Hello, all!
Samuel Goldwyn is credited with having told someone making a movie to “give me the same thing, but different.” That’s what James Cameron did with ALIENS, which decided not to recreate the sort claustrophobic fear-fest of the original ALIEN. Instead, he opted for a rock ‘em sock ‘em sci-fi/action extravaganza that dabbles just enough in some of the close quarters creepiness of the original to pay homage to it, while still managing to expand the world in a way that manages to feel organic, ups the ante from the original film [I mean, just compare the title and it’s easy to figure out how], and is just flat out entertaining, blockbuster stuff.
It also managed to establish Ripley as a freaking action heroine icon… which I’m sure prompted anyone reading this to think of one particularly memorable scene, namely the one at the end of the Honest Trailers clip for the film embedded below:
When I started this self-indulgent little “series” at the beginning of the month, several folks weighed in with films that they thought should make the list. While I had already made my list, I had not already written out my comments about each… so, I’ve got to give a quick shoutout to @Bluetick88 for having said “Aliens is a goofy Sci fi shoot em up by James Cameron with dorky clichéd characters that he would use again in Avatar. Bigger budget...bigger effects....but little of the terror of the original.” I’ve got to admit that I agree for the most part; but, I still prefer ALIENS to the original film and the reason is fairly simple: I’m more inclined to enjoy a good shoot ‘em up than a claustrophobic horror film. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy those, too, but sci-fi horror suits me better when there is a little pew pew added to the mix. It works in this film as well as in video games like the first two Dead Space games. Admittedly, ALIENS could have leaned into being more of a horror film, but since the first flick had already covered that territory, I can understand why Cameron opted not to make the same film as the first in favor of one that still had the narrow spaces but added some nifty boomsplosions to the formula, too.
So, it’s kind of a “best of both worlds” situation with this flick. Are some of the characters cardboard in quality? Of course… but even a serious dramatic war film like HACKSAW RIDGE only focused on a few main folks, so I’m not going to malign a sci-fi flick like this for doing the same thing. Besides, the environment is still plenty claustrophobic, and instead of just one unstoppable xenomorph, you’ve got an army of the things… and the queen squirting them out, to boot.
If you are interested in a film that either by directorial choices or budgetary limitations sticks with a style that is atmospheric and a bleak tone akin to THE THING [which I absolutely love], then you should definitely watch ALIEN. The film smartly holds off revealing its HR Giger-inspired monster baddie until later on, enhancing the suspense. However, if you’ve already seen the first and wonder what a film could do when the horrific cat is already out of the bag, then you’ll be happy you watched the second installment. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - THE DARK KNIGHT; Day 2 - DESPERADO; Day 3 - THE ROAD WARRIOR; Day 4 - X2: X-MEN UNITED; Day 5 - TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY; Day 6 - DAWN OF THE DEAD; Day 7 - DEADPOOL 2; Day 8 - HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX; Day 9 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN; Day 10 - THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; Day 11 - CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER; Day 12 - ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES; Day 13 - PADDINGTON 2; Day 14 - RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET; Day 15 - LETHAL WEAPON 2; Day 16 - FINAL DESTINATION 2; Day 17 - FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE; Day 18 - NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION; Day 19 - THE RAID 2; Day 20 - THE BOURNE SUPREMACY; Day 21 - SPIDER-MAN 2; Day 22 - EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN; Day 23 - X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST; Day 24 - BLADE II; Day 25 - BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY; Day 26 - THE GODFATHER PART II; Day 27 - STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK; Day 28 - TOY STORY 2; Day 29 - SUPERMAN II]
Samuel Goldwyn is credited with having told someone making a movie to “give me the same thing, but different.” That’s what James Cameron did with ALIENS, which decided not to recreate the sort claustrophobic fear-fest of the original ALIEN. Instead, he opted for a rock ‘em sock ‘em sci-fi/action extravaganza that dabbles just enough in some of the close quarters creepiness of the original to pay homage to it, while still managing to expand the world in a way that manages to feel organic, ups the ante from the original film [I mean, just compare the title and it’s easy to figure out how], and is just flat out entertaining, blockbuster stuff.
It also managed to establish Ripley as a freaking action heroine icon… which I’m sure prompted anyone reading this to think of one particularly memorable scene, namely the one at the end of the Honest Trailers clip for the film embedded below:
When I started this self-indulgent little “series” at the beginning of the month, several folks weighed in with films that they thought should make the list. While I had already made my list, I had not already written out my comments about each… so, I’ve got to give a quick shoutout to @Bluetick88 for having said “Aliens is a goofy Sci fi shoot em up by James Cameron with dorky clichéd characters that he would use again in Avatar. Bigger budget...bigger effects....but little of the terror of the original.” I’ve got to admit that I agree for the most part; but, I still prefer ALIENS to the original film and the reason is fairly simple: I’m more inclined to enjoy a good shoot ‘em up than a claustrophobic horror film. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy those, too, but sci-fi horror suits me better when there is a little pew pew added to the mix. It works in this film as well as in video games like the first two Dead Space games. Admittedly, ALIENS could have leaned into being more of a horror film, but since the first flick had already covered that territory, I can understand why Cameron opted not to make the same film as the first in favor of one that still had the narrow spaces but added some nifty boomsplosions to the formula, too.
So, it’s kind of a “best of both worlds” situation with this flick. Are some of the characters cardboard in quality? Of course… but even a serious dramatic war film like HACKSAW RIDGE only focused on a few main folks, so I’m not going to malign a sci-fi flick like this for doing the same thing. Besides, the environment is still plenty claustrophobic, and instead of just one unstoppable xenomorph, you’ve got an army of the things… and the queen squirting them out, to boot.
If you are interested in a film that either by directorial choices or budgetary limitations sticks with a style that is atmospheric and a bleak tone akin to THE THING [which I absolutely love], then you should definitely watch ALIEN. The film smartly holds off revealing its HR Giger-inspired monster baddie until later on, enhancing the suspense. However, if you’ve already seen the first and wonder what a film could do when the horrific cat is already out of the bag, then you’ll be happy you watched the second installment. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - THE DARK KNIGHT; Day 2 - DESPERADO; Day 3 - THE ROAD WARRIOR; Day 4 - X2: X-MEN UNITED; Day 5 - TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY; Day 6 - DAWN OF THE DEAD; Day 7 - DEADPOOL 2; Day 8 - HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX; Day 9 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN; Day 10 - THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; Day 11 - CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER; Day 12 - ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES; Day 13 - PADDINGTON 2; Day 14 - RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET; Day 15 - LETHAL WEAPON 2; Day 16 - FINAL DESTINATION 2; Day 17 - FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE; Day 18 - NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION; Day 19 - THE RAID 2; Day 20 - THE BOURNE SUPREMACY; Day 21 - SPIDER-MAN 2; Day 22 - EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN; Day 23 - X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST; Day 24 - BLADE II; Day 25 - BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY; Day 26 - THE GODFATHER PART II; Day 27 - STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK; Day 28 - TOY STORY 2; Day 29 - SUPERMAN II]
