Aliens (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Aliens (Special Edition)
Movie Review: Combat, Terror, and Escape from classic monster invention
Summary: 5 Stars
`Aliens', directed by James Cameron is one of those rare sequels like `Godfather 2' and `From Russia With Love' which is better than its parent film. Cameron, who both directed and wrote the script achieves this distinction as much by simply making it an entirely different kind of movie which just happens to have the same hero and heavy as the original.
`Alien' directed by Ridley Scott was a horror movie which could as easily be told on a lonely island with a run-down mansion and a mysteriously washed ashore egg as on an interstellar freighter which lands on an uncharted planet to investigate a mysterious signal. `Aliens' could as easily be told in the jungles of Vietnam or as a rescue mission to the missing colony of early Virginia settlers. In fact, `Apocalypse Now' and `Aliens' may be seen to have a remarkably parallel plot.
This DVD has several new scenes which were cut from the original theatrical release and, like virtually every case I have seen before, these scenes add virtually nothing to the interest of the movie and it is obvious that it was a good idea it cut them in the first place. The only interesting fact I noticed was that we learn Ripley's first name in one of the restored scenes. None of the restored scenes, for example, eliminate the need to have seen the first episode in the series to fully understand this second story. They also in no way help to understand the Alien creatures' objectives and intelligence. Unlike the alien character in `Predator' who is simply on a little hunting excursion on a backwater planet with fairly well equipped and skilled game to track, kill, and return to home with his trophies.
The heart of the problem is that while H.R. Geiger's exquisitely designed aliens are obviously intelligent, why are they so totally hostile to another intelligent race which is entirely capable of blowing their slime dripping, acid blooded heads clear off. It's obvious that in a fair fight, a heavily armed human has the advantage over the aliens, who seem to fight with nothing more than the weapons with which they were born, their claws, jaws, and tail. The deck is weighed heavily against the human marines in that they are fighting in confined spaces and the military command has taken no measures to adapt their tactics to the special abilities of their enemies. This is doubly puzzling in that the staff of the terraforming colony on the remote planet on which the aliens were found was clearly doing research on alien physiology. The two-week delay in telecommunications simply does not explain this lapse in the believability of the story.
And yet, the story is so told so well that these implausabilities do not interfere with our enjoyment of the movie until the third or fourth viewing. This, of course, is one sign of a great movie to own, in that it yields new pleasures after the first viewing, even if those pleasures involve picking holes in the fabric of the world woven by Herr Cameron and his colleagues.
Getting back to the alien behavior, I find it is much easier to believe the aliens' total hostility to humans in the light of recent fanatic Arab terrorism. Here we have humans whose world of beliefs and values is so different from those of a typical American that they can kill Christian Americans and their allies not only with no remorse, regret, or feeling of sin. They are so far removed from the way most people adjudicate conflicts that we find it easier to understand the Japanese kamikaze pilots who are defending a national homeland and attacking armed military combatants.
The aliens' total otherness can then be added to the fact that humans can literally be domestic animals to them. Humans can serve as a crèche for the parasitic alien embryos. But then, why don't the aliens simply work at domesticating humans as we domesticated pigs for our bacon and sausage? An even more interesting question is what is the nature of the species in which the aliens deposited their embryos before they ran into the human race, and why were there none of these critters on the derelict spaceship. One answer to this is that in spite of the fact that the aliens were smart enough to build a space ship, they still were not too bright. Or, maybe the alien race we encounter on this raw, isolated planet is a lesser form of being, in much the same way as the bugs in `Starship Troopers' had several different species, including a very fast hand to hand fighting infantryman backed by a `brain' creature which coordinated the various other species. But then, all this exposition would dissipate the sheer horror of anticipating the next encounter with the aliens.
And, it's possible that `Aliens' sets some kind of record in the swing of the situation between peril and expectation of relief. By my count, there are at least six swings of the pendulum from peril to safety starting at the point Ripley looses contact with Newt in the last half hour of the flick. Others have noted, and I agree that the intensity of this part of the movie is made even more gripping in that the situation puts a little girl in mortal danger. I pass no judgment on whether this was going too far. I will say that it makes this and many other parts of the movie very difficult to watch. I interpret this as an extremely successful application of the moviemaker's art.
