inevitable dumbing down

Rating: Null/10 (19 June 2005)

I see that readers give Alens as high a rating as the original Alien. I found the sequel to be a formulaic "action thriller", very predictable- the editing blizzards shots- the clash of the main protagonists in the penultimate scene- all right out of the "action" formula. The Ridley maternal themes were good but there is often a nurturant-rescue subtext in action thrillers. While Alien simply showed you that Ridley was both a woman and a leader, the sequel had to have the gratuitous dialog's scene on the topic for those who didn't get the point. I really felt that Aliens was a dumbeb down version of the original without the true uniqueness of the original. Part of that was the change of directors. James Cameron is no Ridley Scott. Cameron went on to make Titanic which shows his nose for commercialism, Scott made Blade Runner, another true original. Part of it too, is simply using more conventional commercial formulas- action thrillers appeal to the target demographic- young males even if we continue to see the same plot and script with minor alterations for the 100th time.