Aliens Review (Revisited) "Game over, man! Game over!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, so this most likely will be my last post before Christmas and I figured as I had already done my revamped (actually it was newly written lol) post for the sci-fi horror film, Alien, I would look at its sequel, Aliens. 

Now, I have already reviewed Aliens in the past but I figured it was worth revisiting it to tidy up the sections a bit and add a few bits here and there. Plus I recently just watched it again, so figured it would be worth reviewing again.

So, with that said, let's take another at the epic sequel that is Aliens...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

STORY 

Right OK so to start off the film begins 57 years after the events of the first film, with Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) who is in stasis sleep, being rescued by a deep space salvage team.  Ripley now, the only survivor of the Nostromo, has to explain her actions to the Weyland Utani company commitee who suspend her flight licence as a consequence of her destroying the Nostromo in order to try and kill the alien.  Ripley herself, still suffering from post traumatic stress, has nightmares from her harrowing ordeal on the Nostromo.  However, the head of the board, Van Luewen (Paul Maxwell) also informs Ripley that on the alien planet, now named LV-426, now has colonies of families living there, which has been made habitable through the implementation of air processing stations.  This leaves Ripley horrified at the prospect of what may happen to the families as a result of being on the alient planet. 

Pretty soon after, one of the company execs, Burke (Paul Reiser) visits Ripley and tells her that they have lost contact with the colony, and that they want her to go with a team of marines, as an advisor to help them know what they are up against.  Ripley eventually agrees reluctantly to go with the marines, accompanied by Burke to the planet.  Some of the crew include, the hardened veteran Sgt Apone (Al Matthews), the down to earth Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn), the cocky Hudson (Bill Paxton), the seemingly helpful android Bishop (Lance Henriksen) and the gutsy and muscly female Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein).

On arrival at the planet, they find one of the colonies to be deserted, with alot of interior damage and acid burns found on the floor decks, however they do find a young girl, Newt (Carrie Henn) who has been left traumatised, as her family were killed by the aliens.  Hudson eventually manages to track the location of the colonists, at an atmosphere processing station.  

On arriving, the marines to their horror find some of the colonists have been cocooned by the aliens, and pretty soon the aliens themselves emerge and attack and kill most of the marines including Apone and Vasquez's good marine buddy, Drake (Mark Rolston).  Ripley soon drives the reinforced military vehicle to rescue the remaining marines, and from there they decide on their plan of action what to do.  

On trying to hail the APC, their dropship, an alien infiltrates the ship and kills the flight crew, thereby destroying the ship.  Now stranded on LV-426, Ripley and the remaining crew, have to fight for their survival against a hoard of aliens, and find a way to escape the planet. 

THOUGHTS

It has to be said that while it isn't quite the classic Alien is, Aliens is still a very tense and gripping sequel which follows up the original very well even if it doesn't quite scale the same heights.  And this films scores actually pretty well in that it has really well drawn out characters and Ripley in this film turns out to be strongest and bravest character in the whole film as she goes back to the alien planet to face her fears.  

The marine characters also add an element of fun to the film aswell and in a way it allows for a bit of light comic relief just before things go sour later on.  The film also despite having a modest budget of approximately 18 million dollars is also visually very impressive as the special effects for the aliens are excellent as are the effects for the spaceships and environmental effects on LV-426.  

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!)

As for the performances well they are excellent all round with the cast all in top form.

And to look at the cast I will start off with its main star, Sigourney Weaver who is terrific in her role as Ripley and here she slips effortlessly back into the character as she plays Ripley with a mixture of vulnerability and toughness.  Weaver also rightly so earned her first academy award nomination with her performance here and its easy to see why as its easily one of the highlights in her career.

Sigourney also has plenty of great moments in the film such as the scene near the start where Ripley has to justify her actions to a board meeting.  And as the head of the board tries to halt Ripley's explanation of the alien planet by saying "Thank you that will be all!" Ripley angrily stands and shouts "GODDAMNIT THAT'S NOT ALL!!  Cause if one of those things gets down here then that WILL be all! And all this....(she picks up some papers) this bullshit you think is so important..." and she throws them away angrily and finishes "You can just kiss all that goodbye!!".  

Another notable scene is when Burke and Lt Gorman drop by Ripley's apartment to tell her that they have lost contact with the colonists on the alien planet. So, in the scene Ripley makes Burke and Gorman coffee and she says to them "I don't believe this. You guys throw me to the wovles and now you want me to go back out there?? Forget it!" but Burke tries to convince and asks "Let me finish?" and Ripley says "No, there's no way". And as Burke tries to persuade Ripley again and tells her that he has read her psyche evaluation of her nightmares and how she wakes up each night covered in sweat, Ripley shouts at him "I said no and I mean it! Look, I am NOT going back and I wouldn't any good to you if I did!". 

