The darn best monster movie of all time! (includes Special Edition DVD review)

Rating: 10/10 (20 February 2007)

My Take: Takes the already remarkable concept of the original and improves upon it in every way. Sequels have never been this great!
(This is an extension of the review I wrote on February 2007)
If ALIEN was the 2001 of monster movies, its sequel ALIENS is its STAR WARS. Here's a sequel that knows that the only thing that would satisfy its fans is to give 'em exactly what they wanted. Then ALIENS adds in a little more to that successful recipe: breathless action, gripping tension, reliable characters and the slimiest monsters in all of movie history. The result isn't only a sequel that's better than the original, its one of the best movies of the genre.
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) reawakened from here naturally-long hypersleep which began at the finale of the first ALIEN. Forward 57 years later. The world she knew was unlike anything she has seen before, but she really has no time to know anything else than this: the distant planet LV-426, the planet where they encountered the hostile space killer, has been colonized. And when communication on the LV-426 colony is lost, Ripley agrees to return to the hostile alien planet, this time, accompanied by marines, to investigate the sudden communication loss. Of course, this ain't just a technical failure. The slimy alien from the first film times 10 has overrun the colony, turning in into a dark, gooey wasteland; the perfect place for an all-out war that pits top-tech Marines against the slimiest monsters ever.
As a monster movie, ALIENS gives you your due, but not contented simply to give you your money's worth, ALIENS offers more, unexpected surprises. For a monster picture, there are some genuinely pleasant characters existing here. Sigourney Weaver, who hit big time for being the most reliable female action heroine in the original ALIEN, is able to stretch the personality of her character here. This time, we are able to see Ripley's maternal instincts when she claims responsibility for the safety of Newt (Carrie Henn), a little girl who has successfully survived the apocalypse of the outside world she lives in by climbing through hidden ducts. The climax inside the exploding atmosphere processing station won't soon be forgotten, and I'm not just talking about the explosions. In fact, I bet ALIENS is one kind of film you won't soon forget. Not the words you drop on an explosive monster movie.
Rating: ***** out of 5.
154-min Special Edition DVD review (submitted March 10, 2009): And to think, I thought ALIENS was good enough as it is! This Special Edition DVD, which I bought a few days ago, is everything this ALIENS fan could ever want. 17 minutes of additional footage, deleted prior to the films original 1986 release, is added in able to deepen the emotions and character development of this terrific film, while it also adds an additional (though easily expendable) action scene. The first added scene shows the newly awakened Ripley discovering that her daughter has just died... at the age of 60. So much for being there on her 11th birthday. But the scene everyone will get a real kick from is the scene where we catch a glimpse of the LV-426 colony before it is overrun by aliens, as well as a look on Newt and her family. Another scene has Ripley and Hicks exchange first names, which deepens the relationship between them. Add to that, there are a few extended scenes on the Sulaco and the Colony stations, as well as the aforementioned action scene which has the aliens cleverly trying to pass through the barricade of automatic weapons. Then of course, the film is presented in a clear, pristine transfer which makes the film look good for something released back in 1986. The special features aren't big, but if the best possible way to see this modern classic is what I'm looking for, I already got my end of the bargain.