Aliens

James Cameron was hot off his pet project, The Terminator, when he agreed to direct a sequel to the 2nd scariest movie of the 70’s (the first being The Exorcist). The original Alien, a stomach-churning exercise in explicit horror, had people keeling over in fear when it was first released (or so I heard). Alien featured a saliva-dripping, goo-covered eating machine that a cargo ship inadvertantly picked up while investigating a distress signal on a distant planet. This one alien managed to wipe out the entire crew, save for Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), a tough babe who managed to escape with her cat. Cameron was not content with a single alien menace. In this sequel, he unleashes hordes of the horrific monsters against a rag-tag team of marines. Still, in the original, there were no machine guns, flame throwers, or grenade launchers handy for use at the time. The marines here are fully equipped with big guns and explosives, and Cameron uses this advantage to conduct spectacular gun fights where endless rounds of ammunition are emptied into the elusive, non-human enemies.

To start things rolling, Ripley is picked up by a mining corporation and is escorted to a nearby space station to recuperate. Here, greeted by a smarmy executive named Burke (Paul Reiser), she finds out that they have attempted to colonize LV-426, the planet where Ripley’s original crew had first encountered the acid-spewing extraterrestrial. Of course, she protests to this, but no one believes her story. When contact is lost with the colonists, Marines are called to be sent in, and Ripley is requested to assist them. What begins as a regular by-the-numbers sweep of the colonization area results in a bloodbath of enormous proportions. The small group of survivors includes Ripley, Burke, the kindly Lt. Hicks (Michael Biehn), the distraught Pt. Hudson (Bill Paxton), an ultra-smart android (Lance Henriksen) and even a small girl (Carrie Henn).

This movie is a suspense-builder like no other. There are tightly staged confrontations, unbelievable action, and top-flight special effects. Cameron even has an awesome surprise tucked up his sleeve: the appearance of the Queen alien is the most memorable scene in the entire series, and the chase that follows is a white-knuckle, bite-your-nails-to-the-knubs finale if there ever was one. The desperate cries made by Paxton throughout the film may be annoying, but they ring frighteningly true in your mind. This also made Sigourney Weaver the first female action star of her time, a title that she was so deserving of, and one that would later define her career. Aliens is pure excitement, pure suspense, so buckle your seatbelts and hold on to your popcorn, because you’re in for one heck of a ride.

For a lot of people ALIENS is considered to be "the best" in many categories. It is considered to be the best in Alien cycle. It is also the best movie in already impressive career of James Cameron. And, finally, it is also considered to be the best science fiction film ever made. Some people might disagree with anything from above, yet one thing remains obvious -ALIENS is an excellent movie, not just for the fans who built a whole cult around it, but also for the regular viewers, who haven't been able to see something matching its quality for a long time.