Aliens (1986)

ALIENS: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT / 5 out of 5 stars

By John Ulmer

"They mostly come at night...mostly."

The vessel drifts eerily through the vacant outer reaches of space.

There is total silence as the opening credits begin to spread across

the screen, and then the words JAMES CAMERON ignite with an

overwhelming sense of joy. Yes, this is a James Cameron film, perhaps

the way he originally envisioned "Alien" (1979), or at least thought

he could improve upon it.

Ridley Scott's iconic sci-fi masterpiece sparked a generation of cheap

knock-offs and not-so-scary imitators. The film itself borrowed from

Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" and George Lucas' "Star

Wars," but in the process implemented its own revolutionary ideas --

as all great films do. Scott's film ultimately took the premise of a

haunted house and sent it into space--the film was not as much about

aliens as it was about a group of unarmed civilians trapped in a

desolate, grotesque space station drifting...nowhere. "In space, no

one can hear you scream," perhaps one of the most fitting taglines

ever associated with a motion picture.

"Alien" ultimately became one of the biggest surprise-hits of

1979--people lined up outside the theaters to witness the new film

everyone was talking about, people threw up in the theater after being

exposed to the infamous "chest burster" scene. It's only logical that

this craze would have begun in the first place. The limitless

possibilities of space travel on the big screen were just starting to

become explored in a way no one had ever dreamed possible; Kubrick's

film, released in 1968, revolutionized everything there was to

revolutionize about space travel. Audiences were fascinated with outer

space, the unexplored domain that lay directly outside of the earth's

own realm.

Many critics and moviegoers often consider Cameron's film, released in

1986, superior to the first film. Because the two films are quite

different in approach to the entire concept of aliens, it's hard to

compare them. Instead it's quite easy to say that they share a deep

chemistry of sorts, whereas each entry compliments the other's own

flaws. "Alien" was a rather slow, brooding, dark study of humans

abandoned in an unnatural, man-made environment, faced with a deadly

foe; mother nature's crème de le crème of big bad monsters. There was

only one alien in the first film, and it stalked them mercilessly,

unseen. Even by the end of the film there was much mystery surrounding

the alien itself. In short, "Alien" was a horror film. "Aliens" is

not.

"Aliens" is a cold-blooded, terrifying action movie, pumped full of

Cameron's own ever-present unique blend of adrenaline, machoism and

suspense. Its lead hero is actually a heroine, the only returning

character from the first film, Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney

Weaver as one of the most reluctant screen characters of all time. The

company that owned the Nostromo space ship she blew up at the end of

"Alien" saves her. It's over 50 years later, her daughter is dead, and

everything she has come to know and recognize in her life disappears

in a matter of minutes when she is awoken from a deep sleep and

informed of all this by Burke (Paul Reiser). Chairmen of the company

who take away her pilot's license, believing she is crazy and

delusional, mentally disturbed by whatever happened on the Nostromo,

debrief her. Days go by until activity is recorded on the planet from

the first film -- which is now colonized. The planet where Ripley's

crew originally discovered the alien that made its way onto the ship

and murdered everyone...except her.

Burke offers Ripley an enticing deal: If she goes to the planet with a

group of marines, they will give her back the freedom she desires.

Cautiously, she agrees, and is shipped out with a group of Colonel

Marines, including Corporal Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn), Private

Hudson (Bill Paxton), Lt. Gorman (William Hope), Private Vasquez

(Jenette Goldstein), and Sgt. Apone (Al Matthews). After arriving at

their destination the crew soon realizes that the activity is indeed

related to the extra-terrestrial. There are no civilians in sight --

it seems everyone has disappeared. The single survivor is Newt (Carrie

Henn), a brave young girl who has been hiding in the ventilation

shafts of the colony for, apparently, quite some time.

The action soon begins as the aliens wake up from their slumber within

the walls of the colony and attack their new guests. Ripley, relying

upon her own experiences with one of the creatures, leads the crew as

the casualties soon amount and revelations are made about the species.

James Cameron is one of the most visionary directors of all time, a

man whose idea for "The Terminator" was sparked by the single image of

an endoskeleton rising from fiery flames. His "Terminator" is arguably

his finest masterpiece. Even to this day, with "T2," "The Abyss," and

"Titanic" under his belt, it is rivaled but not surpassed.

To be fair most people seem to think "Aliens" is a super-fast roller

coaster-ride of a movie, when in fact it is also a very long film --

the director's cut roughly two and a half hours long, longer than the

first film. Then why does it seem so short to so many viewers? Because

of its direction. Cameron's dark atmosphere retains the vision of the

original "Alien" but the scope and ideas are entirely different; this

is a film about shooting, yelling, running, and lots of blood and

guts, which isn't to say it's a stupid film...just a very fun one.

Cameron has commented on the film's Vietnam-related themes, although

they're rather outlandish. To be sure, the film does indeed use war as

a backdrop. The film's tagline was "This Time It's War!" -- something

Cameron claims he made up after deciding to promote his movie as a war

picture, not a slow-moving epic in the vein of the original.

Both films are amazing in their own right, and about equal in

comparison in many different ways, but what Cameron does is improve

upon the first film's action, acting and aliens in general. The first

movie, aptly titled "Alien" (as it was not about any more than one of

the species), has far better landscapes, and although both directors

are wonderful Scott is generally better at evoking the paranoia of

space. Cameron doesn't do that because he doesn't need to. The acting

by all involved is top-notch, with Paxton especially stealing the

scenes as the whiny and constantly worried (but never quite annoying)

marine. The writing is fairly good, given the material, and the action

is some of the best you'll ever see.

Everything Cameron set out to do with "Aliens" he does, successfully.

This is one of the greatest thrill rides ever conceived, only

complimented by the director's cut, which was released back in the

'90s. It's the superior version of an already near-perfect film, with

deleted scenes that give extra insight into the actual story and

humanity about it all, such as Ripley finding out that her daughter

has passed away. (The photo of her "daughter" is actually Weaver's own

mother.) The director's cut is now available on DVD, along with the

theatrical cut, but most fans are in agreement that the Cameron's

original vision -- before it was chopped down due to time length -- is

the superior version.

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X-RT-RatingText: 5/5