This is then followed by the scene where Ripley after having another nightmare calls Burke to accept his offer to go down to LV-426 and she says to him "Just tell me one thing, Burke. You're going out there to destroy them, right? Not to study. Not to bring back. But to wipe them out".  And as Burke reassures her "That's the plan, you have my word on it" Ripley says to him "Alright I'm in" and terminates their video chat and she turns to her cat, Jonesy (who appears in her nightmares making hissing noises) and says "And you, you little shithead....you're staying here!".

Then comes the scene where after the first alien attack, the surviving marines and Ripley take stock of the situation and Ripley simply suggests "I think we should take off and nuke the entire site from orbit.  Its only the way to be sure" and Hudson, a bit surprised agrees and says "Fuckin A!". However, Burke isn't so keen on the idea and tells Ripley "Woa, this installation has a multi-million dollar value attached to it" and Ripley sarcastically says to him "They can bill me!".  

Another good scene comes when on Ripley and the marines are on LV-426 she discovers that Burke had sent the colonists to the alien planet knowing the aliens were there and he didn't warn them.  And as Burke tries to justify himself, Ripley angrily grabs him and shouts "These people are DEAD, Burke!!  Don't you have any idea what you've done here?!!!  Well, I'm gonna make sure they nail you right to the wall for this! You're not gonna sleaze your way out of this one! Right to the wall!". And just before Ripley leaves, Burke anxiously tells her "Ripley, I expected more from you. I hoped you'd be smarter than this" and Ripley tells him "I'm happy to disappoint you!" and then leaves. 

And later after Burke engineers an attempt on Ripley's life by letting a facehugger into a room where she is with Newt and marines save her, they confront him.  So, in the scene Ripley explains to the others about Burke's plan "He figured that he could get an alien back through quarantine, if one of us was... impregnated... whatever you call it, and then frozen for the trip home. Nobody would know about the embryos we were carrying... me and Newt". Hicks however says "Wait a minute now, we'd all know" and Ripley continues "Yes. The only way he could do it is if he sabotaged certain freezers on the way home... namely, yours. Then he could jettison the bodies and make up any story he wanted". And as Burke tries to deny this, Ripley says to him "You know, Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage!".

Then there is the scene where Ripley goes back down to the lower levels to the heart of the alien lair to rescue Newt and she says to Bishop who is about to protest "I don't want to hear it, Bishop!  She's alive! There's still time!".  And just before Ripley leaves, she says to Hicks "Hicks, don't let him leave!" and Hicks, sitting with his face bandaged says "We ain't goin anywhere". And the moment where Ripley takes the elevator down to the lower levels and loads up the grenade launcher and get's herself ready for a fight and the elevator doors open and Ripley tensely moves out to find Newt is one of the best and most suspensful scenes in the whole film. 

And lastly of course is the great moment where Ripley confronts the alien queen onboard the Sulaco as she straps herself into a powerloader and moves toward the alien and warns her saying "Get away from her, you BITCH!!!!" as the two of them begin to do battle.  

Michael Biehn also does very well in his role as Corporal Hicks, the cool headed marine, who is second in command of the operation to go to LV-426.  Biehn plays the part largely understated but that's what makes his character work pretty well.

And Biehn has some good moments himself in the film that include the scene where during the first alien attack, the marines desparately try to fall back to the RV. So, in the scene, Hicks helps a wounded marine along and shouts out to Drake, who is blazing away "DRAKE! WE ARE LEAVING!!". However, after Vasquez shoots an alien near Drake and its acid blood sprays on his face, Vasquez shouts out "NO!!!" and Hicks restrains her from helping him and he says "He's gone!" and Vasquez shouts "No, he's not!" but Hicks drops his smart gun and grabs and shouts "Forget him! He's gone!". 

So, Hicks then tries to close the RV door but then an alien appears at the door and grips the handles and Hicks shouts to the others "Close goddamn door!" and Hudson grabs the door and Hicks takes out his shotgun and sticks it in the alien's mouth and shouts "EAT THIS!" and shoots the alien but its blood sprays out and hits Hudson's arm, who screams painfully but they close the door and Hicks shouts "RIPLEY! GO! GO! GO!" who speeds the RV off. Ripley eventually crashes through the exit gate at the complex and rides the RV roughshed over the barren land and Hicks come up to calm her down and says "Ripley, you've blown the tans-axel! You're just grinding metal! Come on, ease down! Ease down! Ease down!" and Ripley slows down the RV to a halt and she calms herself.

Ripley suggests they "nuke the entire site from orbit" and points out that Hicks is now in charge since Apone has been killed.  And as Burke says Hicks doesn't have the authority to make the decision and calls him "just a grunt!" then corrects himself by saying "No offence" and Hicks says "None taken" and he tells the APC pilot to get ready for take off and he tells Ripley "I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit" and he looks at Ripley, repeating her words "Its the only way to be sure" and Ripley smiles and Hicks says "Let's do it" and they get ready to leave.

