Aliens (5 Stars)

This is the sequel to "Alien", made seven years after the original. Ridley Scott did an admirable job in the original, but he passes the baton to James Cameron for the second film. It surpasses the original, and received critical acclaim. It was nominated for seven Oscars and won two. That was unusual, since science fiction films are usually ignored by the Academy Awards.

The story starts where the first film left off. At the end of the first film Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) climbs into a cryo-chamber to sleep for the 10 month trip back to Earth. In the second film her vessel is rescued after going astray and drifting for 57 years. At first nobody believes her story about the creature which killed the rest of her crew. A colony has been set up on the planet where she claims the alien life form was discovered, and nothing has been reported. Until now. Contact is lost with the colony, and Ripley is enlisted to accompany the rescue mission. As the film's title suggests, the rescue team encounters not one but many aliens.

Although not quite living up to "Terminator", made two years earlier, the film strengthens James Cameron's reputation as a masterful director of science fiction films. The acting is strong throughout, I couldn't name any weak links. Sigourney Weaver is maybe a strange choice to carry the lead role in the Alien films. She isn't the typical beautiful Hollywood actress; she's very plain. And yet she fits the role perfectly.

I expect that most of my readers have at least seen the first Alien film, maybe all of them. If not, I recommend watching them all. The special effects might not live up to Cameron's later films like "Avatar", but the suspense and action make them better films.