ALiens why is it so good?
Aliens is considered as one of, if not the best Sci-fi action films ever made
On its release, Aliens was a massive hit
and it received near universal critical acclaim.
Sigourney Weaver was nominated an academy award for her performance
and the film was a big success financially.
But the movie still had a lot to live up to
as its predecessor
the iconic horror Alien Directed by Ridley Scott,
this movie broke new grounds in the sci-fi thriller genre,
and it's large fan base had waited up to 7 years for this sequel
Fans to this day still contest over which one is superior.
By today's standards the plot to aliens sounds pretty clich�.
Nobody believes Ripley's warnings about this so called "Alien".
The corporation loses contact with the planet she's warning them about.
The corporation panics, and sends team of marines with Ripley as counsel
on a rescue mission, to find out what happened to the colonists.
But as soon you watch the movie,
you start to realise this is not your run of the mill dumb action movie.
Where you have the Intense characters...(hudson)
big guns...(Lets rock)
fantastic special effects...(pick one)
Heroism...(i'll go)
and camaraderie...(face slap).
Ripley's character has transformed into a far more developed character,
the marines are highly enjoyable to watch
each with their own unique characteristics...
Also there's more going on behind the scenes
in regards to the corporation Weyland Yutani.
While Alien and Aliens are classics,
the success of aliens allowed the franchise to spawn two more sequels,
a comic book series
and action figures.
While both films were an interesting take on Ripley vs the xenomorph,
neither were in the same league as the previous two...
and I'm not even going to get started on AvP.
Aliens was Director James Cameron's 3rd feature movie,
as he was a big fan of the original film
he wanted to do his best to honour Ridley's movie..
. Cameron chose to take a totally different
route
making it a fast moving, tongue-in-cheek, energetic action spectacle.
Surprisingly to his audience, he was able to do that while still maintaining
a stylistic and literal continuity that fused Aliens smoothly with the first film.
Cameron made an effort to try to stick with Riddles style
--Jim talking (get reference)
But not everything went smoothly on set for the young director.�
His decision making was�deliberately questioned by his pinewood crew.
They were openly antagonistic towards him, and made his life difficult.�
--Jim talking (get reference)
This hostility was due to Cameron's young age...
that, and�The Terminator had not yet been released.
So the crew had no respect for him,
as they were faithful to Ridleys take on the series.
But this didn't stop Cameron from finishing the movie on time
and sticking with his budget.
-- Strike action
It wouldn't be hard to dismiss the supporting cast of Aliens
as clich� stereotypes, if they weren�t so cool, funny and memorable.
Where you have Bill Paxtons highly quotable, over the top performance,
and Lance Henriksens contrasting role as an emotionless synthetic.
All the Marines at the start are so enjoyably overconfident
& flippant towards the idea of fighting aliens.
But by the end of the second act,
they quickly realise the gravity of the situation,
Now under a tonne of pressure, their characters change
from making jokes and being cocksure,
to either desperate or afraid...
You the audience get see a very different part of their personalities.
You really do begin to care about them.
There's some genuinely touching moments whenever a character dies...
each loss really bothers you, as you want them to survive.
-- some one dies
For added realism,�Cameron decided to�film the scene
where the Marines are introduced, last.
This was so that the camaraderie of the Marines was real,
as the actors had spent months getting to know each other on set.
Cameron also�had the Marines personalise their own fatigues
and armor to give the actors a look of a veteran.
Unlike Lt Gorman who clearly has no combat experience,
it's very obvious his uniform is brand new.
When it comes to James Cameron, there is so much attention to detail in everything he
does.
Every shot, scene, effect and how it connects to those around it,
is important to him.
He likes to make the geography in his films very clear
as it's easy for the audience to get lost in sci-fi movies.
Cameron also leaves it down to you the viewer,
to use your imagination to fill in the blanks on what happened to the colonists.
You never get to see the battle,
but these extra scenes still add to the overall tension of
the movie...
Aliens was never intended to be as much of a horror compared to the original film,
but Cameron wanted it to be true to some of those ideas and concepts.
In terms of character development,
at the start of Aliens, Ellen Ripley's at an all time low.
Despite her being the resourceful survivor of the original movie,
things have changed a great deal for her.
She has only recently learnt that her daughter has died,
her flight status has been revoked,
no-one believes what happened to her
and even when she�s onboard the Sulaco as a consultant,
the marines don't take her seriously
Her character transforms despite all of this
as she wins the respect of the marines
by saving their asses more than once,
proving that she is as competent & she is brave
The addition of Newt also aids in Ripley's character development.
As a large segment of Aliens is very much about Motherhood,
in contrast to Alien which focused more on feminism and sexuality.
The showdown between Ripley and the Queen alien,
is literally a battle of two mothers, fighting to assert their dominance.
This is why the director's cut adds so much to the movie.
Letting you the viewer know that Ripley had a daughter
synergises perfectly with Newt & Ripley's bond,
this explains why Ripley risks her life to rescue her.
Newts Character
James Horner�s superb score compliments the movie perfectly,
from the horrific opening dream sequence,
to Ripley's dramatic rescuing of the marines in the apc.
Even the little extras, like when the colonist victims eyes open
it makes all the difference.
BUT Cameron didn't exactly see eye to eye with composer Horner
due to creative differences,
and a serious lack of time to get the movie complete.
Most of the original score was cut,
or replaced with parts from Jerry Goldsmiths original score.
The suspense in this movie is great
Where the long steady build up of tension is applied throughout.
One of the best scenes for setting unease is when they're barricaded in operations,
where the motion trackers say there's movement
but the marines can't hear or see them.
When all hell finally does break loose,
the adrenaline rush in that scene like in no other,
Cameron�s handling on the build up and release of tension on that scene
is awesome and is nothing short of amazing.
Cameron took extra care in paying respect to the original movie.
He wanted to make the film
"different yet preserving the spirit and essence of the original".
-- Cameron stylistic quote
Full of great performances and an excessive amount of thrills,
Aliens is one of the best of any genre it attempts
whether it's sci-fi, horror, action or even drama.
The pacing is very solid throughout,
the characters and the situation is so compelling
that when the action erupts, it just serves to draw you in deeper.
Aliens is definitely a film to watch multiple times,
while the ambiance and mystery of the original film
made you want to watch it more than once.
This film is like spending time with old friends,
the movie makes you the viewer want to spend more
and more time with these characters.
Aliens is quite possibly the closet you're going to get to a perfect sequel,
due to it giving everything you got in the first film, and much more.
Director James Cameron has succeeded where many other have failed:
he's managed to stay faithful to the original's movies tone,
however he's also managed to make the film distinctly his own.
Aliens is an example of a sequel that is just as good as an original film in a series.
If you haven't seen the director's cut or original movie,
then make sure you watch both in order for the full Aliens experience.
It's simply an awesome film with a well deserved reputation for being such.
Let's just hope Ridley Scott Alien: Covenant can hold up to these classics and give us
something new.
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ALiens why is it so good?