Another good scene and amusing moment is when Hicks gives Ripley a wrist strap containing a locator so Hicks can keep an eye on her location in the complex on LV-426.  And Hicks says to her "Here, I want you to wear this. Its a locator. Just so I can find you anywhere within the complex" and Ripley takes it and looks at him and Hicks says "Its just a precaution" and Ripley smiles and says "Thanks" and Hicks jokes "Doesn't mean we're engaged or anything!" and Ripley laughs.  

Then comes the scene where Hicks shows Ripley how to use a pulse rifle "I wanna introduce you to a personal friend of mine. This is an M41A pulse rifle. Ten millimeter with over-and-under thirty millimeter pump action grenade launcher".  And Hicks holds out the gun to Ripley and says to her "Feel the weight" and she takes the rifle and smiles saying "OK, what do I do?".  And later as Ripley asks about the grenade launcher, Hicks says "I don't think you wanna mess that" and Ripley says "You started this!  C'mon show me everything.  I can take care of myself" and Hicks smiles and says "Yeah, I noticed!".

Then comes the scene where the alien queen takes Newt before Ripley and Hicks can save her and Ripley screams out "SHE'S ALIVE!! SHE'S ALIVE!!".  And Hicks grabs her and yells "OK!  I BELIEVE YOU!!  SHE'S ALIVE!  BUT WE'VE GOTTA GO!!!  NOW!!" and they make their way to an elevator, which opens slowly and they get inside and as the door is slow to close an alien suddenly appears and Hicks shoots it but its acid bleeds onto his chest armour and Ripley takes it off but it leaves Hicks wounded.  

And last of all there is the moment where Hicks and Ripley share each other's first names just before Ripley goes to rescue Newt. So Ripley says to him "See you, Hicks" and he says "Dwayne. Its Dwayne" and Ripley says "Ellen" and he says to her "Don't be gone long, Ellen!".

Paul Reiser who was a stand-up comedian and appeared in comedy films before this such as Beverly Hills Cops, is excellent as Burke, the sleazy company exec who is sent with Ripley and the marines to investigate the alien planet.

Reiser also has some really good moments in the film such as his opening scene where he meets with Ripley (in her nightmare) where he tells her "I'm Burke, Carter Burke.  I work with the company, but don't let that fool you I'm really an OK guy!".  And when Ripley asks how long she had been floating out in space Burke says "57 years.  You were out there for 57 years.  You had drifted through the core systems and it was just blind luck that a deep salvage team found you when they did".  

Another good scene from Reiser is when Burke and Lt Gorman pay Ripley a visit as he tells her that they have lost contact with the colonists on the planet. So, Burke in the scene says to Ripley as she opens the door, "Hi, Ripley. This is Lt Gorman of the colonial marine corp..." and she shuts the door on them and Burke shouts through the door "Ripley, we have to talk! We lost contact with the colony on the LV426!" and Ripley opens the door again, with a worried look.

So, as the scene proceeds, Burke tries to persuade Ripley to go with himself and Gorman and a squad of marines to find out what is going on at LV426. So, Burke says to Ripley "Look, these marines are very tough hombres. They pack state of the art firepower, there is nothing they can't handle!" and he looks to Gorman and asks "Lt, am I right?" and Gorman says "Its true, we've been trained to handle these situations". Ripley however says "Well, you don't need me. I'm not a soldier!" and Burke says "Yeah, it could be just a down transmitter but if its not, I would like you there as an advisor and that's all". 

Burke then hits her with an offer and says "Look, what would you say if I could get you re-instated as a flight officer? The company has already agreed to pick up your contract" and Ripley admittedly interested asks "IF I go?" and Burke says "Yeah, if you go". Burke then tries to persuade her "Come on, that's a second chance, kiddo! And personally I think this would be good for you to get back out there, get back on the horse..." and Ripley sharply tells him "Spare me, I've already had my psyche evaluation this month!". And Burke says to her "Yeah, I know. I've read it. You wake up every night and your sheets are soaking with sweat..." and Ripley suddenly shouts "I said NO and I mean it! Look, I am NOT going back and I wouldn't be any good to you if I did!". Burke then calmly says to her, "OK, but would you do me a favour? Just think about it" and he leaves his card with her.  

Then there is the scene when the marines arrive at the cooling tower plant on LV-426 and Ripley expresses her concerns that if the marines fire their weapons then they will rupture the cooling system.  And Burke says "Whoa, whoa she's absolutely right!" and as the commanding officer, Lt Gorman says irately "So? So, what?!".  And Burke explains "Look, this whole station is basically a big fusion reactor..." and Gorman gives a look of horror and Burke continues "So, you're talkin' about a thermonuclear explosion and "Adiós, muchachos".

