Aliens (1986)
Directed by James Cameron

Film Review

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Alien franchise is why, when Ridley Scott's 1979 film (the first in the series) made such an impact it took seven years for a sequel to hit the cinema screens.  Nowadays, it is not unusual for a sequel to what promises to be a sure-fire hit to be commissioned before the first film has started raking in the money.  Along with George Lucas's Star Wars (1977) and Scott's subsequent Blade Runner (1982), Alien completely redefined the sci-fi genre in the late 1970s, early 1980s, creating a large audience for effects-driven adventure spectaculars that remain hugely popular to this day.  James Cameron was to bolster this trend with his high-adrenalin action-packed sequel to Alien.

Cameron was keen to make this sequel from the instant he first saw Alien but had difficulty selling the idea to Twentieth Century Fox, the studio that made the film.  It was only after the inexperienced young director had proven himself with his first runaway hit, The Terminator (1984), that the executives at Fox began to take him seriously and gave him the green-light for a big budget sequel to Ridley Scott's groundbreaking film.  Rather than slavishly emulate the first film, which was essentially an old dark house horror-thriller (set in space), Cameron envisaged that Aliens would be an energetic action war film (set in space).  He took as his inspiration the Vietnam War, a situation in which superior military know-how proved totally ineffective in a foreign (alien) environment.  The characters in the film are modelled on American troops serving in the Vietnam conflict - cocksure, overconfident of victory, but ultimately useless in defeating a more determined adversary.  The politics of the Vietnam War are also alluded to, when it is revealed that the return to LV-426 is motivated purely by financial gain.

Sigourney Weaver was the only cast member in Alien to return in the sequel, although the actress initially had reservations and Twentieth Century Fox were reluctant to stump up the one million dollar fee that she demanded (not surprisingly as the entire budget for the film was just 18 million dollars).  Cameron's instinct was that Ellen Ripley's return was pivotal for the success of the film and he was proven right.  Weaver is not only stunning as the action hero (she dubbed herself Rambolina, not without reason) but she provides the film with its emotional heart.  Her character's determination is driven not solely by the need for her own survival, but by a cast-iron resolve to save the life of a darling little girl. 

This mother instinct is what propels the film, and is cleverly mirrored in the aliens' own story.  There is a humanity to this film which gives it a dramatic impetus and realism which every single subsequent offering in the Alien series lacks.  Prior to Ripley, there were no strong female roles in sci-fi films, or indeed action films of any description.  Sigourney Weaver changed that forever through the two Alien films and single-handedly brought about a long-overdue sexual revolution in the cinema.  Aliens isn't really about guns amd monsters.  It's about women showing us how damn good they are in stress situations.

James Cameron would go on to helm many a crowd-pulling blockbuster.  His subsequent Terminator 2 (1991) and True Lies (1994) would establish him as one of Hollywood's most bankable moviemakers, whilst his epic Titanic (1997) would break box office records across the globe.  With Avatar (2009), he would be in the vanguard of the IMAX 3D revolution.  Yet Aliens remains his most inspired, most perfectly constructed and exciting film to date, a rare masterpiece of its kind.

The pace of Aliens is utterly, almost viciously, relentless.  Watching it for the first time is a truly gruelling experience, a bit like being caught up in a stampede of wild elephants.  The shocks just keep coming, right to the very end, concluding with one of the most nerve-racking action sequences of any sci-fi film.  The special effects may be a little primitive by today's standards (no CGI in those days folks) but they hold up remarkably well, and whatever flaws there may be are masked by some very slick editing.  Like the film that preceded it, Aliens was a major technical achievement for its day and it remains one of most impressive and influential films in the sci-fi adventure genre.  It's a pity that the subsequent Alien films were unable to maintain this level of excellence...

Film Synopsis

57 years after her encounter with an alien being which wiped out her crew aboard the space freighter Nostromo, Ellen Ripley is picked up and taken back to Earth.  Revived from hypersleep, she is put before a panel of Company executives, who listen to her story with incredulity.  Ripley is appalled when Company representative Carter Burke tells her that a terraforming outfit has been sent to LV-426, the planet on which the alien eggs were found by her crew, to establish a colony.  When contact is lost with the colony, the Company decides to send a marine taskforce to investigate, and Ripley reluctantly agrees to go with them.  The party includes Sergeant Apone, Corporal Hicks, Privates Vasquez, Hudson and Bishop, an android.  Ripley is not surprised to see that the colony base is practically deserted.  The only survivor they find is a young girl, Newt, who has survived by hiding in the air ducts.  Still sceptical about the nature of the threat they face, the gung-ho marines explore the base and have a rude awakening when they encounter a large alien nest in the air processing plant.  In the ensuing skirmish, most of the marines are wiped out.  Ripley and the handful of survivors decide to return to their ship and destroy the planet from a safe distance, thereby ending the alien menace forever.  Unfortunately, one of the aliens finds its way into the dropship and forces it to crash-land.  Stranded on a hostile planet, the chance that Ripley and her friends will survive is minimal.  Instead of just one alien, Ripley realises that she is now up against an army of them...