P R E S E N T S  T H E

Aliens DIRECTED BY JAMES CAMERON RELEASED: 1986 Why's it so good? Cameron's genius here lies in manipulating the tension, beautifully structuring the switches from build-up, to carnage, to unbearable waiting, to action. The Colonial Marines who accompany an understandably reluctant Ellen Ripley are each fleshed out as individuals, and the plot brilliantly conceived to showcase every character and then kill most of them off horribly. Why does it beat the Godfather Part II? Because that doesn't have a single acid-veined xenomorph in it, that's why!

How does it stack up to the original? Entirely changing genre, from haunted-house-in-space to balls-to-the-wall action, proved the masterstroke here. This is a defiantly different film, one that's as good as (or arguably, better than) Ridley Scott's original, but not directly comparable because it remains true to the spirit of its predecessor without ever threatening to retread its steps. Glaring error: The Special Edition adds two brilliant scenes - the sequence about Ripley's daughter and the Sentry Guns - but also includes far too much tension-deflating filler with the early Newt stuff and an unnecessary hamster. GAP BETWEEN SEQUEL AND ORIGINAL: 86 MONTHS 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Advertisement