Then after the first alien attack as the marines and Ripley take stock and suggest nuking the planet from orbit, Burke protests.  And Burke says of Hicks "Yeah... look, Ripley, this is a multi-million dollar installation. He can't make that kind of decision. He's just a grunt!" and looks to Hicks saying "No offense".  

And one of Reiser's best moments comes when Ripley confronts Burke over his decision to place the colonists on the planet without telling them about the aliens.  And Burke awkwardly explains "Okay, look. What if that ship didn't even exist, huh? Did you ever think about that? I didn't know! So now, if I went in and made a major security issue out of it, everybody steps in. Administration steps in, and there are no exclusive rights for anybody; nobody wins. So I made a decision and it was... wrong. It was a bad call, Ripley, it was a bad call".  And Ripley grabs him and shouts at him telling him she will nail him "right to the wall" and before she leaves, Burke nervously says "Ripley...! You know, I... I expected more from you. I thought you'd be smarter than this". 

Bill Paxton also is great as the cocky wisecracking marine, Hudson, who is all tough and macho at first but then becomes terrified after the first alien attack.  Paxton being a good friend of Cameron's (and appeared as the punk leader in The Terminator) must have been an obvious choice for the role and you can see Paxton is having a ball here with his part and he get's most of the best dialogue in the film.

And as a few examples I'll start with his first scene onboard the Sulaco after the marines and Ripley awaken from hypersleep.  And as Vasquez asks who Ripley is one of the marine crew, Ferro (Colette Hiller) says "She is supposed to be some sort of a consultant.  Apparently she say an alien once" and Hudson says "Whoopee fuckin doo!".  And later during the marines debrief over their mission, Vasquez says of the aliens "Look man all I need to know is one thing, where they are!" and her friend, Drake says "Go, Vasquez! Kick ass" and she shakes his hands and says "Anytime, anywhere, man!". So, Hudson jokes "Right, right. Somebody said "aliens" she thought they said "illegal aliens" and signed up!".  And Vasquez gives Hudson the finger "Fuck you, man!" and Hudson quips "Anytime, anywhere!".

Then there is the scene where the marines land on the LV426 and search the facility but find nothing, so they report back to it Gorman, who says the area is secured and they will go in. So, in the scene, Hudson sarcastically says to Vasquez "He's comin in. I feel safer already!" and Vasquez annoyed says to him "Pendejo! Jerk off!".  

Another good scene from Paxton is when the marines discuss their options after the first alien attack but Hudson notices in the RV on the monitors that Apone and Dietrich still have life signs. So, Hudson says to the others "Hey, Apone and Dietrich aren't dead. They're life signs are real low but they ain't dead" and Vasquez says "Then we go back in there and get them" but Hudson, scared says "Fuck that!" and Vasquez protests "We can't leave our people behind!" and Hudson shouts "I'm not going back in there! You can't make me!". Ripley then shouts over them "You can't help them! You can't! Right now they're being cocooned just like the others" and Hudson dispairs "Dear Lord Jesus, this ain't happening, man! This ain't happening! This can't be happening!".  And when Burke protests over their option to wipe out the aliens, Hudson angrily says "Maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked, pal!".  

Then of course we have the classic bit of dialogue where after the drop ship is destroyed when an alien boards the ship and kills Ferro and the brilliantly named co-pilot, Spunkmeyer (Daniel Kash).  And after the crash Hudson says "That's great, this is really fuckin' great, man. Now, what the fuck are we supposed to do? We're in some pretty shit now, man!" followed by "That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over! What the fuck are we supposed to now, huh, what are we gonna do?!!".

After this there is the scene when Ripley, Hicks and the others go back to the command centre and Ripley asks how long is it before they are declared overdue for a rescue and Hicks says "17 days".  And Hudson nervously says "17 days?!  Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last 17 hours!!  Those things are gonna come in here just like they did before. And they're gonna come in here......and they're gonna come in here AND THEY'RE GONNA GET US!!".

Then after Burke engineers an attempt on Ripley's life by releasing a facehugger into a room where Ripley and Newt and the marines rescue them both, Burke is taken back to the others and Hudson  points his pulse rifle close at him saying "I say we grease this rat-fuck son of a bitch right now!".  And as Ripley explains Burke possible plan to potentially sabotage the marines hypersleep chambers and jettison their bodies afterward, leaving Hudson disgusted "Fuck!  He's dead!  You're dog-meat, pal!".  

And last of all is Paxton's last scene in the film (SPOILER!!!) during the second alien attack Hudson rediscovers his courage and shoots as many aliens as he can and he yells during fire "Come and get it, baby! Come on! I don't got all day! Come on! Come on! Come on you bastard! Come on, you too! Oh, you want some of this? FUCK YOU!" before being grabbed by an alien and pulled under the floorboards to his fate.

