James Cameron and Bill Paxton at their finest

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 1999)

There are really good movies and then there's that select few that change your life. For me movies like Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, JFK, Titanic and Star Wars did that. By viewing a movie you see life in a different light. Aliens also did that to me. I didn't think a movie could scare me as much as Halloween did but this one certainly did that and more. The atmosphere in this movie, and the lighting and cinematography and of course the direction are top notch, and some of the scenes are some of the scariest I've seen in my life time. But what puts this movie over the top as one of the all time greatest films ever made is the casting.
Sigourney Weaver is terrific but it is her supporting cast that shines and makes you feel like you know the crew that is heading to that desolate planet.
Paul Reiser is perfect as Burke,the slimy corporate kiss ass that cares about profit before human lives. Lance Henriksen shines as Bishop, the cyborg with a heart. Jeanette Goldstein is the rough around the edges female marine that more than holds her own with all the testosterone floating around and Michael Biehn ( another Cameron favourite )is the perfect quiet leader that leads by example and not so much a loud demonstrative voice. But the show stopper in this flick ( just as he always is in any movie that he is in ) is Bill Paxton.
Paxton and Cameron have worked on Terminator 1, True Lies, Titanic and Aliens and Bill is one of those actors that steals scenes from every actor and was always a recognizable face even before Titanic. Here, his Hudson character is the comic relief but he is also perhaps one of the true characters that we can all identify with. His tough exterior is nothing more than camouflage for his frightened fragile interior. He realizes the dire situation that they are all in and he can't hide his fear. When he finds out that they won't be rescued for at least seventeen days, his response is " Hey man, we're not going to survive 17 hours man! Those things are going to come in here and they're going to get us and..... " ( Ripley ) This little girl survived longer than that with no weapons and no military training. " ( Hudson ) " Why don't ya put her in charge!!! "
Paxton is a gift to any and every movie that he is in and this is his finest work. He should have won a best supporting actor that year. And if you haven't seen this movie, rush to see it if only for Bill Paxton. He steals the show. But if a tightly wound, brilliantly technical and unbelievably scary movie is your thing, then you can't go wrong here. This is easily a ten out of ten, and one of the best ever made. If Spielberg is the king is Hollywood, then Cameron is his heir apparent. Oh, and one more thing, Paxton will win an Oscar one day.