| More is more. |
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| written by sfspaz |
February 28, 2005 - 4:58 PM PST |
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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When a science fiction / horror movie featuring acid-spewing aliens gets nominated for no less than seven Oscars, you know you're onto something much grander than your standard space monster fare, and making a movie both as scary and as successful as the brilliant original is no small feat indeed. While Ridley Scott's seminal "Alien" was a noir masterpiece of tension and asphyxiation, James Cameron (of Titanic fame) creates something grander, louder, bigger, and possibly even more of a thrill ride than the original (fans can argue this one amongst themselves). The pacing is brilliant, from the first frames in an icy sleep chamber to the balls-out finale which has spawned one of the most-loved one-liners ever (you know the one) Cameron alternates between the silent hold-your-breath tension that characterised the first movie, and the guns-blazing spectacle that often characterizes this one.
What raises this movie to a "great" level, however, is that Cameron finds a way to expand Sigourney Weaver's Ripley character into an even stronger feminist icon than in the first film - not by slinging flamethrowers over her back (though he does just that), but by giving her a sensitive, emotional, and wholly human side only hinted at in the first film. Her relationship with Newt, the orphaned colonist, shows a "hero" that is not simply the one-dimensional actions heroes we've been dumbed-down enough to accept. Horror movies rarely manage to slip poignant or touching moments in between beheadings and impalements, but Aliens manages to do just that, and it creates a film that is altogether more rich for the attempt. Ripley's survival was exciting in the first film - in this one, it actually matters to us.
The cast adds excellent support, both heroic and comedic. Bill Paxton is hilarious as a lily-livered, smack-talking jackass, Paul Reiser seems born to be the slimy company man with business his only priority, and Michael Biehn even manages to squeeze a little intelligence and sensitivity into his tough-guy routine. Production is of course top-notch (remember this is the man who brought us the highly polished "Titanic") and the movie has barely aged in the nearly 20 years since its release. It continues to thrill even after dozens of viewings.
Endlessly copied in subsequent, sub-par sci-fi films (including its own dissapointing sequels, sadly), Aliens showed how an action/horror film could have both grand scale, fast action, subtle emotion, but above all, was an absolute blast from start to finish. Sometimes more IS more. |
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