Carrie Henn who had never appeared in a film before also does pretty well in her role as the orphaned Newt who Ripley takes care of after they find her alone at the colony complex.  Henn herself decided not take take up a career in acting after the film and instead became a teacher.  

Henn has some good moments aswell that include the scene where Ripley tries to get Newt to talk but she's still in shock from the situaton but Newt finally starts to talk to her. So, Ripley says to Newt "I don't how you stayed alive, but you are one brave kid, Rebecca" and Newt quietly says "Newt" and Ripley asks "What?" and Newt tells her softly "My name is Newt. Nobody calls me Rebecca except my brother" and Ripley smiles and says "Newt? I like that. I'm Ripley". So, Ripley then asks Newt where her family are "Newt, look at me, where are they?" and Newt angrily tells her "They're dead!  Can I go now?!" and Ripley says softly "I'm sorry, Newt. But don't you think you'd be safer here with us. These people are soldiers, they're here to protect you" and Newt says "It won't make any difference".

Then there is of course Henn's most famous scene in the film just after the drop ship is destroyed and Newt says to Ripley "I guess we won't be leaving now".  And Ripley says "I'm sorry, Newt" and Newt says "Don't be sorry, it wasn't your fault" and then she says her most famous line of all (which I still can't quite fathom why!) "We'd better get back cos it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night. Mostly". 

Another scene of note is where Ripley tries to get Newt to get some sleep and Newt says to her "I don't sleep. I have bad dreams" and Ripley says to Newt of her doll "Well, I bet Casey doesn't have any bad dreams" and Ripley takes the doll and looks at her and says "Nope. Nothing bad in there!". Newt then says to Ripley "Ripley, she doesn't have any bad dreams because she's made of plastic" and Ripley smiles and says "Right, I'm sorry, Newt". Newt then says to Ripley "My mommy always said that there never any monsters, no real monsters but there are." and Ripley quietly says "Yes, there are, aren't there?". And as Ripley is about to go, Newt begs her not to go "Don't go please!" and Ripley says "Newt, I'm just going to be in the next room. I'm not gonna leave you, Newt" and Newt asks "You promise?" and Ripley sincerely says "I cross my heart" and Newt asks "And hope to die?" and Ripley says "And hope to die" and they both hug. 

WARNING: SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!

Last of all is the final and somewhat charming scene of the film where after Ripley has defeated the alien queen and made her way back to the Sulaco along with a badly injured Hicks and damaged Bishop, she prepares herself and Newt for hypersleep. 

So, in the scene Ripley get's Newt to lie down in a stasis capsule and Newt asks her "Are we going to sleep all the way home?" and Ripley smiles and says "All the way home" and Newt asks "Can I dream?" and Ripley smiles and says "Yes, honey. I think we both can". So, Ripley then plays the same flip your nose trick on Newt that Newt played on her earlier and Newt smiles and lays down and Ripley says to her "Sleep tight" and Newt says "Affirmative".

Lance Henriksen is also excellent as the android, Bishop, who Ripley is wary of at first due to her encounter with Ash (played by Ian Holm) from Alien, but he eventually gains her trust.  

Henriksen has some good moments also that include the scene where he does that "thing with the knife" as Hudson puts it.  And this is followed by the revelation that he is an android as he cut his finger during the knife scene, which anxiously causes Ripley ask "You never said anything about an android being onboard. Why not?!" and Burke says "I didn't think about it, its common practice, we always have a synthetic onboard" and Bishop says to him "I prefer the term "artificial person" myself". 

So, Bishop looks to Ripley and asks "Is there a problem?" and Burke tells him "I'm sorry, I didn't know why I even didn't... Ripley's last trip out, the synth...artificial person malfunctioned" and Ripley says incredulously "Malfunctioned?!" and Burke continues "There were some problems and a few deaths were involved". Bishop then says "I'm shocked. Was it an older model?" and Burke tells him "Yeah, the hyperdyne systems were 120-A2" and Bishops says "Well, that explains it then. The A2s always were a bit twitchy. That could never happen now with our behavioural inhibitors. It is impossible for me to harm or by omission of action, allow to be harmed, a human being". So, Bishop offers some corn bred to Ripley "You sure you don't want some?" and Ripley angrily knocks it out his hand and tells him firmly "Just stay away from me, Bishop, you got that straight?!" and Bishop leaves. 

