LogFAQs > #913540033

"The saga of Ellen Ripley and the mysterious alien creatures who plague her continues in James Cameron's no-holds-barred action extravaganza, Aliens. The extreme shift in subgenre is actually a wise and welcome change, as later Alien sequels (as well as countless ripoffs) would go on to prove that trying to recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle horror atmosphere of the original is a dicey prospect. (And I'm saying that as someone with a soft spot for Prometheus.) This outing does have a couple moments where it walks the line of being a little *too* goofy for its own good, especially that business with Ripley operating that ridiculous-looking heavy machinery as a Chekov's skill at the end. The different versions also have their unique problems the theatrical version cuts out a lot of great, eerie setup at the beginning, along with a gutpunch of a scene where Ripley learns of her daughter Amanda's death during her stasis. On the other hand, the director's cut makes the movie's middle act way too long, with countless scenes of the group fighting off the aliens that get repetitive and rob the aliens of some of their scare factor.

But this is also a movie with a lot of heart, and it's that heart that carries the picture and elevates it above your average sci-fi blockbuster affair no matter what version you're watching. Ripley and Newt's relationship is extremely involving, obviously, but over the course of the film, you also get to know and care about a lot of the individual marines that were sent along with her a group that's maybe even more likable and well-developed than the original crew of the Nostromo. At some point along the line these movies forgot that giving the characters on the Alien Buffet personality is tantamount for us caring when they inevitably get devoured." ~KBM

What It Is: The sequel to Alien.

Why It Matters: It was the sequel to Alien.

What I Think: I prefer Alien to Aliens, the sequel to Alien, because Aliens (the sequel to Aliens) is a Marvel movie version of Alien. By that, I mean that while it is in some ways more polished, it lacks the mood and personality of the original. Although unlike Marvel movies, it develops its own mood and establishes itself as a worthy entry into the series. It's just a lot broader and less heady than the original film. Generally speaking, I'm just not a fan of broad, although in this instance, you can't get much better purely on directing, set design, and acting for a broad film. And that's why Aliens, the sequel to Alien, ranks lower for me than Alien." ~scarlet

"Its really cool to see how Ellen Ripley was affected by the first movie. The movie has both great action scenes and atmospheric scenes and the cast is quite memorable. I liked seeing the difference of the characters attitudes before and after they see what their up against. Great movie." ~JONA

"Were starting to dip into the section of my list that I still enjoyed, but was less enthusiastic about. This was a huge improvement over Alien, first and foremost. Many of the iconic things I associate with the series was here, particularly the lifter mech. The cast was better, the action was better, and having a cute kid tossed in helped keep things fresh. But similar to the first movie, there was a lot of downtime that padded the run time. I think with a better pace, this could be an excellent movie. As it is, its just pretty good.

Traviss opinion: I would prefer Travis not see aliens popping out of chests and people being ripped apart. You know, just a personal preference. He skipped this one. " ~Stifled
---

"It is too easy being monsters. Let us try to be human." ~Victor Frankenstein, Penny Dreadful