There are a lot of people out there that say the first film (Alien) is actually the best film of the bunch. Actually I think this is the prevailing opinion. It isn't however my opinion. I think that the second film in the series was the best one and I'm here to tell you why. Feel free to voice your disagreement as it is expected. James Cameron was the director and he has gone on to be largely considered one of the best directors of all time so perhaps that had something to do with it.
It is amazing to me to look back on this film and then be told that the entire budget for the movie was $18 million. That is truly amazing considering that I would say all of the special effects still stand up to today's standards. Actually, i think the use of creative lighting and puppets instead of CGI is vastly better. This is a lesson the Star Wars learned with episode 1-3.
The story behind Aliens is probably already very well known to everyone out there but basically, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is rescued from statis after being asleep for nearly 60 years. The people who discover her don't believe her story about an Alien destroying her ship and killing her crew (from the first film,) and they reprimand her by taking away her license or something.
I don't remember why but it is necessary for her to go with a exploratory crew to a terraforming planet that has stopped responding. However, this time she is traveling with a crew of highly-trained, highly-arrogant space marines.
This, my friends, is the reason why I think this movie is better than the first one. It is really the only reason I have to be honest. The performance of the marines and their subsequent return to reality when they basically get their asses handed to them by a superior opponent who possesses no technology, is really fun.
Of course Bill Paxton is the real star here and his performance was just exceptional. His famous line of "Game over man, game over!" wasn't even in the script apparently and Bill was improvising. It is now the most famous line in the film so well-done Bill! Paxton received a Saturn Award for best supporting actor in this movie.
The discovery of Newt was pretty interesting but a little unbelievable because she is able to avoid the aliens somehow but no one else on the colony was able to do so. I do think the young girl (Carrie Henn) did a great job in this role. It is still shocking to me that after completing this role and being involved in one of the most iconic and famous sci-fi franchises of all time, Carrie decided never to act again.
Now briefly I'm going to gripe a little bit about eye-rolling moments that happened in the film.
The marines have motion sensors that is their only way of knowing the aliens are getting near. However, during their final stand they seem to be surrounded but there are no aliens about. No one thinks the check in the ceilings until it is too late. they spent all that time welding doors shut only to be thwarted by a crawl space. What the hell is the point of giant metallic doors if the ceiling is false?
The marines first enter the building the timers on each individual camera goes back and forth in time. I know this is nitpicky, but continuity people!
Bishop is an android yet gets put in a cryo-chamber for long-distance travel anyway. He doesn't age, he doesn't need this.
There is a scene where one of the marines get's alien acid blood on him, melting his armor and causing skin burns. The burn initially happen on the right side of his face, however later the burns magically jump to the other side.
When they first arrive on the planet they run through the pouring rain to the entrance of the facility. Upon arriving at the entrance they are all completely dry. This exact scene is actually in the trailer.
I suppose I shouldn't have ended with my gripes, because I love this film despite these nitpicky details (there are more.) This is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made in my mind and it still looks good by today's standards. I'm a sci-fi nerd so I might be a little biased in my review. So be it.