Then later there is the scene where Bishop dissects one of the dead facehuggers looking through a microscope at its internal organs and one of the marine crew asks if he needs anything else and Bishop spookily looks up at him and says "No".  And as the crewman says "That's a nice pet you've got there, Bishop" Bishop says "Its magnificent, isn't it?".  Another good moment for Henriksen is during the scene Ripley and the others discuss their options and how to get the other drop ship on the Sulaco and remote pilot it to the planet.  And as no one is ready to volunteer to do it, Bishop says "I'll go.  I'll go. I mean, I'm the only one qualified to remote-pilot the ship anyway." and Hudson says relieved "Good idea!" and Bishop says "Believe me, I'd prefer not to. I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid. Believe me, I'd prefer not to. I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid!".   

After this another good scene is when Ripley stocks on guns and ammo to rescue Newt and Bishop warns her that the cooling system will soon explode and he says "In nineteen minutes, this area's gonna be a cloud of vapor the size of Nebraska".  

And later on after (SPOILER!!!) Ripley rescues Newt and Bishop get's them safely off the planet they fly back to the Sulaco where they have Ripley has the confrontation with the alien queen.  And just before that, Bishop apologises for not being there with the ship when she came back up in the elevator "I'm sorry if I scared but that platform was just too unstable. I had to circle around to make sure it was safe to take you off". However, Bishop by now has finally gained Ripley's trust and she tells him "Bishop, you did ok" and Bishop surprised asks "I did?" and she smiles and says "Oh, yeah" but then we suddenly see acid drip on the floor of the ship and a big sharp tail puncture through Bishop's chest as he is hoisted up in the air by the alien queen and literally torn in two.

Jeanette Goldstein next up is really good also as the muscly tough female marine, Vasquez and as a funny story, Goldstein actually turned up for her audition wearing high heels and a dress as she thought that the film was about illegal "alien" immigrants and not alien monsters!  

And Goldstein has a few highlights too that include her first scene where Vasquez works out onboard the Sulaco and Hudson says to her "Have you ever been mistaken for a man?" and Vasquez says "No, have you?".  

Then there is the moment during Ripley's brief to the crew when Ripley becomes agitated trying to explain Kane's death, Vasquez cuts her short saying "Look, man. I only need to know one thing: where they are!". And Drake smiles and shakes her hand and says "Go, Vasquez, kick ass!" and Vasquez grins and says "Anytime, anywhere, man!". Hudson however then mocks her and says "Yeah, yeah, when they said "aliens" she though they said "illegal" aliens and signed up" and Vasquez gives Hudson the finger and says "Fuck you, man!" and Hudson quips back "Anytime, anywhere!". 

And later of course there is that moment just as the aliens first attack, with most of the marines handing in their ammo clips to Apone to avoid shooting the coolant systems, apart of course from Vasquez and Drake, who sneakily hold onto a spare for their smart guns. And of course as the aliens attack, Vasquez let's rip with her smart gun shouting the memorable line "LET'S ROCK!!!!" just before she does it.

Later on another good scene from Goldstein is when Vasquez says to the others after the first alien attack "Okay. We have several canisters of CM-20. I say we go back in there and nerve gas the whole fuckin' nest!".  And after Burke says "This is clearly an important species we're dealing with and I don't think that you or I, or anybody, has the right to arbitrarily exterminate them!" and Ripley says "Wrong!" and Vasquez says coldly "Yeah, watch us!".

And lastly during the second alien attack as Vasquez and the others trying to escape from the aliens from the ventaliation tunnels she soon runs out of ammo in her rifle and shoots an alien at point blank range with her hand gun, but acid spills onto her leg, injuring her and she yells "OH NO!!!!".  At this point Gorman goes back for her but they are soon surrounded by aliens and Vasquez takes out a grenade and says her last line "You always were an asshole, Gorman!" just before it goes off.

Third last is Mark Rolston as Drake, the macho marine who is Vasquez's good buddy and he does a fine job. 

Rolston's good moments include when he first wakes up for hypersleep and he says wearily "They ain't paying enough for us, man!" and Dietrich says to him "Not enough to wake up to your face, Drake!" and he says "What?! Is that a joke?" and she says "I wish it were". And, Drake then looks to Hicks who has just got up "Hey Hicks, you look just like how I feel!".  

Later on there is also the moment where Bishop does the thing with the "knife" and Drake holds Hudson and places his hand ontop of Bishop's and Drake encourages Bishop "Do it, Bishop!". And Bishop does his knife trick on a terrified Hudson and after Bishop finishes, Drake hands back Hudson's meal to him and says "Enjoy your meal!".  

And lastly there is Drake's last moment where he fights off the aliens and he yells back at Vasquez "Go, Vasquez!  Run for it!!" as he blasts his smart gun at the hoards. However, Drake soon runs out of ammo and shouts "Shit!" and he drops his smart gun and switches over to the flamethrower, however he fails to notice an alien pop up near to his side, which Vasquez shoots but its acid sprays onto Drake's face, who screams in pain and collapses. 

