a good movie but not a masterpiece

Rating: 5/10 (3 August 2008)

I loved this movie when it came back in 1986. Just as I loved Terminator and Terminator 2. But Aliens and Terminator 2 haven't really aged that well. Camerons direction is thin and too obvious. There's no depth in the movie that helps you keep the interest up when watching it a second or third time. There are some excellent action scenes in Aliens, that's Camerons real strength as a director. That's unfortunately not the case with the dialog sequences. They feel stiff and artificial. As long as the space marines run around and shout at each other it's not a huge problem, that is, as long as you find shouting marines interesting. The references to Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers are a bit too obvious, especially the focus on the "space- borne infantry" (or marines in this movie), "the drop" and the units tactics and the "bug hunt".
If you haven't seen this movie it's of course a must see. But have in mind that it's also an overrated movie so you don't get disappointed.