Aliens (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Aliens (Special Edition)
Movie Review: One of my favorite movies of all time
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me begin by saying, I'm a huge fan of the first two movies in the series, specifically Alien. I loved the nail biting suspense of not knowing what the creature looked like or where it was, or even what it could do. Suspense... that was the first movie.
Action... that is this movie. Almost from the beginning we have aliens and gunshots to keep us entertained and at the edge of our seat.
Aliens takes place after Ellen Ripley (Weaver) returns to earth from the first movie. Plagued by nightmares and the loss of her child (an added scene to the DVD which gives a bit more depth to he character). Enter Paul Reiser as the token corporate schmuk who gets Ellen to return to the planet LV426 (where they answered the distress call in the first movie and picked up the Alien). Apparently there has been a colony of people living there setting up an atmosphere on the planet that are suddenly not responding.
Somewhere in all of this There is added in footage of the terraformers (settlers) which explains how the aliens got to the colony in the first place. This scene also gives more background on Newt.
So Ripley and a group of Marines (Bill Paxton, Michael Bienn, Lance Hendriksen and several others) set out to determine what happened to the missing colonists.
Once they land on the planet the non-stop action begins. Instead of just one alien wreaking havoc on a ship, there are now legions of them crawling all over the settlement. It turns into a life and death game of war between the two species as the humans attempt to survive in this dangerous environment.
One of the main differences between this film and the first one is that they have no problem showing the aliens to you. This takes some of the mystery out of them, however they are no less frightening. Also we are given a better understanding of how the aliens work in this movie, setting up for the third and fourth films in the series.
Another difference is in the sheer action of this flick, this one is more about gun fire, grenades, flame throwers, and painful death scenes. Unlike many action movies however, the characters are interesting and we are saddened by their demise. Even Bishop (Lance Hendriksen) the android becomes a lovable character.
There are 17 minutes of additional footage that have been added into the film since the theatrical release, I was able to find most of it, but I'm sure some is just added shots in the action sequences.
The Special Features on the DVD include cut scenes, Trailers, a slide show and a Behind the Scenes. Honestly I was disappointed because the behind the scenes wasn't the one I expected it to be. At one time I saw on TV a behind the scenes special that was very interesting and informative, this seemed to be a chopped down and edited version of that.
Incase you haven't seen the movie, the acting is believable, somewhat above what you would expect in an action adventure film. Some of the lines are a bit forced but nothing takes away from the viewer's enjoyment of the film. The script is interesting and easy to follow, I have to admit that the added in footage did help explain several of the questions I had in the original version of the movie.
The special FX are awesome and totally believable except for one awful blue screen shot at the end. All of the creatures are realistic and frightening. The sets are dark, dismal, and add to the overall feel of the film. (My mom always asks why in the future everything has to be so ugly). The action scenes are fluid and exciting to watch. I have nothing negative to say about the movie.
If you like the film buy the DVD to get the additional footage and to own a classic Action/Horror Flick. Don't buy it just for the DVD extras because they aren't all that exciting.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Review: WOW.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Aliens," from 1986, is that rarity in Hollywood, the successful sequel. Its accomplishment is due in part because it retains the dark, brooding quality brought to it by its predecessor's director, Ridley Scott, and in part because its new director, James Cameron, completely changes its temper. Where "Alien" was largely a gothic horror flick, packed with suspense, "Aliens" is an action adventure, loaded with thrills. The notion that either of them is a science-fiction flick is entirely coincidental.
As you know, at the end of the first film, Lt. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) was the sole survivor of an attack upon her interstellar cargo ship by an alien creature. She ended up getting into an escape module, scuttling the main spacecraft, placing herself into hibernation, and more or less hoping for the best. Fifty-seven years later she's finally picked up. Naturally, the company she works for is peeved that she blew up an expensive space freighter and is none too willing to believe her story about monsters. She gets stripped of her command, demoted, and humiliated. Things are tough all over.
Then a snake shows up in the person of Carter Burke (Paul Reiser), who represents the corporation. He wants Ripley to return to the alien planet. Seems they have lost contact with the colony of settlers they sent up there some years before. Colonists? On the alien planet? Are they mad? With no little persuasion the company gets Ripley to go back, and the adventure starts all over again. Only this time, it's with a vengeance. There is no longer just one creature to deal with, but dozens, maybe hundreds of them. More is not necessarily better, but in this case it's just as good.
The movie starts with a thrill a minute and works its way up. There's never a dull moment. The only blemish on the film is the crew of Colonial Marines that Ripley has to put up with. They are an embarrassment to an otherwise intelligent script, a group of gung-ho hotshots who are arrogant, immature, wisecracking show-offs with attitude. Their presence is meant to add color and excitement to the story, but, in fact, they are just plain silly. No serious military unit would put up with their antics for a minute. Among them is Hudson, a perpetual whiner, played by perpetual whiner Bill Paxton; Hicks, a reluctant hero, played by Michael Biehn; Gorman, a useless young lieutenant with almost no combat experience, played by William Hope; and yet another robot, Bishop, played by Lance Henriksen ("I prefer the term 'artificial person' myself.") Finally, there is Newt, an adorable little girl they find on the planet, the only one to escape the alien creatures alive (or without being cocooned), who gives Ripley someone to mother. Ripley is clearly the only capable character in the bunch, and before long she takes over like Rambo. Maybe it's no coincidence that director Cameron was the screenwriter for "Rambo II" a year earlier. Ripley gets ample occasion to act heroically and, as usual, to run around in her underwear.