Second last is William Hope who is pretty good as Lt Gorman, the inexperienced commanding officer of the marine op.  

And Hope's good moments include when at the end of the debrief when he says to the marines "Now listen up.  I want this thing to go smooth and by the numbers. I want D.C.S. and tactical database assimulation by 0830. Ordinance loading, weapons strip, and drop ship prep details will have seven hours.  NOW MOVE IT PEOPLE!".  

Then we have the moment when just after the drop ship leaves the Sulaco, Ripley asks Gorman "How many is this for your, Lieutenant?" and Gorman replies "38. Simulated" and Vasquez asks "How many combat drops?" and Gorman awkwardly says "Two. Including this one!". And the marines look at each other in surprise and Hudson says "Shit! Aww man!". 

Then there is the scene where Ripley voices her concerns about the marines firing their weapons at the cooling station. So, in the scene Ripley asks "Lt, what do those pulse rifles fire?" and Gorman says "10 milimeter explosive tip caseless. Standard light armour piercing rounds. Why?" and Ripley tells him "Well, look where your team are, they're right under the primary heat exchangers" and Gorman says "So?" and Ripley says "Well, if they fire their weapons in there won't they rupture the cooling system?". Burke then realises what Ripley is saying and joins in and says "Ho, ho, ho. She's absolutely right" but Gorman is annoyed and asks "So?! So what?!" and Burke explains "Look, this station is basically one big fusion reactor" and Gorman looks horrified and Burke says "So, we're talking about a thermonuclear explosion and adios muchachos!" and Gorman angrily says "Great! Wonderful! Shit!". 

So, Gorman anxiously informs Apone and the others "Look, Apone. We can't have any firing in there. I want you to collect magazines from everybody" and this prompts disbelief from the marines with Hudson asking "Is he fucking crazy?!". Gorman then says to Apone "I want all rifles slung. Flame units only" and as Apone is about to protest "But, sir I..." Gorman interrupts and says "Just do it, Sergeant and no grenades!".

And as the alien assault begins, Gorman panics not knowing what to do and he looks anxiously at the pandemonium he sees on the marine's camera screens and he says to himself "I told them to fall back...I told them to fall back!". Ripley then shouts at Gorman "They've been cut off!" and she grabs him and shouts "DO SOMETHING!" but Gorman is helpless and Ripley storm off and takes control of the situation and drives the RV to get the marines, prompting Gorman to yell "Ripley, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING???!!!!".  

And lastly there is the moment after Gorman awakens from having sustained a concussion, we see him wearing a big bandage on his head. So, Ripley asks Gorman "How do you feel?" and Gorman says "Alright, I guess. One hell of a hangover" and he begins to apologise "Look, Ripley I just want to say..." and Ripley interrupts and says "Forget it" and says to Burke sharply "Excuse me" walks past them both.       
       
And last of ALL is Al Matthews who is great as the tough veteran marine, Sgt Apone.  Matthews himself was a Vietnam veteran and he used his experience to help train the actors in the film.  

Matthews has some good moments aswell such as his first scene where he addresses the marines after they have woken from hypersleep "All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed?! Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I LOVE the Corps!". And Hudson complains as he stands barefoot "This floor is freezing!" and Apone says "What do you want? Me to search for your slippers for you?" and Hudson says sarcastically "Jee, sir! I would love that!" and Apone pulls down his eyelid and says "Look into my eye!".

And in the next scene as the marines sit down for their dinner, Hudson asks "Hey top, what's the op?" and Apone says "Its a rescue mission, you'll love it!  There are some juicy colonist daughters we have to rescue from their virginity!" and they crew all laugh, much to the disapproval of Ripley who looks on at them from afar.  

And later on there is the marines debrief where near the end, Gorman asks the marines "Any questions?" and Hudson puts his hand up and asks "How do I get out of this chicken shit outfit?" and Apone firmly tells him "You secure that shit, Hudson!". And after the brief is over, Apone says to his crew "Alright sweethearts, you heard the man and you know the drill. Assholes and elbows!" and to an impertinent Hudson he angrily points to him and says "Hudson, come here! Come HERE!!".  

Then there is the moment where Ripley helps out the marines with their prep for the drop to the planet and she asks if there is anything she can do and Apone says "I don't know, is there anything you can do?".  And Ripley says she can operate a loader and Apone says "Be my guest" and as Ripley straps herself and expertly operates the loader and picks up a crate she says "Where do you want it?" and Apone simply laughs and says "Bay twelve, please!".  

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

Finally moving onto the director, James Cameron does a superb job here especially given the daunting task he had in following up the classic original.  Cameron not only handles the film's tense action scenes very well he also brilliantly builds up the tension toward the first alien attack and after that you are left with an unnvering sense of dread before the next one.  Cameron's screenplay for the film is also very well written and is filled with witty dialogue (as extensively already mentioned above!).

