Action and science fiction combined to make a punishing masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2001)

I'm what you'd call a serious non-fan of James Cameron. As a matter of fact, I happen to think he is an egotistical blowhard whose claims in the area of storytelling are rarely backed up by his end product. Titanic and Terminator 2 are good examples of this. The former was not a patch on earlier films about what remains the worst maritime disaster on record (I think), such as A Night To Remember. The latter just doesn't cut it compared to the grittiness of the film it follows on from, which was a blatant example technophobia passed off as science fiction. So what is it about Aliens that makes me watch it time and time again in spite of having been directed by one of my least favourites?
In a word, it is the human characters that make this film what it is. Like Alien before it, Aliens is not so much a story about monsters attacking humans, but humans being done in by collective irresponsibility. The interaction between the humans is what makes these two films as compelling as they are, and the lack of it is what makes the two films that follow this sequel as disappointing as they were. Who can forget the banter between the colonial marines as compete to see who is the most macho?
The film does take its time to set up the situation, with a long narrative drive before any of the aliens are seen at all. This is in keeping with the original, and just as in that situation but the lengthy setup pays major dividends. Once the action gets started, it only ever stops long enough to set the focus of the remaining action, or to give the viewer time to catch their breath.
There are some glaring technical faults in this film, which makes Cameron's claims about his attention to technical accuracy all the more amusing. For example, when asked what the M41A pulse rifle fires, Lieutennant Gorman says "ten millimeter explosive-tip caseless". Yet, in the retreat from the makeshift base later in the film, shell casings can be clearly seen coming out of Vasquez's pulse rifle. The idea that a squad of marines, even the most obedient kind, would contemplate entering a nest full of such vicious creatures armed only with flame throwers is too ridiculous to even contemplate. The idea that they would handle a combat situation with creatures that have acid for blood in such a clumsy manner is even more ridiculous.
But in the end, what makes this film work is that it is more of a human drama than a science fiction film. You could almost call the film Humans, as a matter of fact. The relationship between Newt and Ripley slows the pace a lot, but the cross-fire between the marines more than makes up for this. After a while, one really gets the feeling that the marines are more ready to go to war with each other than the aliens. Then again, if you had to put up with guys like Gorman, Hudson, or Burke for such extended periods of time, you'd probably want to kill everyone in the room, too.
All in all, Aliens is a nine out of ten film as far as I'm concerned. The only part where it loses a point is the slow, awkward moments with Newt's character being developed. Aside from these moments that really could have been left on the cutting room floor, the film rockets along at a pace which makes it difficult to think about the plot inconsistencies.