More action than horror, but still great!

Rating: 9/10 (11 April 2012)

This movie is more of a action movie than a horror film like the first alien movie, however this is not necessarily a bad thing. While Alien was one of the most frightening movies ever made, Aliens is one of the most entertaining film ever made! Rarely is there a sequel so different but so satisfying as this one.
ACTING: 9/10
The acting in this movie is better than Alien. The space marines are all unique and have wonderful chemistry with each other. Highlights include Bill Paxton as the hilarious Pvt. Hudson and Sigourney Weaver who plays a more likable Ripley. Carrie Henn plays my favorite character Newt to perfection. It is a shame that she quit acting after Aliens, which remains her only role in a movie.
WRITING: 9.5/10
Most action movies are cheep cash ins with little value other than one time entertainment. Thankfully, this movie has a plot behind it and well written characters. Some have complained that this movie has too many clichés without realizing that many of these clichés come from directly copying plot points in this movie. Great writing, however I must take a half point off though for the predictable ending.
DESIGN: 10/10
Although H. R. Giger wasn't directly involved with this movie, he was definitely in mind. His aliens and sets return, as do some new designs such as the queen alien done by James Cameron himself. The planet station and space ships are also well done, and are unique to the one in the first film.
EFFECTS: 9/10
Similar to Alien, most of the effects in this movie are done before the camera and look realistic. The first time I face hugger scene I was amazed with how realistic it moved, which was achieved by pulling the creature backwards and reversing the shot. A simple and excellent effect that worked very well. The film does suffer slightly from the lack of alien costumes. In fact, there were only 6 suits created for the film, and most of them were meant only for long shots. This is usually well hidden, however there are a few scenes where the amount of aliens on screen is a bit underwhelming.
MUSIC: 8.5/10
The soundtrack is slightly louder than alien, to fit the action a bit more. The only problem with this is when the music swells a bit too much, it becomes too in your face. However, when the music is slow and in the background, it adds greatly to the film.
VERDICT:
This is one of the greatest action movies ever created. Not quite as good as the very different Alien film, but still wonderful and exciting to watch. I give it a 9.2/10