I also was reminded that Cameron manages to slip in a clever little connection between the cyborgs in the `Alien' movies and events in the `Terminator' movies. Speaking of `Terminator', I really felt James Horner's music for `Aliens' did very little to enhance the experience, in comparison to Brad Fidel's score for `Terminator'.
This movie has staying power, so buy the DVD!
Movie Review: Best of series and one of the best Sci-Fi / Thillers ever.
Summary: 5 Stars
Aliens still stands, almost 20 years after it's original release, as the gold standard against which other Sci-Fi/Horror/Thillers are judged. Just about everything in this movie is perfect. James Cameron's screenplay is an awesome extension and expansion of the Aliens' and Ripley's story- recounting the all savageness and terrifying qualities of the aliens without re-treading old material and even adding a few new twists that make them even scarier than they already were. Not the least of which is having many, many more of them.
The acting and directing are excellent. Unlike most Horror/Thrillers, each of the characters (with a couple of minor exceptions) is unique and memorable, and even though they do rely a little heavily on some clichéd stereotypes, they play the stereotypes so well we love them anyway. When we lose any of them, and not to spoil the plot or anything but we do lose quite a few, the impact is clearly felt. We like these guys and we want them to win.
The opening is good, explaining what happened before and how it has affected Ripley, and setting up a believable reason why she would ever consider going back. Once things get going- and boy, do they get going- we know it's going to be, as one character puts it, "an express elevator to hell- going down!" I mean that in a good way- this is one smooth, scary, fun ride.
Some of the action scenes are chaotic- which is of course as it should be when you are trying to depict a fierce battle or a life-and-death struggle. In the heat of combat the characters can't see or know exactly what's going on and that's part of what makes the situation so frightening. By accurately showing the disorienting nature of these action sequences, Cameron makes us feel just as terrified as the characters in the movie are, and yet he never makes things so confusing that we are completely lost. You always can tell generally what's happening, and usually, what's happening is bad. In between the action scenes there are lots of good "atmosphere" scenes which serve to both further explain the story, flesh out the characters, and heighten the overall tension and sense of fear.
Anyone who says that the production values are less than excellent hasn't seen the movie or doesn't know what they are talking about. The sets are huge, extremely detailed, and have that rare but important "well-worn" look. Nothing in the movie looks like fake or like a prop- it all looks real and like it's been used- just like it would in real life. Too often in sci-fi the set designers seem to think that in the future, nothing ever gets dirty or that every ship and remote outpost will have The Galaxy's Best Maid Service - everything looks new and perfectly clean. In Aliens, things look appropriately modern but they are also messy- In a word, everything looks very realistic. I think the budget for the movie was about $20M, which in 1986 was not low, but it looks like they spent twice that much.
A note about the Aliens- the original movie introduced without question the scariest and deadliest movie monster ever created. It's been copied and imitated but it would be hard to imagine making one better. James Cameron succeeded - twice. First, the one flaw in the original is that we didn't get to see much of it and when we did, it was fairly obvious that it was a guy in a suit. I mean, it was a scary-looking alien suit, but it still looked, and moved, like a guy in an alien suit. Now, in this sequel, Cameron specifically set out to make the aliens look MORE "alien." To do that he did a number of things, including adding some detail to the overall creature design, but most importantly he changed the way they move- instead of walking upright on the ground all the time, these aliens crawl, jump, slither and swim- on the walls, on the ceiling, and on the floor, and, except when they are camouflaged and waiting in ambush, they are always moving. Their tails thrash about behind them and over their heads, and they contort into un-natural positions. In some cases, it's still guys (actually girls, I think, because they had to be very thin and flexible) in suits, in other cases, it may be animatronics, in every case, they look like freaking monsters. Sometimes, you see them move in the shadows and you can't quite tell which end is up- that is on purpose and it's effect is to make them look more like aliens/bugs and less like us. That, in turn, makes them even scarier. On top of all that, Cameron gives us a completely new form of alien that was alluded to in the past but now is seen it all it's glory- and without giving away details to the three people who haven't yet seen this movie- well, let's just say she's a real bad-ass.
