Aliens (1986), directed by James Cameron, stars Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, William Hope, Jenette Goldstein, Al Matthews, Mark Rolston, Ricco Ross, and Colette Hiller. The film picks up with Ripley (Weaver) years after the events of Alien (1979) as she’s discovered in cryosleep aboard the remains of Nostromo (the commercial spacecraft where the first film took place). Ripley soon learns that she has been asleep for decades with the life she once knew having passed her by. Initially not believing her story, corporate elites soon receive a distress signal from a terraforming colony that hints at a similar threat to what Ripley previously experienced. Under the promise of getting her old job back, Ripley reluctantly agrees to accompany/advise a squad of highly trained “Colonial Marines” on a mission to exterminate the threat and recover any survivors. Once there, the team soon learns they bit off more than they could chew – discovering not just one alien creature, but an entire nest. Ripley is forced to once again take charge of a dangerous situation as well as come to terms with the trauma of her recent (yet not so recent) past in order to save the lives of her newfound family. 

Although Weaver was memorable as Ripley in Alien (1979), her performance in this film cements the character as one of the most iconic female action heroes in the history of cinema. The film does what all great sequels should and expands the characterization of its protagonist, exploring aspects of the character that were only hinted at in the first film. This includes strong feminist themes that relate to motherhood and female empowerment in general. The thing is, this never feels like a niche theme to explore because it’s juxtaposed by deeply masculine characters, “toxic” or otherwise. In other words, this very gender-specific theme is balanced by the opposite theme, therefore making both palatable and avoiding the common modern problem of making a thematically strong film feel preachy or sanctimonious. It’s also important to note that these social themes work because they are simply a single layer of the experience, not the entire point of the journey. The film can mostly be enjoyed to its full extent on a surface level, so it’s more of just a “take it or leave it” or “cherry on top” kind of scenario when it comes to themes.  

Like the first film, the supporting cast gives strong performances across the board which is impressive considering that this is a much larger cast. The first half of the film is admittedly slow, but this succeeds in allowing the audience to get to know the various characters/archetypes before the action kicks in, therefore amplifying its effect because we care about them to one extent or another. Bill Paxton is iconic as the endlessly nervous Private Hudson, adding a strong comedic relief without sacrificing the desperate tone of the group’s situation. Lance Hendrickson is likewise great as Bishop, the group’s resident android character. Because of Ripley’s experience with an android in the previous film, she immediately distrusts Bishop. This ends up being a prime example of how to use a “red herring” villain effectively, which is unique because this trope is usually only implemented in murder mysteries or slashers. Rounding off the performances/characters I was impressed by has to be Paul Reiser as Burke, the scummy corporate stooge with dark ulterior motives. Reiser plays these sort of friendly on the outside, creepy on the inside characters perfectly time and time again, so the idea to cast him here just seems like a perfect no-brainer. As for fan favorites Corporal Hicks (Beihn) and Newt (Henn), my opinion may get diehard Aliens fans up in arms. Although I enjoy these characters as much-needed allies to Ripley, that’s all they end up being. In other words, they’re not very complex or interesting. I find that although the other characters are less morally admirable, they’re also a lot more compelling. Maybe this is just one of my modern sensibilities, but grey characters are always more interesting than ones who lean too heavily on one side of the moral spectrum. My only issue with the cast is that there are seemingly 3-4 members of the group that we forget are even there until their inevitable death scenes. It feels like a shameless way to add to the body count that ultimately sacrifices the feeling that the viewer is aware of everything that’s happening at any given moment. 

What works so well about this movie on a macro scale is how effective it is as a sequel/continuation of its predecessor. This is the first instance in James Cameron’s career where he proves to be a master at creating sequels that many consider to be better than the originals (Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Avatar 2: The Way of Water). The film almost immediately expands the scope of the story, world, and even Ripley’s characterization. Although taking a more action-centric approach to the material, it’s still effectively creepy where it needs to be. The sets and creature designs have also improved significantly due to what is clearly a larger budget. That being said, the reason this film holds up so well visually is due to a continued commitment to practical effects as opposed to simply having more money. My only small issues on the technical side of things would be the occasionally convenient script that may have worked for audiences at the time, but just makes a modern viewer roll their eyes. Excluding this one negative, the many improvements result in a sequel that holds up better than the original and is just a better film overall.

This also features a fantastic sense of humor that never undercuts the tension. This leads to a handful of iconic and quotable lines that make the film a riot to rewatch. Although the first half can sometimes be painfully slow, it leads to one of the most explosive second halves I can remember and it works partly due to the time it takes in its slower moments. It also compounds the tension in the second half by providing multiple layers to the danger the characters face. For example, on top of one alien being a threat, there are multiple; On top of there being multiple aliens, the station is timed to self-destruct. On top of the station being set to self-destruct, their means of escape are destroyed. Tension is created through layers, remember that young screenwriters. 

Overall, this is not only one of the best action-horror films of all time but also one of the few sequels that a large portion of fans consider to be a large improvement on the original (though it’s still much debated). The only slight issue would be that it has aged slightly, but not even close to how much to original has. Even if you don’t love this genre, I’d still recommend it for Sigourney Weaver’s iconic turn as Ripley as well as some of the memorable supporting cast. I’ll take one iconic quote from the film and use it in this context: If you don’t like Aliens, “Look into my eye!” A-