One of the best action movies ever made

Rating: 10/10 (6 May 2003)

I think Aliens is one of the top ten action movies of all time. Its success isn't accidental. Cameron knew exactly how to make a good action film, and when you analyze this movie you can see what's missing in many lesser films. The opening sequence, with some basic shots and just a few lines of dialog, manages to summarize the entire film.
"Bio-readouts are all in the green, looks like she's alive! There goes our salvage."
The first sequence establishes so many things which the film fleshes out. We know:
--Ripley survived --Corporations and the pursuit of money are still motivating factors in this universe --On a broader level, this is a universe that does not care about Ripley. There is no safe haven for her. The salvage crew would have preferred it if she had been dead. The Company would also prefer it if she had not made waves. --This universe cares more about its physical things than human life. This is fleshed out in Burke's resistance to the idea of nuking the colony, which has a substantial dollar value.
I also like this sequence because it links the film back to us. It implies that the ships of the future will still abide by the ancient maritime laws of Earth, which do indeed prevent a claim of salvage or prize money if a living person is found on board. This link is maintained with the future technology, which includes elements of our own world just as our world includes elements from past generations.
Cameron keeps the pace going from there. It's a uniquely cold and harsh action movie. We are not at all certain that the heroes will win or that good will triumph. Death is ever-present. And we see that human greed is the real cause of it all. Added to this is the analogy to Vietnam, where our well-armed soldiers were apparently overcome by low-tech VC.

This is a whole lot more than your typical shoot-em-up action movie can offer. Yet Aliens also manages to include some of the greatest action sequences ever filmed. It compares favorably with any current fare. It actually relies on some very old-fashioned special effects ranging from blue screen to people in Alien suits, yet thanks to expert camera work it does not look dated at all. If anything it looks much better than a CG fest such as "Starship Troopers."