This DVD contains some extra scenes which have been re-inserted into the film- some of them are interesting and add a little extra back story about Ripley and life on the colony before it gets overrun, including a nice piece that explains how that happens. Some other scenes later in the movie I could do without- they add a little extra action but they're not that interesting. Some of the other extras include some behind-the-scenes stuff about how they designed the creature effects and how they shot certain scenes- kind of cool if you are a film student or die-hard fan of the franchise.
If you liked the original, or if you have any interest in sci-fi, action, or horror flicks, this DVD is already in your collection or it ought to be.
Movie Review: The Perfect Sci-Fi/Horror Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Aliens is widely acknowledged as the greatest sequel ever made. I agree, in fact it is the only sequel I can think of that eclipsed the original movie. You might say it is the PERFECT SEQUEL
CHARACTERS:
Sigourney Weaver .... Ellen Ripley
Carrie Henn .... Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden
Michael Biehn .... Cpl. Dwayne Hicks
Lance Henriksen .... Bishop
Paul Riser .... Carter Burke
Bill Paxton .... Pvt. Hudson
BACKGROUND
Ten years before the release of the Horror/Sci-Fi action film Aliens, the original Alien broke new ground with it's suspenseful depiction of a single deadly, vicious alien, who had been born, hatched, actually from the host body - one of the crew members, of a interstellar cargo ship. The alien, had been accidentally brought aboard, when crew members went to investigate a distress signal from an uninhabited planet. Driven by instinct, with seemingly impregnable natural defenses this eight foot creature hunted and eliminated the crew, one by one and was apparently unstoppable. I won't go into this movie any further, in case you haven't seen it and if you haven't I suggest you see this appetizer first before you see the main course - Aliens
THE PLOT
In the preceding film, Alien, Lt. Ripley, the lone survivor of the Alien encounter, was in suspended animation in a escape pod. After fifty seven years she was rescued but hasn't aged. The giant shipping company has put her on leave, while they investigate the destruction, fifty-seven years before of their multi-million dollar cargo ship, when Carter Burke (Paul Riser) knocks on her door. It seems a colony has been established in the ensuing years, on the planet from which her space ship had been infected and communication had ceased. Burke said, a relief expedition was being organized which included a contingent of Colonial Marines and they wanted her to join. Ripley, at first, was incredulous that a colony had been set up on the deadly planet but eventually acquiesced.
THE STORY
Once the party had landed on the desolate forsaken planet it became obvious that the problem was indeed the aliens. No one was found alive, in fact they didn't even find bodies, the reason for which, became apparent later. Sometime later ,during a thorough exploration of the complex, the lone survivor was found, `Newt' (Carrie Henn), a frightened ten year old girl. As with the original Alien movie the humans found the aliens unstoppable, though they did manage to kill a few but they were quickly loosing the war of attrition against this merciless enemy, while they were being subverted within their ranks.
THE BAD @SS MARINES
Lt. Ellen Ripley/Weaver a former Space Merchant Marine returns from the original Alien Movie and forced retirement to accompany an exploratory mission with a contingent of Colonial Marines. Lt Gorman/Hope, a raw inexperienced officer, seems unable to exercise much control over his rambunctious charges or have their respect either. The most effective core of the unit seems to consist Ripley, Sgt. Alpone (Matthews), Cpl. Dewayne Hicks and Pvt. Vasquez. As a unit, their bluster and hubris is comical, especially when it becomes apparent they are no match for the enemy. Also accompanying the mission is, as in Alien, an android, Bishop/(Henriksen) and the company rep. Carter Burke, a man you grow to hate.
