Aliens

Rating: 7/10 (5 June 2011)

While this sequel is an exciting action-fest, it is ultimately inferior to Ridley Scott's original masterpiece and Cameron's own earlier triumph, The Terminator.
Set 57 years after the terrifying ordeal of Scott's Alien, the story begins with Lt. Ripley (Weaver) waking from hyper-sleep and follows her as she defends her actions of blowing up the Nostromo all those years ago. Moving swiftly on, as this film often does, a half-hearted plot is simply a poor excuse for lumping Ripley with a bunch of extremely dumb-witted and frankly, quite boring Space Marines, as they embark on a mission to rid a local planet of the terrifying creatures that the lieutenant is all too familiar with.
The story in this film clearly was not the primary focus of the crew involved as the audience is made to sit through one tired cliché after another. We have the cocky marines who we know are going to last five minutes. We've got the quiet marine who is destined to be sole survivor. We've got a space shuttle crash landing and in effect trapping the unfortunate party on this desolate planet with only the Aliens for company. So far, so obvious.
The opening hour of this film is throw-away to say the least as this is a film which has one gear, fifth gear and when it's not speeding along it's certainly at a standstill. The real action begins as the marines infiltrate the planet and as expected, don't get the warmest of welcomes from the Xenomorphs. Cue lots of gunfire, lots of frantic camera work and lots of screaming. As the dead weight of the cast is dealt with, we are left with Ripley firmly back in charge as she leads the remaining Marines and a girl called Newt, who they discovered on the planet, to as much safety as possible.
The introduction of Newt is one of the stronger points of this film. It is a clever turn by Cameron as it gives the chance for Ripley's character to grow and display a maternal side that otherwise would never be explored in such a film. The performance from Carrie Henn as Newt, is one of sweet charm and more charisma than 90% of the Marines that are dragged along for the ride.
Other than the character of Newt, the other highlight for the film is the Aliens themselves. As typical with sequels, we get a whole lot more of them. They really are a truly terrifying creation. One set piece in particular that works beautifully is where Newt is alone in a flooded corridor as the Xenomorph is stalking her. It's a scene full of suspense as Ripley and Hicks - the quiet Marine portrayed by Michael Biehn - use a tracking device to find her only to see that she is on the floor level below them. As Hicks begins to cut through the iron railings to get through to Newt, the same tracking device begins to beep again as a vast amount of Aliens move in. This scene is head and shoulders above the rest of the film and as the Alien reveals itself behind Newt, it is done so in a way that would not have looked out of place in the sublime original.
Unfortunately for this reviewer, those scenes are just too few and far between in this sequel to warrant praise parallel with the original. The ending is another poorly judged action sequence involving a Queen Alien - which moves almost as awkwardly as the skeletal Terminator at the end of that film - battling Ripley who straps on a sort of dumper-truck like suit. This, for many, is an iconic scene. For me, it's as ridiculous as it sounds.
While this review is largely negative, that is due in no small part to the fact that it is the follow-up to one of the greatest sci-fi/horror/suspense movies ever made. If it was a stand-alone actioner, it would be praised for certain elements such as the aforementioned Ripley/Newt bond, but if it wants to wear the Alien tag then it will be reviewed in that context.
In conclusion: The original Alien drew comparisons with Jaws for it's suspense and more importantly, the style in which both films were crafted. Aliens in many senses can be compared to Jaws 2. Everything's bigger and bolder, but certainly not better. However, as with Jaws 2, there is some strong material, just don't go looking for something on the level of the original as you'll be bitterly disappointed.
6/10