A Better Sequel

Rating: 9/10 (8 December 2004)

Alien was amazing. The ambiance was incredible. The sets, the atmosphere (pun intended) created a perceived situation wherein Ripley became a disposable asset - and, of course, a means to an end. The notion that any person/worker/drone/android? can be used and abused by a multinational corporation is, of course, central to the Alien sequence.
So. "Aliens". The humanity which was lacking in the first film comes to prominence in the second. Ripley has developed into a character clearly in need of a personal relationship - one outside her cat and/or the destructive and impersonal contingency imposed by the Corporation and its cynical and destructive use of all its employees and androids. She finds it, of course, in her fierce protection of an orphaned child. In the denouement, Supermom attacks the Bitch Queen, the rapacious hive/brood mother for whom all other living creatures are repositories for her young and ultimately (possibly) food. But, at the same time, Ripley becomes a trope for humanity's OWN unstoppable maternal/protective instinct and thus survival. The roles of Ripley and the Alien Queen become 'two sides of the same coin': different and yet part of the same whole; the same drive toward survival of species.
Isn't it wonderful to write in hindsight? Ripley's own humanity becomes questionable in later episodes, particularly in number four (I'm not over-happy with 3, but 4, as lame as it is sometimes, has some wonderful sub-plots and conceits). However, that is for another review! Suffice to say that "Aliens" is one of those rare creatures: a sequel which improves on the original and adds to it, at the least, on a plot and audience-satisfaction level. A deserved rating of CLASSIC!