WHAT'S PERFECT
Screenplay
Cast
Acting
Direction
Special effects
Atmosphere
Suspense
What`s Not
Nothing
TRIVIA
The theatrical release of Aliens was July, 1986. It was directed by James Cameron who went on to direct other blockbusters like Terminator II and Titanic. Many of the cast of Aliens, made a name for themselves in this movie. Weaver who starred in all four alien movies became a cult figure through her character Lt. Ripley. Bill Paxton who played Pvt. Hudson and was fortunate enough to have some of the classic lines of movie-dom, like : "That's it man, game over man, game over! What the f*ck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?" / "What do you mean "THEY cut the power"? How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!", went on to star in many movies such as Twister and U-571. Michael Biehn, a co-hero in the movie, who had previously starred in Terminator, went on to star in The Abyss and The Rock. Lance Henriksen , went on to appear in numerous other movies, including Alien 3 and Alien vs. Predator. He along with Paul Riser had their own TV shows for awhile.
CONCLUSION
There is only one conclusion I can make. Aliens, which would fall into a list of my top five favorite movies, has it all.
When Aliens was released almost twenty years ago it set a standard for the genre of Sci-Fi/Horror/Thriller that's never been equaled, even by two subsequent sequels.
Movie Review: Aliens - One of the best Sci-Fi action flicks ever made!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're searching for a high speed, low drag super action thriller, search no more because "Aliens" is the film you're looking for! Even if you've not seen the first movie, "Alien" you'll still be able to enjoy this film to the fullest. That was of course by the design of the producers and this films superb director, James Cameron. Few sequels ever out do or exceed the accomplishments of their predecessors but "Aliens" can certainly be counted among those select few! With an exceptional script and an extremely talented cast, James Cameron crafted one of the best films to have ever graced the silver screen and the home theater screen.Few films raise the blood pressure such as this one does as James Cameron and crew crafted a film that excels in all points, from intense suspense to breakneck pace in action. What's even better is that this film bears many viewings; I can't even begin to remember how many times I've watched this extraordinary film. The VHS tape I had for the film died long ago and this review is for the June of 99 DVD release that has long since completely sold out prompting the latest DVD release!
If you've watched more than one James Cameron film, you might begin to notice a bit of a recurring pattern as far as the exceptional actors that always seem to make it into his films, time after time. "Aliens" of course stars Sigourney Weaver in the role that has made her a household name and her performance for this film is extraordinary to say the least. Chief among the Cameron cronies (meant in a nice way of course) are Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen and Jenette Goldstein who all perform brilliantly in this film and can be found in many of his other exceptional films. Also of note in "Aliens" is the dramatic role for Paul Reiser, a genre he's long since abandoned for comedy but his performance is quite memorable.
Director James Cameron also wrote the script for "Aliens" along with David Giler and Walter Hill, all of which deserve all of the accolades they've received and continue to receive for their work on this incredible film. Few directors capture the imagination as he does. Of note also is James Horner, who was responsible for the score and the work he did on this film turned out to be quite exceptional, as is usual, whenever his name appears in the credits, the film is usually a huge success.
Just a note on the "Space Marines" featured in this extraordinary film, from a present day soldier's point of view. No matter what happens in the future, I seriously doubt that the Marine Corps would ever adopt wearing US Army rank insignia on their uniforms. I'm sure that many a present day Marines has had their feathers rustled a bit upon noticing this minor error in costume design.
The Premise:
It is nearly sixty years after the conclusion of "Alien," Ripley and Jonesy the cat are still quite happily sleeping away in their cryo-freeze compartment aboard the shuttle after sending the first alien out the airlock. The film opens with a salvage crew opening up the shuttle and finding her and the cat! After she's awoken, she learns that she's been floating around for fifty seven years and the company she works for is none to sympathetic to her cause, basically blackballing her. Unbeknownst to her, the "company" sends someone out to investigate her story and not too long thereafter nobody from the planetoid is heard from again. This of course prompts the company to send the space marines and Ripley as an advisor to find out what happened to the terraformers...
What follows from there is one of the best and most intense Sci-Fi action/thrillers to have ever been made and I would highly recommend this film to any and all who are fans of films in this genre!
This review is for the June of 99 DVD release. I found that the THX and 5.1 Surround worked quite well for this film. The seventeen minutes of the restored footage for this film is quite seamlessly added to film and serves extremely well in enhancing the experience of this movie.
