Aliens (1986)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1986
	Director: James Cameron (Terminator 1-2, Titanic, Avatar)
	Actors: Sigourney Weaver (Paul, Chappie, The Cabin in the Woods), Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Planet Terror), Carrie Henn, Lance Henriksen (Millenium TV-series), Bill Paxton (Twister, Edge of Tomorrow)
	Country: USA
	Genre: War, Horror, SF, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 10.08.2015, Blu-Ray, Home cinema, Special Edition
Synopsis: Ripley (Weaver) is found drifting is space more than 70 years after the encounter with the Alien that killed all of her crew. When the outpost located on the planet where she found the Alien becomes silent, she is asked to accompany the rescue team.
Review: Mentioning a possible Alien sequel in my post on Chappie made me want to watch again some movies from this saga initiated in 1979 by Ridley Scott. I found on that day that the summer sky was still too bright to watch the claustrophobic Alien (I like to be in the right mood to watch this one, i.e. tired and alone in the dark), so I jumped to this Aliens directed by a young James Cameron fresh out of The Terminator, and that used to be my favorite when I was younger because of the badass military team and the non-stop action. And it is exactly as I remembered it, although now I see different qualities to it. Ripley's character builds on what she survived in the first movie, and her transformation towards the end of the movie is striking (reminding Sarah Connor's between The Terminator and Terminator 2). Some jokes and punchlines from the military team are a bit too much and typical from the 80's but that's OK. James Cameron successfully managed to steer the franchise in a totally different direction, away from the claustrophobic horror of the first movie towards a SF War piece inspired by the Vietnam conflict. An amazing achievement. And the movie is filled with scenes that have impressed on my young mind 25 years ago: Bishop the android (a small role but an unforgettable one for Lance Henriksen), the landing on the planet, the first underground battle with the Aliens relayed via the helmet cameras of the soldiers, the Weyland-Yutani company's evil plots through the Burke character, and of course the final battle. I found all of this very well thought, shot and edited and accompanied by a strong music. I bought the Blu-ray box-set of the quadrilogy years ago but realized I only watched the first and last movies when I discovered a Special Edition for Aliens that I had never seen before. I didn't particularly like the director's cut of the first Alien, but this one (favored by Cameron and Weaver) gives some interesting details on Ripley's background by revealing that she had a daughter, element used through several scenes and explaining better her relationship with the little girl Newt. The other main addition involves new weapons: sentry turrets that are used to keep the Aliens at a distance, which are interesting but were clearly not mandatory in the shorter version of the film. Another new long scene takes place on the colony before and during the discovery of the alien ship. For a full list of the differences refer to that web page. Aliens is definitely a Masterpiece of Science-Fiction.
Rating: 9 /10