Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

I have a theory: I think that every "Aliens Saga" movie is a cultural microcosm of the times that produced it. The original "Alien" was a dark, tense, paranoid creation of the post-Nixon period. It's successor, "Aliens" is louder, brasher and more energetic than the first, good bye Nixon, hello Reagen. (Don't ask me how this theory applies to the other films in the series (A3, AR, and AVP) I haven't thought it out that far yet.

Let me tell you about the first time I saw "Aliens." It was, probably, August of 1986. Ronald Reagen was president and I was in El Paso, Texas. It was Basic Training time, US Army, Fort Bliss(ter). It was our first time off of "the hill" since we got there, everybody was getting drunk, I had one beer, it was too expensive and I had a feeling a special surprise was awaiting the returning drunks that night (I was right) so eventually I decided to set out and explore the delights offered by the Sela Vista Mall. Pretty boring mall, actually, so eventually I set out to set what was playing "at the movies". I turned the corner to the corridor where the multi-plex sat and I encountered it. A life sized cardboard stand-up of Sigourney Weaver carrying Carrie Henn standing amid a cluster of "alien eggs" with a flamethrower. I knew at that moment what I was going to do for the rest of the afternoon.

Just a little more: the thing that struck me about this movie was that nearly every character reminded me of someone in my platoon. Al Mathews, playing MSG Apone was a carbon copy of our senior drill sergeant, we had two or three Hicks (Micheal Biehn) and our fair share of Hudsons (Bill Paxton) and the guy who slept in the bunk below me looked and acted just like Burke (Paul Reiser) -- he got thrown out, I was glad.

Anyway, enough of that...

"Aliens" was directed by James Cameron, the same guy who brought us Terminator and Terminator 2, "The Abyss" and (oh well...) "Titanic". Cameron, who learned his trade in the service of low-budget guru Roger Corman, has become the master of the big-concept, big-effects, action movie. He was probably the perfect director for this script.

(Note: the following synopsis will disclose some details from the first movie, if you don't didn't see it and don't want the story spoiled...you know what to do...) "Aliens" picks up where the first movie left off. Third Officer Ripley, formerly of the good ship USSCS Nostromo, is found floating through space plus 53 years from the events that caused her ship to be destroyed. She encounters unctuous "Company" executive Carter J. Burke. The court of inquiry convened to investigate the destruction of the Nostromo doesn't buy her tale and she ends up in a shlep job on the space station loading docks. And the dreams continue... At length she receives a visit from Burke and Colonial Marine Corps lieutenant Goreman (William Hope) bearing a request for her to accompany an expedition back to LV-426 (as we're told the alien's planet is called). Seems the "Company" has "lost contact" with a "tera-forming" colony set up there about twenty years ago. Oh boy...

Goreman is the sole officer of a squad of Colonial Marines assigned to the mission. For those you not versed in military matters, a squad is a group of soldiers about a dozen in strength (thirteen, in this case... in you count Bishop...) The marines are a cross-section of (American) military society. They're brash, loud, confident and a bit arrogant. It being two hundred-odd years in the future, the Marine Corps is sex-integrated of course, three of them are female. No topless sceens this time in the mode of "Starship Troopers", sorry, fan-boys. If you think about it for a minute during the film you can figure out which characters, Jenette Goldstein's Vasquez, for example are "players" in the script and which are "Star Trek" style "Red Shirts" designed for unpleasant ends.

Frequent and observant viewers of Cameron's films will recognize some of the cast. Goldstein played annoying little John Connor's foster mother in "Terminator 2", Paxton had a bit role as a punker in "Terminator" (the first one.) Biehn stared with Linda Hamilton in "Terminator and co-starred in "The Abyss". Seems Cameron has himself an "actor's stable" rather like his mentor Corman.

Where "Alien" was a "haunted house in outer space" movie, "Aliens" is much more a straight-up rock 'n roll space opera combat film. The marines are "packing state-of-the-art firepower" a lot of it. For all the good it does them. When they land on the planet they discover they're outnumbered by an unconventional enemy who fearlessly outmaneuvers them and renders their technological superiority irrelevant. In the extras disc Cameron admits it, this is Vietnam.

For all of it's bang-bang action appeal, this movie takes an awfully long time getting started. It's something like fourty minutes before we get to LV-426 and the real action is still some time away even then. For those who like the action in their action movies to start promptly this could be problematic. Once things get going, though, it's fast and furious.

The word "action" implies violence and "Aliens" is no exception. This movie is relentlessly violent. The bugs kill efficiently and gruesomely. The members of the squad return the favor in spades. If this sort of thing bothers you, you'd better watch something else.

Most of the action in the movie occurs on the surface of LV-426 so the spaceship effects are rather minor in scope. There are, however, quite a few more aliens to model so the creature effects are much more frequently seen. Because of this greater frequency and the fact the aliens had to move quickly, the high level of craftsmanship lavished on the creature effects in the first movie wasn't possible so Cameron cheated with low light a lot.

The actors, other than Weaver, are not household names (Reiser, to be far had a successful sit-com at one time, the title escapes me), but all do at least a adequate job. Henriksen is especially cool as the spooky android Bishop. (He prefers the term "artificial person".) Young Carrie Henn, in her only acting role, is also good as the last survivor of the colony on LV-426.

This isn't a terribly deep movie on an intellectual level. There isn't any tortured ruminating on the horrors of war. The marines are young cocky kids who, despite their carping, dig what they do. If you like your movie violence dripping with agnst...sorry. Also it should be said that "Aliens" is quite violent, the marines curse like...well marines and there is a fair bit of gore and other possibly disturbing images. If you don't like your kids seeing stuff like this... you know what to do.

"Aliens" comes in two cuts, the original theater cut and a "director's cut" prefered by Cameron... and by me as well. Unlike most such "director's cuts" one sees, I think most of these scenes should have been left in. If you have to choose between one or the other I'd recommend the updated cut. This review is based on the disc packaged with the "Alien's Quadrilogy" box set. I don't know what is packaged withe the stand-alone DVD product. I'll not go into the extras disc here, I'm saving that for my review of the "Quadrilogy".

One little thing, though. I watch DVDs on my computer using PowerDVD. Sometimes it's neat to turn the Director's/Actor's commentary during interesting scenes or the sub-titles during difficult dialog. Usually it's an easy right mouse-click but for some stupid reason this DVD, like the others in the box set, doesn't support this. It's necessary to quit the movie, turn the feature on in the set-up menu and navigate back to where you were. A hassle.

So anyway, this movie is a load of fun. While it may lack some of the shocks of the first movie, the non-stop action of the last 45 minutes or so more than makes up for any minor deficiencies. If you liked the "Terminator" movies you'll like "Aliens" If you liked the first "Alien" it's also likely you'll enjoy "Aliens."

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older