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Aliens

  • 1986
  • R
  • 2h 17m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
733K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
401
108
Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn in Aliens (1986)
Trailer 5 for Aliens
Play trailer0:31
18 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureSci-Fi

Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.

  • Director
    • James Cameron
  • Writers
    • James Cameron
    • David Giler
    • Walter Hill
  • Stars
    • Sigourney Weaver
    • Michael Biehn
    • Carrie Henn
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.4/10
    733K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    401
    108
    • Director
      • James Cameron
    • Writers
      • James Cameron
      • David Giler
      • Walter Hill
    • Stars
      • Sigourney Weaver
      • Michael Biehn
      • Carrie Henn
    • 1.5KUser reviews
    • 219Critic reviews
    • 84Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #67
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 20 wins & 23 nominations total

    Videos18

    Aliens
    Trailer 0:31
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    Aliens
    Trailer 0:32
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    Aliens
    Trailer 1:58
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    Aliens
    Trailer 1:51
    Watch Aliens
    Aliens | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:37
    Watch Aliens | Anniversary Mashup
    'The Platform' & Future Films From the IMDb Top 250
    Clip 4:04
    Watch 'The Platform' & Future Films From the IMDb Top 250
    A Guide to the Films of James Cameron
    Clip 1:27
    Watch A Guide to the Films of James Cameron
    Aliens: 30th Anniversary Edition
    Clip 1:25
    Watch Aliens: 30th Anniversary Edition
    Aliens: 30th Anniversary Edition
    Clip 1:55
    Watch Aliens: 30th Anniversary Edition
    Aliens: Get Away From Her
    Clip 1:58
    Watch Aliens: Get Away From Her
    Aliens: Newt
    Clip 1:36
    Watch Aliens: Newt
    Aliens: 57 Years
    Clip 1:23
    Watch Aliens: 57 Years

    Photos451

    Sigourney Weaver in Aliens (1986)
    James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver in Aliens (1986)
    James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, and Michael Biehn in Aliens (1986)
    Sigourney Weaver in Aliens (1986)
    Bill Paxton, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein, and Paul Reiser in Aliens (1986)
    Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn in Aliens (1986)
    James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver in Aliens (1986)
    Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn in Aliens (1986)
    Barbara Coles in Aliens (1986)
    Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn in Aliens (1986)
    Aliens (1986)
    Aliens (1986)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sigourney Weaver
    Sigourney Weaver
    • Ripley
    Michael Biehn
    Michael Biehn
    • Corporal Hicks
    Carrie Henn
    Carrie Henn
    • Newt
    Paul Reiser
    Paul Reiser
    • Burke
    Lance Henriksen
    Lance Henriksen
    • Bishop
    Bill Paxton
    Bill Paxton
    • Private Hudson
    William Hope
    William Hope
    • Lieutenant Gorman
    Jenette Goldstein
    Jenette Goldstein
    • Private Vasquez
    Al Matthews
    Al Matthews
    • Sergeant Apone
    Mark Rolston
    Mark Rolston
    • Private Drake
    Ricco Ross
    Ricco Ross
    • Private Frost
    Colette Hiller
    Colette Hiller
    • Corporal Ferro
    Daniel Kash
    Daniel Kash
    • Private Spunkmeyer
    Cynthia Dale Scott
    Cynthia Dale Scott
    • Corporal Dietrich
    • (as Cynthia Scott)
    Tip Tipping
    • Private Crowe
    Trevor Steedman
    • Private Wierzbowski
    Paul Maxwell
    Paul Maxwell
    • Van Leuwen
    Valerie Colgan
    Valerie Colgan
    • ECA Rep
    • Director
      • James Cameron
    • Writers
      • James Cameron
      • David Giler
      • Walter Hill
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Like most films, the movie wasn't shot in sequence. But for added realism, James Cameron filmed the scene where we first meet the Colonial Marines (one of the earliest scenes) last. This was so that the camaraderie of the Marines was realistic because the actors had spent months filming together.
    • Goofs
      [21:00]When Bishop is "doing the thing with knife" the scene is sped up to give the impression that Bishop is lightning fast. Apone can be seen rocking his head back and forth, also at a ridiculous speed.
    • Quotes

      Private Hudson: Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?

      Private Vasquez: No. Have you?

