Aliens (1986), written and directed by James Cameron, is the poster child for the somewhat rare direct sequel that bests the original. It takes everything we loved about the first and gives us more while also greatly expanding the (now) convoluted mythology of the Aliens universe. Cameron has an uncanny knack for creating story canvasses where the action feels earned. This is largely why Aliens, on its surface an exercise in the “military must respond to unknown threat” trope, is nothing if not cerebral. Sigourney Weaver creates with Ellen Ripley one of the most iconic action stars ever…period. In the “false” finale (prior to the real finale with the infamous power loader) she takes up arms and faces down the entire Alien colony completely by herself. No matter how many times I see her ride down that elevator to save Newt I can’t help but think she might be the most staunchly heroic character in movie history. She saw what the Aliens did to an entire unit of trained and heavily armed colonial marines. Most people would’ve accepted or rationalized that Newt was already gone. Not Ripley. It is lost on all but the most die-hard science fiction genre fans that Weaver was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. Apologies to Marlee Matlin, but Weaver got robbed. Perhaps it was because it was exceedingly rare, just as it remains now, for a science fiction film to receive a nomination for acting. In that regard, Cameron and Weaver should be credited for providing an early shining example that loud doesn’t always equal dumb.
Aliens is a genre classic in the truest of senses. 10 out of 10.
The Quick Critic
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