one of the best sequels ever

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2002)

Alien and Aliens are two very different films. I agree with another reviewer in saying that Alien is a psychological thriller, whereas Aliens is more of an action movie. Both are highly successful at what they try to accomplish. Personally, I prefer Alien because it scared me much, much more. There were greater breaks in the action in Alien and the monster was seen much less (putting the viewer in the same uncertain state as the crew). Aliens is particularly interesting because we learn more about the life cycle and behavior of the creatures. The addition of the little girl could have turned into something horrible, but Cameron pulls it off and makes a stellar film worth seeing. However, I would recommend that you see Alien first to give you background into the creature and to connect what happens at the beginning of Aliens with previous events. 8/10.