Different From The Original, But Just As Good In Its Own Ways

Rating: 7/10 (11 August 2014)

"Game over, man! Game over!"
I think that Aliens is a great sequel. It adds more action, sure, but it certainly keeps the horror elements. I do, however, think this movie sometimes falls into the same clichés that the first film suffers from.
The movie starts off really strong. The way they continue from where we left off in Alien really works. We also get a bigger sense of the universe that these films exist in that we didn't quite get in the first. It also really builds up exactly what were going to be in for. However, there are times during the movie where it kind of feels like a cheesy action movie, which certainly hurts the film. As I mentioned before, it also follows a few of the same clichés that the first movie does. An example of that would be the whole "we blew up the monster and we're safe!" kind of cliché. It can sometimes feel like what Alien would have been if it had instead been more of an action film than an atmospheric horror film.
Sigourney Weaver once again is great in this. She gives it her best once again which is great to see. When it comes to the other performances, they can be mixed. Michael Biehn gives a sometimes good, sometimes cheesy kind of performance. And Bill Paxton gives a love it or hate it performance. I think he is fun, but I can see why he could be hated. A lot of these Marines are nothing more than cheesy action movie clichés, such as the character Vasquez, who if this film was made today would be played by Michelle Rodriguez.
Overall, I think this film really works as a sequel, but still suffers from some of the issues that the first movie suffers from, which brings it down. If you've seen Alien, i'd recommend watching this too.