Aliens (1986)

The moon from Alien (1979) has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, the rescue team has impressive firepower, but will it be enough?

Director:

James Cameron

Writers:

James Cameron (story), David Giler (story)

Stars:

Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn

Top Rated Movies #64 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sigourney Weaver	...	Ripley
Carrie Henn	...	Newt
Michael Biehn	...	Corporal Hicks
Paul Reiser	...	Burke
Lance Henriksen	...	Bishop
Bill Paxton	...	Private Hudson
William Hope	...	Lieutenant Gorman
Jenette Goldstein	...	Private Vasquez
Al Matthews	...	Sergeant Apone
Mark Rolston	...	Private Drake
Ricco Ross	...	Private Frost
Colette Hiller	...	Corporal Ferro
Daniel Kash	...	Private Spunkmeyer
Cynthia Dale Scott	...	Corporal Dietrich (as Cynthia Scott)
Tip Tipping	...	Private Crowe

Storyline

Fifty seven years after Ellen Ripley survived her disastrous ordeal, her escape vessel is recovered after drifting across the galaxy as she slept in cryogenic stasis. Back on earth, nobody believed her story about the "Aliens" on the moon LV-426. After the "Company" orders the colony on LV-426 to investigate, however, all communication with the colony is lost. The Company enlists Ripley to aid a team of tough, rugged space marines on a rescue mission to the now partially terraformed moon to find out if there are aliens or survivors. As the mission unfolds, Ripley will be forced to come to grips with her worst nightmare, but even as she does, she finds that the worst is yet to come.

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Plot Keywords:

rescue mission | space marine | alien | monster | human versus alien | 

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Taglines:

This time there's more.

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Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for monster violence, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 July 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alien 2

Filming Locations:

Acton Lane Power Station, Acton Lane, Acton, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$18,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$85,200,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Brandywine Productions, SLM Production Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min 154 min (special edition)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is one of two films in which Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton would play roles on the same team as the Marines. Then again in Tombstone as enemies, only 7 years later. Michael Biehn as Johnny Ringo and Bill Paxton as Morgan Earp.

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Goofs

The marines are supposed to be "Colonial Marines" but yet they have the patch of the American Flag on their uniforms (one of these patches is clearly visible on Gorman's uniform). Their full title is actually "US Colonial Marines" so an American flag would not be surprising. According to the Aliens VS Predator universe, the United States as we know it right now has evolved by the time of the movie (assuming that the movie is in the AVP universe), it's known as the "United Americas", so the American Flag patch on the Marines' uniforms makes no sense as is Burke and Bishop mentioning some American States (i.e., Wisconsin and Nebraska respectively).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Salvage Team Leader: Bio-readouts are all in the green, looks like she's alive. Well, there goes our salvage, guys.

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Crazy Credits

The ALIENS title forms slowly during the opening credits. The full title isn't seen until the opening credits are finished, and the "I" illuminates brightly.

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Connections

Referenced in Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)

User Reviews

Gets better every time I see it

I am just going to add my voice to the chorus of praise for this movie. It is as near to being perfect as any I have ever seen. I will not say that it is much better than Alien - which is just about near to being perfect also. But I do love all the characters in this movie. I have rarely seen a movie where all the characters were so well developed. Even most serious dramas seldom develops each character so completely. None of these characters are stereotypes even Paul Reiser as Burke, although the slimy company/government man villain is a prerequisite in disaster type movies. I would almost say that my favorite is Michael Beihn as Hicks, just because I like his work & consider him to be underrated. But I also like Lance Henriksen as Bishop, William Hope as Lt. Gorman, Bill Paxton as Hudson, and of course, Jenette Goldstein as Vasquez. I liked all of these characters. I cared about their lives & deaths. The final scene for Gorman & Vasquez still chokes me up after seeing it many times.

I am not ignoring Sigourney Weaver or Carrie Henn. Ripley is the template for the modern action heroine. In the 24 years since Alien, few have been able to measure up to Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. Even in Alien 3 & 4, Ripley was still powerful, despite the 3ed rate quality of the movies. As for Carrie Henn as Newt, she was the emotional heart of Aliens. Cameron's ability to develop well rounded characters does not detract from his ability to create great action scenes or to scare the audience out of a several years of growth.