With reference to the latest release, I would definitely recommend that version if you don't already have a copy, especially if you're into a lot of the Special Features. While the version I'm reviewing today seems a bit sparse in the special features area, the new release appears to be replete with them, making it a very wise purchase. {ssintrepid}
Special Features:
-Behind the Scenes Footage
-Interview with James Cameron
-Still Photo Section
-Original Theatrical Trailer
Movie Review: One of the greatest Sci-Fi Actions ever created!
Summary: 5 Stars
When Ridley Scott released the monster of "Alien" back in 1979 a new legend was formed. For 7 years fans wanted to know what happened to Ellen Ripley, and finally, in 1986, the long awaited sequel of "Aliens" was released. And may I say that it does not disappoint in the slightest! Let me explain dudes...
"Alien" was undoubtedly a Sci-Fi horror as members of the Nostromo were killed off one by one by a hideos black "xenomorph." Ellen Ripley is the sole survivor of the incident and escapes by entering an evacuation module and going into hyper-sleep. "Aliens" picks up over two centuries later when Ripley is awakened after being discovered by another crew and is brought back to Earth. She is soon convinced to join a group of marines in exploring a colony on Aurora-51; a planet that has been besieged by the same monstrous creatures that hunted Ripley. She soon discovers many new things about the creatures and soon finds herself battling survival with the group of marines. A pretty cool storyline I think, and for an action sci-fi it's totally suitable. 9/10 for the storyline.
In "Alien" we believed that these aliens were solitary creatures that hunted and killed in order to survive. "Aliens" reveals that the aliens are actually creatures that live and co-exist in rather large groups, and that there are various forms of Alien: these range from the common drone, to facehuggers and larvae and a Queen that is the central hub of the hive, much like that of bees. We also learn that the Aliens work to grow and protect the hive and are extremely hostile yet surprisingly intelligent creatures.
I'm not sure if this is 100% correct, but the concept of the "Dropship" seems to have been introduced by "Aliens." I haven't seen dropships in earlier movies, so this seems to be one of the very innovative and new ideas that "Aliens" brought to the genre of Sci-Fi. The Marines also have weapons that are more practically orientated and are believably futuristic. Using laser guns would've made this movie lame, and James Cameron has chosen to maintain the gritty and dark atmosphere of "Alien" through these advanced projectile weapons. The Smartgun makes its first appearance in this film, along with the Pulse Rifle. Smartguns are able to track and "lock" onto targets and also have advanced target-friend recognition technology. The uniforms of the marines are also very futuristic and also have a practical feel. Aurora-51 is also an extremely dark planet with a naturally hostile atmosphere (Weyland-Yutani developed "Atmosphere Processors" to convert hazardous gas-chemicals to breathable air in order for humans to exist on this planet).
The Aliens are kept strongly to the original design and the Queen is a very impressive specimen. The Alien Hive seems to almost live and breathe and appear just as slimy and disgusting as the aliens themselves. Cameron shows his genius as a director by keeping action realistic (in most cases) and his creation of mood and atmosphere through landscapes, lighting, characters, weapons and storyline. You really have to see "Aliens" to truly understand how truly revolutionary and incredible it is.
The movie is a refreshing Sci-Fi Action that is extremely innovative, dark and creative. Cameron has successfully expanded on the "Alien" franchise and has made a truly interesting and exciting movie. The conflict between Ripley and The Queen near the end is certainly a highlight. Nice to see to overzealous females trying to kick the crap out of each other. What kind of action is better, honestly? And to the guy who found this boring - either you get high on some s*** very often or you are far from a Sci-Fi fan. "Aliens" is a classic that joins the ranks of "Alien" as a classic Sci-Fi movie. And anybody who wants to dispute that may want to watch out for fans - we're everywhere, and you never know when we may latch onto your face and plant eggs in your body...
"Aliens" gets a full 100% in my book. Today the storyline may not be highly original, but the creation of atmospheres, action, good acting, tension and creativity makes "Aliens" a true Sci-Fi Giant. So rent it or buy it, but it's essential watching for any good "Alien" fan and Sci-Fi fans alike. Now stop reading and go watch! BUY NOW! REGRET NEVER!