Sci Fi September # 16 – Aliens
The sole survivor of the Nostromo, Ripley, is joined by a group of marines as they hunt for the reason why a colony on planet LV 426 is not in contact anymore. LV 426 was where Ripley’s original crew found the original alien, but this time they have trained marines so things will be so much easier, won’t they?
Rather than simply remake the original movie again, Aliens is a totally different movie, tied to the original only by Ripley and the aliens. Where as the original had a haunted house feel, this is more of a zombie movie, with the aliens being the relentless, unstoppable zombies. Its fun to see the confident, cocky marines get picked off, destroyed and whittled down one by one by these creatures that are beyond anything they have ever encountered before.
Its debatable which is the better movie, Alien or Aliens because both are very good at what they set out to do. Aliens had a very strong cast, with Sigourney Weaver joined by James Cameron favourites Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton.
While the mainly male crew are picked off one by one, it is Ripley who is stronger and who takes charge. The movie that has an overload of macho-ness, actually ends up with one of the most iconic female leads in recent history.
A great movie, and one that cannot be ignored as one of the most popular science fiction movies of the last 25 years.
