A question often tossed around among movie buffs is whether or not any sequel has ever been an improvement over the original. Scream 2 has fun with the question in one scene set inside a film class. One of the sequels they mention as being better is Aliens. Since both the original Alien and this one are so well made--but so different in style from each other--which one is the superior film overall is tough to call, but for sheer popcorn munching entertainment, I have to hand it to Cameron's Aliens.
The plot picks up right where the first film ends, with Ripley and Jonesy the cat drifting through space in suspended animation. When she wakes up she discovers that 57 years have passed while she's slept. To her horror she learns that the planet where the alien was discovered in the first film has been inhabited during that time. And when contact is lost with colonists on that planet, a troop of marines is sent to investigate with Ripley tagging along as a consultant.
Like the first film, this one takes a little while to get going, particularly if you watch the extended director's cut. One immediately noticeable thing if you watch the two movies back-to-back is that the gritty realistic look of the first movie is gone and is replaced by slightly more generic Sci-Fi sets. This is particularly noticeable if you watch the movies in high-def. Where in Alien, the ship looks like it's made of metal, here it's plain to see where the set is made of wood or plastic. The dialogue is likewise less full of human drama and more of a comic book style, particularly amongst the marines as highlighted by Bill Paxton's character.
However, once the Marines arrive on the planet and begin facing off with the Aliens, this movie is kicked into another gear and then another and then another. Where Alien was the crew of a merchant ship facing off against one Alien, this is a troop of Marines armed to the teeth facing off against wave after wave of Aliens. There's enough action here for two movies.
While all the noise and excitement is entertaining, the reason we care about any of it is because of Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. She is terrific here and let's not forget that she was nominated for an Academy Award for this part, a very rare acting nomination for a Science Fiction film and it was well deserved. In the original film the part of Ripley is fairly androgynous and was indeed written so that it could be played by either a man or a woman. This time though the script makes a point of Ripley being a woman and not by making her weaker, but by making her stronger. Her maternal instinct to protect Newt (after learning of the death of her own daughter while she was lost in space if you watch the extended version) and the final face-off against the Alien Queen just wouldn't be as powerful if Ripley were a man. There's a reason the American Film institute named her the 8th greatest hero in American Cinema History. And of course who could ever forget her classic line, "Get away from her you bitch!"
The supporting cast is alright with most of them being there just to be Alien fodder and all of them take a back seat to Weaver. Michael Biehn is good as Hicks, once again falling in love with a strong willed woman in a James Cameron movie. Carrie Henn as Newt isn't the greatest child actress, but she screams well and has a great chemistry with Sigourney. This would be her only film. Paul Reiser is appropriately slimy as the Corporate stooge and Bill Paxton is there to provide comic relief.
It's a shame that two such great movies were followed by such shit sequels. I like to pretend that the other Alien movies were just a dream Ripley had while in suspended animation. You could argue back and forth which of the first two is the better movie. They both have their merits. One is rich in atmosphere while the other is loaded with action, but both of them feature the greatest action heroine ever put on screen. So I say, screw which one is better, just enjoy them both.
