Aliens

One of my all time favorites. It still contains some of the drama and suspense of the first but with far more action leading to what I find a far more appealing storyline. As with Cameron's movies he makes you feel for the core characters from the start rather than just a bunch of 'bad ass' marines (Although they are). The progression of Ripley was really defined by this movie the 'brave but scared' Ripley of Alien is gone and a more determined, meaner Ripley emerges with elements of the older nurturing character kept in check with a young girl called Newt. It definitely stands out miles compared to all the other 80's alien-type movies of that decade.

"Ripley and the Soldiers" can be found in two versions: the short version that cuts from Midway station directly to the Weyland-Yutani hearing, and the "director's cut" which cuts to a waiting room with a wall size "scenery channel" display. When I first saw the short version, I wondered how Ripley was able to make an immediate connection with Newt. "Sister solidarity" sounded bogus, and the "director's cut" cleared up that mystery. The more interesting "director's cut" reveals Newt's family on LV-426, a long discussion on what the surviving Marines are facing, and an action sequence featuring the deadly Sentry units. As Ripley suggested, I.Q.s did drop sharply among the Weyland-Yutani brass, with Carter Burke sending a deadly directive...

The Disney film of the franchise

A basic shoot 'em up that comes complete with soldiers greasing up and watching each others muscles and also added an annoying kid straight out of Oliver Twist.

Cameron took everything Ridley Scott slowly built up and tossed it in the trash can to make a cheap shot Stallone/ Schwarzenegger style action fiasco.

People who like this one tend to not be fans of horror movies as they complain about the dark nature of the horror film Alien 3 - LOL - and this is precisely the reason Aliens fails as part of the horror franchise that is Alien.

• Charles Dance

My mommy always said there were no monsters - no real ones - but there are.

Ripley has been found in deep space by a salvage ship and brought back to a space station to be awoken from her 57 year sleep. Here she is mortified to find that the planet on which herself and her now deceased Nostromo crew found the Alien, LV-426, has been colonised by Weyland-Yutani Company. Suffice to say that when The Company representative, Burke, tells her that all contact is lost, she's not in the least bit surprised. Unable to get anyone to believe her about what happened to the Nostromo crew, Ripley is cajoled into going back to LV-426 with a crack team of space marines to seek, destroy or rescue...

How do you make a sequel to one of the finest, most...

How Disappointing !

This movie, Aliens (1986) is a real fiasco. Especially compared to Alien (1979). James Cameron ruined the spirit and soul of Alien for several reasons.

The first one, according to me, is that, unlike Alien, he is using too many characters. Almost all of the actors are lacking of charism, even Sigourney Weaver. The soldiers show more muscles than intelligence and this is not reality, it is almost ridiculous. I do not understand why Cameron did that. It's unbelievable for a director who made in 1984 Terminator and in 1991 Terminator 2.

The second one, is the length of the movie : about 2h20mn. Too long, much too long.

The third one is the lack of entertainment. I'm sorry, but, compared to Alien, this film c...

How do you do a followup to a classic like Alien? GIve it to James Cameron to amp it up to 10 with a bazillion aliens and a fantastic performance by Sigourney Reaver.

A better sequel to 'Alien' than I was expecting.

'Aliens' - love the creativity, guys! - is a minute jot off the original but it remains a thoroughly enjoyable film - despite a slightly longer run time, which pleasantly doesn't hamper events. Sigourney Weaver is terrific again; I can see why these films launched her career.

I will say parts of this 1986 flick are a tad repetitive from the original and a few bits are predictable, e.g. the arcs of Lance Henriksen's Bishop and Paul Reiser's Carter, but when judged overall it's another entertaining release from this franchise.

I look forward to seeing if they made it a hat-trick with 'Alien³'.

Overall : Aliens is an unparalleled essential that any sci-fi or horror fan needs to see.

The original Alien (1979) set a new standard for sci-fi horror due to the fantastic vision and directing of the legendary director Ridley Scott. How could a green rookie director with just a handful of directing credits hope to top that? James Cameron found a way! Aliens improves on its predecessor in every way. Instead of a crew of civilian pilots fighting to survive a single alien, Cameron pits a squad of hardened space marines against an alien infestation. The experience, training, and advanced weaponry fail to protect them from the onslaught of alien xenomorphs, increasing the horror and hopelessness of the film. Cameron's camera work and pe...

One of the best monster movies

I prefer James Cameron's "Aliens" (1986) to its predecessor, Ridley Scott's "Alien" (1979), mainly because the story is more compelling. People often say "Aliens" is more of an action film than "Alien," but it's not a mindless action film and, in fact, the action doesn't even start until a FULL HOUR into its 2 hour and 18 minutes runtime (the extended cut runs about 16 minutes longer). The best horror/action movies take this route -- taking their time to build character and suspense before unleashing the horrific mayhem.

Some complain about the screaming little girl, Newt, but -- hey -- she's a little girl and I think the situation calls for this sort of response. Others complain that Bill Paxton i...

Even BETTER Than The First! I LOVED this movie! The intense action, the gripping horror, the characters, the aliens, the ascetic...everything. And it takes its time to give us all the little hints and clues from the first film as we venture into this thrilling ride. Though I have much respect for Ridley Scott's first Alien film, this one just takes it to a whole new level in a way the first never could. THIS is how it's done.

I LOVED this movie! I honestly rank this movie even higher than the first. The intense action, the gripping horror, the characters, the aliens, the ascetic...everything. And it takes its time to give us all the little hints and clues from the first film as we venture into this thrilling ride. Though I have much respect for Ridley Scott's first Alien film, this one just takes it to a whole new level in a way the first never could. THIS is how it's done.

I have a simple policy: if the movie entertains like it's supposed to, I give it 10 stars...

...That being said:

I'm going to give you two words: "Space Marines" That's right, "space marines" I can almost see the pitch for this. We are going to take the Alien movie, the classic horror movie in space...and we are going to turn it into an action movie in space and completely change the direction of the franchise to the point where people are going to be hesitant to go back to the horror in space formula that worked for alien.

And that is kind of what happened. The Alien franchise kind of lost its horror movie cred with Aliens to the point where Alien 3 got a lot of hate for trying to bring back the successful merger of horror and sci...

A sequel on par with the first film, and one that helped cement the Alien franchise.

I really liked the movie Alien, the first of this franchise. There is no doubt that it is one of the best and most remarkable horror films ever made, and one of the fathers of contemporary sci-fi cinema. This film was thought to give logical continuity to the story started in that film, and I think it couldn't be better than it is. There are many people who consider the film to be excessively dated, with sets and effects that look old. I strongly disagree. It's true that digital and CGI are not here, but if you think about the amount of bad CGI and bad effects that we have to swallow in today's movies, it's really nice to see a movie with effects tha...

While Cameron masterfully balances tension and action, he also deepens the film by focusing on character development. Watching Ripley's transformation is a testament to his impressive direction. Additionally, the creature designs and military costumes bring a sense of realism that surpasses its time, drawing the audience into the film's dark and dangerous world. In these aspects, Aliens stands as a masterpiece not just for sci-fi fans, but for cinema enthusiasts as well.