My Review of "Aliens"

Aliens has always been my favorite movie from the franchise. It had the best blend of story, science fiction, and action, blended into one complete package. I've seen it many times over the years but it recently came out in 4k and thought I'd see if it passes the test of time. It came out back in 1986 and now almost 40 years later surely there are some flaws to this movie right?

The movie starts off after the events of the first Alien movie. Ellen Ripley has destroyed a huge space ship to destroy this demonic parasitic alien that boarded her ship. She's been found and rescued by the company that owned that ship 57 years later.

In a trial, she gets questioned about the events of the first movie basically recapping everything that happened in case you haven't seen the first movie. They don't believe her since the planet LV426, that they were exploring in the first movie is now occupied by colonists. She freaks out because she knows there's danger there. Though they claim that it's been occupied for 20 years without incident.

Right after the trial, LV426 conveniently has a mysterious incident that causes the company to ask for Ripley's help in securing the planet. Since Ripley is having daily nightmares about the aliens she encountered she decides she has to go to face her fears.

Along this mission comes a whole slew of badass marines to protect Ripley and get to the bottom of everything. When they finally land on LV426 they of course find out that the planet has become a living hell. Their mission was to save any existing colonists but they find out they are placed in the most deadliest escape room situation ever.

I checked out the special edition of this movie which is James Cameron's director's cut of the movie. You really don't need to see this edition as it is quite longer. The new additions are really things that true fans of the movie will appreciate but if you're just a casual viewer I'd stick with the theatrical cut. Some of the pacing felt a little too long in the beginning as a result.

Once everyone gets introduced and they're headed to LV426 the movie really ramps up. It becomes a mile a minute fun ride. I almost forgot the huge payoff at the end with that last fight scene. It's so good that I will come back to this movie just for that badass scene.

Special effects surprisingly work really well even to today's standards. There are of course some things that feel very out of date but for the most part it can be appreciated nowadays. It's fun to see the 80's aesthetic of what they thought would be futuristic but there's an artistic element to it as well. The fact that they kept thing to a certain art style made the settings feel fresh and still believable.

You'll also have to get used to some of the acting levels of this movie. At times it really makes the movie fun with the overacting at certain moments. Though there are times when you feel that the actors are reading their lines from somewhere and it does take a little getting used to.

In 4k this movie is a sight to see. They added coloring elements that really make the movie pop and the audio for this movie is quite immersive. They did a really good job with this one and I'm glad I bought it. I'll be able to come back to this over and over again.

Overall, I had a fantastic good time watching this movie again. Admittingly, the first part of the movie did feel like a bit of a slog but once it got moving I couldn't look away. I was at the edge of my seat and really having some good fun. There's so much to appreciate in this movie and you can see how James Cameron reused some of his techniques in his later movies. I have to give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. It is gruesome, but if you're into that sort of thing I definitely recommend you watch it.