A Gut-Wrenching, Adrenaline-Driving Thrill Ride!!!!!!

Rating: 9/10 (20 September 2013)

When Ridley Scott's "Alien" came out in 1979, people were thrilled and scared out of their minds by it. One of those people was Writer/Director James Cameron. He was so enamored with the world of "Alien" he decided to write a sequel to it. Then, after his first major film, "The Terminator," came out Fox immediately took his script and picked him as the director. What we have here is not only one of his best movies, but one of the greatest sequels of all time.
The story begins 57 years after the first film, where Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is finally rescued in her pod. The planet where the alien colony was first discovered by her and her crew, is now mining planet LV-426, which has lost contact with Earth. She is brought on as a "consultant" to a battalion of Marines along with a higher-up in the company to go investigate and establish contact once again. Once they get there though, our friends with the taste for human brains (multiplied by the hundreds this time around instead of one) destroy half of the group, forcing the survivors to barricade themselves to fend off the vicious monsters.
One of James Cameron's claims to fame is his ability to make his characters believable. This proof comes in the form of Ripley. Sigourney Weaver plays her brilliantly, as a driven, determined, and slightly pushy bad-ass, but with a tender side to it. Its a challenge for her to fit in with others in this movie. Everything she once knew is gone, and she is still having night terrors and is physically scarred by her experiences with the alien on the Nostromo. Weaver was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, which was/still is unheard of considering what genre this movie is in.
Ripley also bonds with the only survivor of the colonists, a little girl nicknamed "Newt." Again, the bond that blossoms between the two is very believable. And the supporting cast is top notch. Each marine has a memorable personality, and eventually warm up to Ripley and begin to understand the gravity of their situation in this hell-hole. Even Bishop the Android (Lance Henriksen) is given a great personality, and on that Ripley has to learn to trust after her experiences with the evil Ash in the first film.
What makes this film far different from "Alien" is instead of it being a straight up horror/suspense film, the action in this movie is turned up infinitely more, and for good use. Cameron is the master of action and he uses his skills here to a great degree. The action itself plays against a larger environment, expertly designed by Peter Lamont, with he help of artists Ron Cobb and Syd Mead, two of the greatest graphic designers ever. Then there is the Alien Queen. WOW!! Created by the late great Stan Winston, the Alien Queen is one of the most menacing creatures in movie history. She is so believable in terms of movement, she leaps off the screen at us in the audience. James Horner's music compliments everything. It is sparse, but when it comes on it's like a hammer that gets our attention and helps the story progress. "Bishop's Countdown" is now one of the most famous tracks and trailer cues ever written, and for good reason.
The horror aspects, when they happen in the film, are absolutely superb. They are so graphic and well-timed that you feel like either screaming, or getting sick. But this is necessary blood and gore, as well as making you truly care about the characters and how it successfully creates a sense of unease over who will die and who will survive.
This film is a classic film in the two big ones people go to see, horror and action. The directing is great, the acting is great, the action is beyond awesome. Check it out if you want to be truly given a big dose of adrenaline.