Probably the best action film ever made, and one of the best sci-fi films

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2000)

This is James Cameron's best film. He used to be an action auteur (but I think he threw that completely away with Titanic). Aliens is a masterpiece of thrills. The set is so claustrophobic, it makes me shiver just thinking about it.
The reason that this movie becomes so great, though, is the mother/daughter relationship between Ripley and Newt. This is such a realistic relationship. And the actress who plays Newt was one great child actor, every bit as good as Haley Joel Osment from The Sixth Sense. Like I said in my review of Alien, Ripley is a great character played by Sigourney Weaver, a great actress. Her suffering becomes ours. Also, notice how every scene takes place from her point of view. In the special addition DVD, though, there is a scene added where we see the colony (actually, Newt's father) find the aliens. This is used to introduce the colony's situation and to introduce Newt, but it was an enormous mistake to reinsert this scene back into the film. It breaks the rhythym quite terribly. It is a particularly long and clunky scene in the first place. It was enough when Paul Reiser told us that there has been a colony on that asteroid for many years. The audience knows right away that something is going to happen there with the aliens which will make Ripley have to go there. Now, with this scene having been reinserted, when the soldiers enter the colony and find a single life-form moving around, we know it is Newt (since that first scene kept focusing in on her). There is no surprise as their used to be. It should have just been left as a supplemental scene. Bad, bad mistake.
Of course, that scene could not ruin this great film. Only really perceptive people who have a huge understanding of the language of film will ever notice it. But those of you who read this review, pay attention to that scene. I give this film a 10/10 because originally Cameron was smart enough to take that scene out. He must have reinserted it after he made Titanic.