Viewed in
2010
Formats
Netflix HD streaming via Xbox 360
Premise
Sigourney Weaver returns in the sequel as she joins a military squad to revisit the hostile planet. James Cameron takes over as director.
Loved
Weaver's kick-butt character.
Liked
The suspenseful intensity, the impressive special effects.
Disliked
How similar it was to Avatar.
Thoughts
A worthy sequel to a classic.
Weaver was one of the coolest aspects of the first two films. It was not just because of the rarity of a female lead in a sci-fi action flick, but because how much she kicked butt in that role; she was smart and tough as nails. I was just plain giddy when she went into all-out Ripley mode around the halfway mark. Like before, the cast was solid, including Michael Biehn, the perfectly cast Lance Henriksen as an android, and Carrie Henn as the lone survivor on the colony. Admittedly, I was surprised by Paul Reiser's dramatic chops, since I only knew him from Mad About You.
For the most part, this film still maintained the uneasy suspense and silent-but-deadly vibe from the classic. Like before, it started off with spooky atmosphere, and built up into a nerve-wracking crescendo, only more action-oriented. When it morphed into shoot-em-up, it was very well done. The majority of special effects still held up, especially the improved animatronics/puppets able to show more of the aliens as agile, fighting entities. Also, the robot suits were impressive.
The biggest flaw was that the plot was a bit flimsy, especially in terms of characters acting dumber than expected. After watching this, it did deflate Avatar a bit, because I realized that Cameron recycled numerous moments, characters, and technology from Aliens.
This belongs in the pantheon of sequels equal (or nearly equal) to the original, thanks to Ripley, fantastic visual effects, and continuing the uneasy/queasy feeling of the unknown. I still preferred the original, due to a more consistent suspenseful experience and story.
What I would change
Nothing.
