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Aliens ~ Film Review
On the theatrical release poster for Aliens it states at the bottom, “This Time It’s War”. This film takes that slogan to heart. Gone is the atmospheric and ominous Nostromo from Alien, instead replaced with a battlefield filled with intense action, pacing, and an overall sense of destruction.
The original, by Ridley Scott, makes you feel completely alone on a desolate ship, while Aliens, by James Cameron, makes you feel like you are on a theme park ride. I am in no way saying that one form of art is better than the other, but I will say that one technique lends itself better to the horror genre. I will also mention that viewers should watch Alien before Aliens. It is important to have an understanding of the backstory that makes this world so interesting.
Aliens reintroduces you to Ellen Ripley, the amazing survivor of the first movie. Since she has been in stasis for 57 years (!), it is not surprising that she is a little slow to move around. Essentially, no one believes what happened to her in the first film. Quickly enough, some strange incidents occur on LV-426 (the exomoon in the Alien film), which results in her going back into the fray. Luckily, she has a group of trained marines going with her. Unfortunately, the marines are stereotypical and cliche. They are chauvinistic and unintelligent. These soldiers throw in loads of comic relief, which results in an assuagement of…
