Regarded by many as the best movie in the Alien trilogy. And it definitely is when pure adrenaline pumping action is the yardstick by which you judge a movie. Boasting more special effects, a much faster plot and lots of fireworks, this movie is totally different to its predecessor, pitting space marines against hordes of vicious aliens. More like Rambo goes to outer space than the haunted house in outer space!
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is rescued after many years in suspended animation. She is asked by the Company to go back to the planet where she and the crewmembers of the first Nostromo space ship came into contact with the alien that eventually killed off her crew. A small refinery colony has been built on the planet, but shortly after Ripley has been rescued all radio contact with the colonists is lost.
The first twenty or so minutes of the movie is merely getting the plot into place - thereafter it is exhilarating chases through dark corridors as arrogant space marines get routed by alien monsters. James Cameron (who did similar stuff with his The Terminator (1984) movie a few years before) knows his turf: the movie is truly exciting and scary.
Often criticized for its Reaganisms and gung-ho philosophy, there is an admitted Vietnam analogy to the movie. Director Cameron has admitted so much himself: the marines are brash, arrogant and over-confident. They come armed to the teeth, yet they quickly get their asses kicked by the aliens. But it is not a Forever War analogy. The only one who makes any sense in the movie the whole time is Ripley, who keeps muttering "Nuke Them" like a macho sneering Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Imagine if her sentiments were ever translated into real political terms! Gulp! But forget all this and simply sit back and enjoy the roller coaster ride...
Although made many years after the first Alien (1979) movie (usually a bad stunt for any sequel to pull) this one actually did better at the box office than its predecessor!
Review by James O'Ehley from The Sci-Fi Movie Page. |