Cameron also being Canadian and somewhat inexperienced as a film maker, had a hard time working with the British production crew during filming (as it was filmed at Pinewood studios and the cooling station scenes were filmed at the disused Acton power station in London) and production was also slowed down at times due to the British working hours.  Cameron also had an altercation with the film's original choice of cinemaphotographer, Dick Bush, whom he fired and replaced with Adrian Biddle (who's photography is excellent here).  However I think its safe to say that Cameron managed to rise above all that here with the outcome of his work.

As for the music, the film features an excellent score by James Horner and it is easily one of his very best scores as it very suspenseful and atmospheric and the title theme is also quite memorable and it sets the tone for the film perfectly during the tense opening credits.  Horner however during post production of the film felt that there wasn't enough time for him to create the score he wanted for the film and he too had a tough time with Cameron and afterward said he would never work with him again, although they would eventually work again together on Titanic and later, Avatar.  Horner however did receive an Academy Award nomination for the score and rightly so as it really is very memorable and over the years has been used for alot of other film trailers, which shows its popularity and durability over time.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

OK, so while Aliens is an excellent film it has to be asked: does it have any flaws???  Well yeah it still has one or two.

And for starters I would have to say that while the theatrical cut is just about the perfect length, the director's cut is just a bit too long and I felt it includes some scenes that felt a bit unecessary.

And as an example of this are scenes such as Hudson and Vasquez checking the empty rooms of the colonists quarters detecting a life sign, which turns out to be just a rat.  Then there are the scenes where Hicks sets up the armed sentry droids to shoot any aliens that might approach, which does have a suspenseful moment near the end but it still does feel a bit superflous.  

Not to mention the scene where Newt's family discover the alien ship which features some pretty cheesy acting from the actors playing Newt's parents, particularly the father.  And in the scene when they find the ship the father says "Folks we have scored big this time!".  Its more like a line that deserves to be in M Night Shyamalan movie!  The scene itself however still has a good payoff as we see the father has a facehugger on his face as the mother makes it back with him and Newt screams as she sees him. 

You could also argue that while it is a well written film it still does have some cheesy bits of dialogue that feature either in the director's cut or theatrical one.  And as an example there is the moment where Ripley tries to reassure Newt who is afraid to sleep, that her doll, Casey doesn't have bad dreams and Newt says "Ripley, she doesn't have bad dreams because she's just a piece of plastic".  Yeahhh OK!  Then there is of course the one where Hudson in the director's cut tries to reassure Ripley during the drop ship flight that "Me and my squad of badasses will protect you!".  Agghhh shut up, Hudson!   

Then there is the important question of just why on Earth (or LV-426 more like!) would anyone want to live on a barren shit heap such as LV-426 in the first place???!  I mean its hardly the prettiest of planets is it???!!  Brutal winds, lovely atmosphere, scenic barren wastelands, yep, families surely want to live there alright!!  You could argue that its all about pioneering and branching out by living on other worlds, but they could at least find somewhere better to live than that!!  Perhaps there were already colonists living on other worlds and this lot got the short end of the stick!  Either way it just seems daft that anyone would want to live there anyway whether they were aware of the aliens or not!

Another issue in the plot for me is also of course to do with the film's climax (SPOILER COMING UP!!!) where Ripley has her confrontation with the alien queen and as their fight leads into the alien queen grabbing the powerloader Ripley is in and bringing it crashing down into the airlock.  And in the scene Ripley opens the airlock to the brutal gusting winds of the vaccum of space where the alien soon loses her grip on Ripley's foot and flies into space, yet during this Ripley is able to hold onto the rung of the airlock ladder locking her arm around it and to top that off climb her way back up into the ship!!  Now that has to be utter bullshit as surely there is now way she would be able to withstand the forces of the hard vaccum of space (again the Youtube comedy channel, How it should have ended parodied this scene where Ripley's arm breaks off and she falls into space along with Newt and Bishop).

Although this one is debatable given that the real effects of the vaccum of space are hard to predict given that there are solar winds in space that would presumably cause powerful winds, other than that would space have no wind at all??  If so then opening the airlock wouldn't cause anything at all if it were calm in space but its not something I know much about so I couldn't give an answer either way really.  But let's not get too carried away with that one as it is just a film after all. 

So that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Aliens is still an excellent sequel to the classic original film, Alien, even if it doesn't quite meet the same heights, its not that far off as the film's tight direction, excellent performances, great special effects, intense action and atmosphere all add up to something that is well worth rewatching. 

And with that said, I will give Aliens a rating of:

9 out of 10.

So, that's it for now and I will be back with another post soon but for now I will wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you have a good one!

Till then, Merry Christmas!