I've been a little busy this weekend, but here's my Retrospective Review of Aliens. Once again there will be spoilers but seeing as this film's thirty one years old and a huge influence on both pop culture and science fiction, I find it hard to believe anyone would be troubled by that. My Retrospective Reviews of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection are coming shortly this week along with a Throwback Thursday Review of Prometheus and a review on Alien: Covenant.
'Aliens' Review
Nominated For: Best Actress; Sigourney Weaver, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Score.
Won: Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Editing.
Aliens opens with Ripley still in cryo-slumber, floating adrift in space only to be discovered and rescued by a deep space salvage team. Ripley's woken up to discover she's been asleep for fifty seven years and is brought on as a consultant when marines are sent to investigate the lost contact with the colony on LV-426, the planet where Ripley's crew initially encountered the alien eggs. Aliens takes the traditional sequel route by striving to up the scale, stakes, and spectacle of Alien. However, Aliens differentiates itself from Alien in regards to picking up the science-fiction action monicker rather than continuing onward with sci-fi suspense.
Writer-director James Cameron wisely maintained the suspenseful undertone set by Ridley Scott in Alien but instead of recreating the claustrophobic atmosphere, Cameron turns the premise on its head. The marines must not only deal with one alien, but hundreds of aliens and their horrifying queen. If you thought one Xenomorph was frightening, imagine an entire army hell-bent on expansion and protection. That's where Aliens excels as a sequel, it doesn't try to reinvent the wheel or explore new worlds. Aliens takes what worked initially, revisits a familiar territory, and dials it up to eleven. This time there's no slow burn, things just happen. And as I've already attested to, the horror element is maintained simply by the inclusion of the aliens.
The script was headed primarily by Cameron, who received some story assistance from David Giller and Walter Hill, and the trio successfully transferred the engaging elements while removing the natural constraints of Alien's self-contained narrative. I consider that feat alone to be an outstanding accomplishment because the containment of Alien's story was the reason that film works so well, breaking down the barriers and allowing more breathing room would seemingly be the last thing creative forces would consider when furthering the Alien franchise yet it payed off tremendously. The aesthetic and reverberations that are seen and heard in Aliens not only echo the effects from 1979's Alien, the technical execution of Aliens lends a sense of authenticity to the sci-fi story. The Xenomorphs are still terrifying based solely on appearance alone, and the sheer quantity of them is more than enough to unhinge a composed individual.
The production design and visual effects grant LV-426 a sense of ambiguity that you'd expect any planet in the far reaches of space to project while the sound design steadily sweeps an auditory uneasiness. James Horner, may he rest in peace, created a superb science-fi score that coalesces creepy void compositions that slowly escalate into a frenzy of intensity. Merely the sound of Horner's score in my ears while writing this review was enough to get my heart racing, not even to say how well it works when paired with onscreen occurrences. Aside from the obvious alterations made by Cameron and crew, I find Ripley's PTSD to be a fascinatingly authentic exploration of her character. Ripley's role is exceptionally written and incredibly acted, Weaver was nominated for an Oscar for crying out loud!
Sigourney Weaver instills a motherly instinct, sensible nature, and inherent grit, which you think would be a fine line to walk but Weaver successfully balances the tightrope with relative ease. Carrie Henn plays Newt, the child found among the wreckage and sole survivor of the LV-426 colony, and instead of offering a naive perception Henn lends a soft-spoken sensibility that explains how she survived. Weaver and Henn pair together perfectly as the surrogate mother/daughter relationship that truly drives this film. Lance Henriksen is also worth mentioning for his turn as the well-intentioned android Bishop.
The militant marines conisist of Al Matthews, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, and Michael Biehn as snide Sergeant Apone, prankster Private Hudson, tough as nails Private Vasquez, and solemn Corporal Hicks respectively. I've gotta say that it was pretty sad to see Bill Paxton onscreen delivering one of his trademark lines "Game over, man. Game over!" so shortly after his death, may he rest in peace.
In conclusion, Aliens holds up just as well as Alien. I have a slight preference for Alien over Aliens, but even I am aware of its triumphs as a successful sci-fi sequel. Aliens favors upping the ante over exploring the unmapped reaches of space and it pays off to what I can only assume has become a template studios have attempted to study and replicate when furthering their franchises.
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