just me. At least it's not Billy Crystal.
There is an "illegal alien" joke i found in poor taste, not because I was offended, but because I assume that in the future the concept of "illegal alien" will have no more meaning.
Overall, just as good as the first. It runs a bit long with the director's cut (two hours and thirty-seven minutes) but was really enjoyable. The guy I watched it with -- Brandon -- was ready to rent "Alien 3", but Family Video doesn't carry it. What a scam, eh? But anyway, check this one out -- you know coming from James Cameron ("The Abyss", "Terminator II") it has to be good. Only Cameron could have succeeded Ridley Scott (and bring Michael Biehn with him), and he does it well.