On a budget of roughly $11 million, Alien grossed between $150-$200 million at the box office despite receiving mixed reviews. Overtime, the film has since been reevaluated and is now considered one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. With its success, Brandywine was eager to produce a sequel, but 20th Century Fox claimed that the film actually lost money. This led to Brandywine suing Fox over not receiving profits for the film, which was eventually resolved in 1983. In searching for a screenwriter to pen the screenplay, Brandywine found a then up-and-coming James Cameron, who loved the original. Cameron wanted his film to be a true follow-up, not a remake, and incorporate his work on Galaxy of Terror. After The Terminator became a huge hit in 1984, Fox was convinced to allow Cameron the chance to direct. Following a long delayed production, Aliens was released in July 1986.
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Synopsis
57 years after the first film, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is awoken from her hyper-sleep by her employers, Weyland-Yutani. She learns that LV-426, the planet where her crew found the derelict spacecraft, has been terraformed and colonized. When the company loses contact with the colony, representative Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) and Lieutenant Gorman (William Hope) see Ripley. They ask her to accompany them along with a team of colonial marines to investigate the colony as an advisor. She agrees on the condition that they destroy the Xenomorphs, which Burke agrees to, so they set off for LV-426. Upon arrival, they find the colony largely deserted, but soon, the marines are picked off one by one. Ripley, Burke, Gorman, Hicks (Michael Biehn), Hudson (Bill Paxton), Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein), and Bishop (Lance Henriksen) are the only survivors. With very limited resources, who will survive against the threat of the aliens?
Review
Aliens is one of those rare examples of a sequel being just as good as the original film. While having a different tone from the original, it still feels like it takes place within the same universe. Given the scope of the production, it’s crazy to think that the film was made on an $18.5 million budget. This can be attributed to Cameron and his crew working with Roger Corman and learning how to stretch a budget. In fact, you can see many similarities between what he did on Galaxy of Terror and what he did here. From the planet’s landscape to the design of the marines’ equipment, it’s clear Cameron perfected what he learned under Corman. While this is more action than horror, Cameron manages to add some tense and suspenseful moments akin to the original. At the same time, he stages some amazingly exciting action sequences.
Acting-wise, everyone is delivering 100%, starting with Sigourney Weaver, who further expands her Ellen Ripley role and is much stronger. Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, and Lance Henriksen are all exceptional in their roles and have some memorable lines. Paul Reiser is also memorable as the corporate slimeball Burke, who initially seems trustworthy, but soon reveals his true intentions. Lastly, Carrie Henn does a good job as Newt, a young girl traumatized by witnessing her family’s deaths. The creature design from Stan Winston is a solid update of what H.R. Giger started back in 1979. The film also expands on the lore of the first film, including the introduction of the Alien Queen. Whether you watch the theatrical or director’s cut, this is an impressive sci-fi/action film and one of Cameron’s best. Overall, Aliens builds off what the original film started and stands as an excellent sequel.
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