Product Description

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Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: R
Release Date: 18-SEP-2007
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7908 in DVD
• Brand: ALIEN
• Released on: 2004-01-06
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 291 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Aliens is one of the few cases of a sequel that far surpassed the original. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, who awakens on Earth only to discover that she has been hibernating in space so long that everyone she knows is dead. Then she is talked into traveling (along with a squad of Marines) to a planet under assault by the same aliens that nearly killed her. Once she gets there, she finds a lost little girl who triggers her maternal instincts--and she discovers that the company has once again double-crossed her, in hopes of capturing one of the aliens to study as a military weapon. Directed and written by James Cameron, this is one of the most intensely exciting (not to mention intensely frightening) action films ever, with a large ensemble cast that includes Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, and Michael Biehn. Weaver defined the action woman in this film and walked away with an Oscar nomination for her trouble. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

The best of the Alien movies
Aliens, the sequel to Alien, is the best of the Alien quadrilogy, and is one of the most influential science fiction movies ever made. You can find references to this movie in sources as diverse as the film "Starship Troopers," the PC game "Starcraft" and TV's "Battle Star Galactica." In a three way tie with "Bladerunner," and "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," for best science fiction film ever made, Aliens is a thrill ride with some of the most chilling visuals of any horror/science fiction film. Lt. Ripley is also one of the most memorable characters in any sci-fi movie or science fiction franchise. Aliens is so good, I can almost forgive Sigourney Weaver for her recent, ridiculously cheesy Direct TV commercial.

An Engaging Thriller
This isn't so much a strict sequel to Alien as it is a re-imagining of the Alien mythos. As one of the greatest horror films ever made, Aliens couldn't possibly have been an acceptable follow-up if Cameron had tried making it a horror film. Luckily, the very smart decision was made to turn Aliens into an action-thriller film, and it succeeds. Aliens, while an entirely different sort of film, is taut, engaging, and very well-made.

The characters and plot are nothing special here. In Alien, the real star of the show was the Nostromo. The dark, claustrophobic spaceship provided the perfect backdrop for Giger's shadowy creation to stalk around. In Aliens, the aliens themselves are the stars. Whereas we never get too clear a picture of the adult alien in the first film (even at the end, the creature is still guised in shadow), aliens are quite clearly visible in this film. The special effects are magnificent. The queen alien is perhaps one of the most majestic and terrifying creatures ever to appear in a film. And Ripley's final descent into the collapsing hive is a visceral and disturbing descent into Hell itself.

The action is intense, the various moments of anticipation are nerve-wracking, the special effects are eye-popping, and the story, if more conventional, is adequate for the purposes of the film. The acting is a bit weak in some areas, but not enough to be distracting. Overall, this is a solid and entertaining film, and one of the few instances where a sequel actually manages to be decent.

A Better Film
"Aliens" shows a vast improvement over the first Alien film, which--in my opinion--isn't the classic it's made out to be. You can see my elaboration on that in my review for that film; but as for this movie, I was much more satisfied with the story, characters, and even direction than I was in the first film.

Writer/director James Cameron shows an effort to make this film a bit more character oriented than the first film, which didn't give us a chance to connect with the characters. Ripley is fleshed out by the appearance of Newt, a young girl whose family has been killed by the aliens. We now see Ripley not only fighting for her life, but fighting for Newt's as well. She grows to care very much for the little girl, which creates some very strong suspense during the violent and thrilling climax. Another character that, despite his short screen time, feels fully fleshed out and real is the android Bishop, who I had grown very attached to by the end of the movie. The other characters other than Ripley, Newt, and Bishop aren't really that fleshed out, and the military personnel often revert to cliches and one-dimensional characters.

The acting isn't all that great--especially with the panicky soldier that says "we're done for meeyyan!" every five seconds--and even Sigourney Weaver doesn't give an all around impressive performance. What she does handle well, and what the entire film handles well actually, is the climax, where Ripley (Weaver) races to find Newt, throwing herself into a building infested with full sized aliens, face-huggers, and something much worse and much bigger.

Overall, this film easily beats out its predecessor for best Alien movie. I'm definitely on board to see the other two films in the series, and see if they--despite what critics have said about them--can compare.

6/10