Current Events > Aliens was a BIG improvement on Alien. *spoilers for both*

(+) Yeah! (+)

There was a lot more action; things weren't as slow-paced; the surface of the planet was interesting; many of the characters, such as Newt, and Bill Paxton's marine were great; there were some pretty funny bits; they fought a bunch of aliens, as opposed to basically fighting just one alien; the element of a sinister corporation that loved profit was better explored.

Alien was basically a decent film, but Aliens was very good. Ripley was a bad-ass in both...of course.

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Nah

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I mean, they're fundamentally very different. One is a horror movie, the other is basically a straight action flick.

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basically different genres of movies

thriller vs action

both are exceptional for what they want to do

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I'd say the first is horror, but the second is action-horror. Like Jeepers Creepers 2.

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Nah, both are great movies for the things they do differently.


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I haven't seen Aliens in forever - but I'm assuming it's similar to the Terminator vs. Terminator 2 situation, where the former is an amazingly well crafted thriller with perfect atmosphere and the latter is a bloated, overhyped action film that we falsely remember as amazing because it was cool when I was like 5.

Just James Cameron raising the bar.

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ThePrinceFish posted...

basically different genres of movies

thriller vs action

both are exceptional for what they want to do

this

both dope and i don't blame any preference. but mine is towards alien.

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Nope. They're tonally 2 completely different films. No shit the first one was slower-paced, the first one was a straight up horror/thriller while Aliens was an action movie with some horror elements. Both are great movies, but saying that Aliens is just a flat out improvement over Alien is silly because they're not even really in the same genre, and are trying to accomplish two very different things. Sounds like you prefer action films over atmospheric-based horror films, and that's fine, but acknowledge that's why and don't make a silly claim that it's an across the board "improvement" when they have 2 distinctly separate goals as films.

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These are legitimate things to say, but...isn't anyone bothered by a series changing genre partway through?

I remember when the Insidious trilogy came out, and people got really annoyed. It was basically horror, then family drama, then horror.


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I like Alien because of a lot of reasons you stated. It's darker, quieter, more suspenseful, more tense, etc. Less is more.

bobbaaay posted...

I haven't seen Aliens in forever - but I'm assuming it's similar to the Terminator vs. Terminator 2 situation, where the former is an amazingly well crafted thriller with perfect atmosphere and the latter is a bloated, overhyped action film that we falsely remember as amazing because it was cool when I was like 5.

LMAO it is true though, I still like T2 but T1 >>>>>

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bobbaaay posted...

I haven't seen Aliens in forever - but I'm assuming it's similar to the Terminator vs. Terminator 2 situation, where the former is an amazingly well crafted thriller with perfect atmosphere and the latter is a bloated, overhyped action film that we falsely remember as amazing because it was cool when I was like 5.

No, Aliens is a really great movie

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Sunhawk posted...

These are legitimate things to say, but...isn't anyone bothered by a series changing genre partway through?

Not really, no.

But with that logic, wouldn't that be in defense of Alien and not Aliens being the better film?

Not really sure what you're going for here.

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Alien is a thriller/horror "film" and Aliens is straight up action. Alien is a much better movie, objectively.

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Sunhawk posted...

These are legitimate things to say, but...isn't anyone bothered by a series changing genre partway through?

I remember when the Insidious trilogy came out, and people got really annoyed. It was basically horror, then family drama, then horror.

I mean, not really. It depends on how well the series handles the transition. If it flows naturally in-universe, then it's fine.

Alien to Aliens is how you do it well.

Dead Space 2 to Dead Space 3 is how you don't

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No.

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There's also many years in between

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I disagree completely with the notion that T2 and Aliens are "just action movies." I've been making this same argument for decades now.

Aliens has action elements, yes. But it has thematic elements about motherhood. Take the scene here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPkMd2nLRzQ

Ripley risked life and limb to save Newt, who is her 2nd chance at being a mother after the first Xenomorph incident cost her that chance since she was drifting in space in cryosleep for decades. Ripley also was armed with the knowledge that the station was about to go nuclear, completely disintegrating the xenomorphs. But instead, she decided to torch the nest RIGHT IN FRONT of the Queen Mother, as her fuck you for costing her all those years of her life. "You took my children, I take yours!"

Aliens also expanded the personality of the Xenomorph. Rather than just being a terror element that went bump in the dark like they were in Alien...it gave them elements of intelligence such as their swarm tactics, infiltration. cutting the power, etc. It also showed they have a survival instinct, and aren't just some horror movie monster that kills. It incapacitates so it can grow the species' numbers. A lot more depth than the first movie.

So no. Aliens is not just some brainless action movie with guns and muscles. It has more layers to it than the 1st movie, and you can extend that to Terminator 2 as well.

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