Cameron adds a few surprises to "Aliens" to make it as different as possible from "Alien," but basically it's the same idea. Just more ugly critters, some of the best monsters ever designed, by the way, and more action. It was the right route to take. We had already been served up the suspense of wondering what the alien creature was all about in the first story, so what was left was fighting a battle royal with a whole army of them. Even better, we not only get the original theatrical release but the newer Special Edition in which Cameron appended about twenty minutes of additional material, including scenes revealing Ripley's past and depicting the colonists' first discovery of the alien creatures. This is one film in either version that will definitely keep you awake. As with the first film, I have to give it a 9/10.
Movie Review: He can't make that decision, he's only a grunt
Summary: 5 Stars
Before the overblown Titanic and True Lies, James Cameron was a genre film-maker with few peers. The taut tension of his first Terminator movie made him a natural to have a stab at one of SF's great monsters. And this time, as the title suggests, there are more than one of them. As in the first movie of the series, it all starts quietly. Ripley wakes in an orbiting hospital facility to find she has been rescued from her "lifeboat", having spent fifty-seven years in hypersleep.
The Company blame her for the loss of the Nostromo, and she is stripped of her officer's license. Humiliated, and bothered by nightmares, she is reduced to running "loaders" (futuristic fork lifts which cover your body like a mechanical suit) in the space docks.
That is until Burke, a company man, arrives at her door to tell her they have lost contact with a terra-forming colony on the planet she first encountered the alien. Ripley is persuaded to join a mission to the planet, alongside Burke and a troop of bad-ass marines.
There are some great SF interiors in the ship, and the marines have suitably bashed and battered weaponry, while still looking sufficiently futuristic, but the film drags along for a bit at this stage, with too much exposition and not enough action. But that all changes when they reach the planet.
They find a deserted colony, the rooms and walkways showing signs of a violent struggle. The only survivor is a young girl, "Newt", who becomes Ripley's surrogate child. (Incidentally, the special edition of the DVD has an early scene reinstated that explains why Ripley forms such a strong attachment to Newt, and is well worth watching for an insight into Ripley's state of mind.)
When the colonists PDTs (Personal Data Transmitters) are all found to be broadcasting from an area under one of the cooling towers, the stage is set for a series of mind-blowing action sequences.
At their first encounter the Marines get overrun by the Aliens ("In case you haven't been paying attention, we just got our a**es kicked."), then their escape craft crashes, leaving them stranded on a site that is in danger of exploding. They retreat to a sealed compound to consider their options. (Again, the Director's cut has added scenes here, where heavily armed robot sentries keep the Aliens at bay at the compound perimeter.)
From here on in its a roller-coaster of climaxes till the end - Ripley and Newt are trapped in a locked room with two face-huggers (released by company man Burke to try to get an alien embryo back to Earth); the Aliens break into the compound for a climactic battle; Burke gets what's coming to him; Newt is taken by the Aliens; Ripley fights to get her back and, finally, we get to find out where the Alien eggs come from.
Ripley's stand off with the Alien Queen is one of the great images in modern SF and you'll be gripping your seat with tension long before the ending.
Sigourney Weaver carries this movie, dusting off her action heroine credentials once more, and is ably assisted by Michael Beihn and Lance Henrickson. But as in all monster movies. it's the monster that's the important thing, and the special effects people can take great credit from this movie - the Aliens are among the best screen creatures ever created and the Queen is a work of art, like some warped dinosaur skeleton painted in high gloss black and brought to life to stalk our nightmares.
Whereas Ridley Scott made a great SF movie in "Alien", Cameron has made a great action movie. The last hour of this film contains enough tension, emotion and excitement to leave you rung out by the end.
I recommend you watch it on a big screen with the volume turned up to eleven and let it take you away for a while. Just don't leave before the credits - there might be another climax yet to come.
Movie Review: Is this gonna be a stand-up fight or just another bug hunt?
Summary: 5 Stars
It's really too bad James Cameron didn't just stick to making movies like this because this is definitely one of the greatest military/sci-fi movies out there. It's got pace, action, intelligence and character, and then of course there're all those damn bugs. I dunno about anyone else but I had serious nightmares after I first saw it and I was 27 at the time!!Like its wonderful first cousin the James Wong TV series "Space: Above and Beyond", this movie is first and foremost about people and warfare. The creepy atmosphere, the cool technology and the faceless alien enemies just help to focus things a little more intensely. You get to feel the confidence of the Marines as they begin their assault and then watch with terror as stupidity coupled with surprise and the true lethalness of the enemy cut most of your fancy technology away and you are left with your wits, your courage and whatever gear made it out of the APC in one peice.
