Aliens is a classic!

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2012)

I watched once again Aliens and even though the film is over 25-years- old, it still is a GREAT film to watch all thanks to James Cameron and his team. The film is not just a sequel to the 1979 film by Ridley Scott but also a reflective story as well.
Think about it. Cameron stated that the Vietnam War was an influence on Aliens not just with the presence of soldiers but also with Ripley agreeing to go back to the world where her crew (who died one by one) visited and discovered a place of many alien eggs. Ripley's role as an observer parallels the acts of some real life Vietnam War veterans who, despite their nightmarish experiences during the war, returned to Vietnam in a totally different manner.
As for why Aliens stands out nicely among other action films of the 1980s...it is SUBVERSIVE of the cinematic trends of the decade.
Think about it. In Aliens, there were these highly trained and brave soldiers who easily symbolized the Gung-Ho militarism culture of 1980s action cinema. Like Rambo, these soldiers were macho and had deadly firepower with them. Yet in the film, you see that they were helpless when they encountered the aliens.
Behind it all, Cameron inserted a strong mother-and-daughter relationship between Ripley and the young girl Newt. While she was lost in space, Ripley lost her daughter to old age. Newt lost her parents to aliens. Of course, none of Ripley's scenes would have happened without the incredible dramatic performances from Sigourney Weaver who truly deserved her Oscar nomination in this film. From a survivor to a mother and a fighter, Sigourney Weaver is excellent.
Finally, the film's aliens (xenomorphs) are very well done even though a different creative team worked on it. It's great to see how James Cameron and his team came up with clever ways to present the aliens as numerous despite their limited resources. A lot of research was done and special attention to detail was made too.
Overall, Aliens is a classic!