    • Crazy credits
      As the final credits fade, there is the sound of a facehugger scurrying across from left to right.
    • Alternate versions
      The Finnish VHS version rated K16 is cut with 3 minutes and 42 seconds. Some gory murders done by the aliens, some acid-to-the-face scenes, and pretty oddly the entire "fingers and knife"-game between the soldier and Bishop, and just a shot of Newt in the water and couple of aliens rising up to the surface, are cut out. The scene in the movie's ending, where the alien queen rips Bishop in half is heavily cut too. The Finnish video version re-release is still heavily cut (3 minutes and 3 seconds), although it's a little more complete (at least the "fingers and knife"-game is intact). The cuts on both versions were applied by the distributor.
    • Connections
      Edited into Attack of the 50 Foot Monster Mania (1999)

    User reviews1.5K

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Excellent sequel--matches the brilliance of the first film
    Series note: It is strongly advised that you watch this film only after seeing Alien (1979). This is a direct continuation of that story.

    57 years after the events of the first film, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is found and awakened from hyper sleep to discover that a terraforming colony has been set up on LV-426, the planet wherein she and her fellow crew of the mining cargo spaceship Nostromo first encountered the titular aliens. When Earth-based communications loses contact with LV-426, a band of marines are sent to investigate, taking Ripley and a representative from the company that financed the colony, Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) along for the ride.

    For the difficult job of following up Ridley Scott's excellent Alien, director James Cameron decided to go a completely different route--to make a fast moving, slightly tongue-in-cheek, boisterous action extravaganza. Remarkably, he was able to do that while still maintaining a stylistic and literary continuity that melds Aliens seamlessly with the first film.

    Ripley is much more fully developed in this film, although unfortunately, some of the most significant scenes were deleted from the theatrical release (if at all possible, watch the 2-hour and 37-minute director's cut instead). Cameron fashioned Aliens into a grand arc where Ripley's actions at the end of the film have much more meaning as she's not only fighting monsters, but also fighting to retain a semblance of something she lost due to her 57-year hyper sleep. As in the first film, she is still the most intelligent, courageous and resourceful member of the crew, but she has much more colorful company.

    The marines accompanying Ripley back to LV-426 may be too cartoonish for some tastes (as for viewers of that opinion, most of the action and the film overall is likely to be too cartoonish), but for anyone more agreeable to that kind of caricatured exaggeration, it's a joy to watch. I'm a big fan of both Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen, and both turn in wonderfully over-the-top performances, at their diametrically opposed ends of the emotional spectrum--Paxton as the spastic surfer/redneck and Henriksen as the intense, moody sage, with a surprising reality and an even more surprising conscience to go along with it. We also get a cigar-chomping Sergeant, a crazy, butch Private, and a complex, pensive Corporal as main characters, and a mysterious, bright young girl (played in a terrific performance by Carrie Henn). Much of the center section of the film hinges on the interrelationships of these characters, despite the action trappings going on around them.

    Cameron carries over the crypt/labyrinth motif of the first film, and adds a metaphorical descent into the bowels of hell in the climax. The action throughout is suspenseful. Aliens contains one of my favorite "cat fights" in any film. It's also worth noting the influence this film may have had on Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers (1997)--although admittedly, we could say that Cameron was influenced a bit by the Robert A. Heinlein book, as well. Throughout all of the varied action sequences, as well as the important early scenes of colonists on LV-426, Cameron is able to clearly convey the logistics of very complex sets, so that viewers remain on the edges of their seats.

    Part of what makes the monsters so effective is that we're not told too much about them. We only get glimpses into their physiology's, their behavioral patterns and their intelligence. Cameron gives us just enough to become wrapped up in the film, but not so much that we become overly familiar with the aliens, or start to question the logic behind the film. He also smartly carries over some devices from the first film that were abandoned to an extent, such as the acidic blood of the aliens, and he supplies answers to the few questions that the first film raised, such as why the blood doesn't corrode instruments and objects when a dead alien is examined.

    Aliens is yet another example of a sequel that is just as good as an original film in a series. Just make sure you watch both in order, and try to watch the director's cuts.
    helpful•328
    59
    • BrandtSponseller
    • Feb 7, 2005

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    FAQ44

    • Why was Newt afraid of Ripley & the Marines? They were human.
    • How long could Ripley have survived in her stasis pod while drifting through space if she hadn't been found after 57 years?
    • Since there's no gravity in outer space why does the dropship fall away from the main ship so fast? Does it have engines on top of it pushing it down and away from the main ship?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 18, 1986 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Disney+ Hotstar (id)
      • HBOMAX
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Alien 2
    • Filming locations
      • Acton Lane Power Station, Acton Lane, Acton, London, England, UK(atmosphere processing station, now demolished)
    • Production companies
      • Twentieth Century Fox
      • Brandywine Productions
      • Pinewood Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $18,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $85,160,248
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $10,052,042
      • Jul 20, 1986
    • Gross worldwide
      • $131,060,248
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 17 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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