For my money, the supporting actors in this movie deserve as much praise as Sigourney Weaver (here in the best scripted of Ripley's appearances in the Aliens franchise). In particular, I must admit to a huge soft spot for the cigar-chomping Sgt. Apone (Al Matthews) and of course the hard-boiled smart-gunner Pvt. Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein who won a Saturn award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance here). Paul Reiser (surprise!) also does oily corporate guy Carter Burke really well.
The sequence when the marines go into the complex conjures up the grittiness, adrenaline and fear of urban warfare with nothing more than darkness and the sound of water dropping. Sheer genius.
I think what I like most about this movie is the way in which the heroism of the humans is really downplayed (with the exception of the stupid "get away from her, ... " line near the end of the film) in favor of professionalism, fear and just wanting to keep you and your mates alive. Although I have not faced any of these situations as a member of a military unit, this movie gave me a little bit of an inkling as to what it must be like (with the unrealistic bonus of course that the enemy are not people but aliens so you don't have to worry about identifying too closely with them).
What "Aliens" also shares with SAAB is a very healthy dose of skepticism about the brass and the suits who seem to be in the driver's seat. I particularly like way the unholy alliance between the military authorities and Weyland-Yutani was handled. You can pretty much taste Ripley's anger and sheer terror when she realizes that they have sandbagged her into going back to face "it" again, and the feeling returns in spades when the full extent of the company's treachery is revealed.
Finally, the other stars of the show are the aliens themselves. They are a fascinating combination of insect, bondage outfit and carnivorous beast. They are at once hugely scary and also visually compelling. One of my fellow Aliens addicts pointed out that they are, in fact (at least in this film) sexy in the way that extreme danger is also sexy. That combined with the horror of the way they reproduce and the ferocity with which they attack, and you have the perfect late 20th century non-human villain. They are, in a wierd way, the Hannibal Lecters (the Tony Hopkins "Silence of the Lambs" Hannibal, not the other one) of the alien menagerie. Nothing else I've seen seems nearly in their league.
So in conclusion, this is a keeper: Get the DVD or rent it. Better still, get your local movie art house to show it on the big screen. But remember to wear your combat boots because you'll be yanking your feet up to avoid the acid burns.
Movie Review: 14 years later, it's still the best. The SE is even better!
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me start by saying this, if you haven't seen this movie you've missed out on one of the true originals. I know it's a sequel but nevertheless it has set a standard in the industry which has yet to be surpassed. In all sci-fi movies I now watch I see how many references/rip-offs/tributes I can tally, the number has never been under seven. The fact that 14 years later it is still the best, most effective, and without a doubt the scariest alien genre film produced for the screen makes it my favorite film.In James (best visual effects Oscar) Cameron's epic sequel to the 1979 classic Aliens, Lt. Ripley returns, frozen, 57 years later to Gateway Station orbiting earth. "The company" investigates the loss of the cargo ship in the first film, which she destroys to kill the alien, and of course they think she's crazy when she tells them stories of aliens that gestate in human hosts and have acid for blood. They revoke her flight status, effectively ruining her career.
Visited by nightmares that leave her in a cold sweat every single night, it is clear the demons are not gone and she is racked with a need for retribution and closure. After losing contact with a "shake and bake" colony Ripley is approached by a representative of the company, Carter Burke, and the colonial marines. They want her to return to LB427 and advise the team of elite marines going in. At first she is reluctant, rude even, but the promise of a reinstated flight status and her recurring dream proves too much and she agrees to go.
Once there they discover every single colonist missing, "Whatever happened here I think we missed it". After a bit of technical know-how is utilized the colonists are located and they discover the terrifying truth. In the issuing battle most of the team is lost and Ripley is left to organize what's left and find a way out, but the aliens prove to be much smarter than anticipated, cutting them off at every turn. On top of that it is revealed that Burke has double-crossed Ripley in the name of millions of dollars.
In Roger Ebert's 1986 review he said, "I have never seen a movie that maintains such a pitch of intensity for so long". Almost the entire last half of this film is pure action, and some of the best ever put on film. In an interview on the DVD edition, which I highly recommend, James (I can spend more money than you) Cameron said something like, I think too many puppeteers focus on details and forget that the most important thing is movement. People need very few pixels to recognize a human, but movement makes it - real, and that's what's scary.
That single, yet all-important knowledge made it possible to film this movie with only six costumes (you'll be amazed when you realize this as you watch), and made it possible to create creatures so believable there hasn't been an original alien design since.
Transporting us to another world, this film makes us forget we are in our comfortable homes with a warm sweater and buttery popcorn. Instead we feel the panic of the terrified marines as countless aliens leap and screech, it makes us feel the pure adrenaline-pumped primal need to survive under all circumstances.
Notable performances include Sigourney Weaver, who was nominated for best actress. Paul Raiser, giving a standard-setting performance as the corporate slime. Michael Biehn, in the classic yet somehow not tired role of the exhausted I've-seen-too-much team leader.
The film was nominated by the Academy or won in the following categories: Best Actress, Art Direction, Film Editing, Score, Sound, Sound Effects Editing and of course - Visual Effects.