Aliens

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Paul & Amy invade 1986’s James Cameron space action classic Aliens! They learn what this film had in common with Platoon, ask why the aliens feel less threatening here than they did in the first film, and try not to call Ripley ‘badass.’ Plus: Do the deleted scenes that give more backstory to Ripley help or hurt her character?

Next week Unspooled’s space series concludes with Apollo 13! You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/unspooledpodcast, and on Paul’s Discord at https://discord.gg/ZwtygZGTa6. Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. You can also listen to our Stitcher Premium game show Screen Test right now at https://www.stitcher.com/show/unspooled-screen-test, and apply to be a contestant at unspooledpod@gmail.com! Photo credit: Kim Troxall

[hahmstrung 12]

Well, I'm really glad I decided to watch Aliens right after Alien for the previous pod! Can't wait to listen to the episode. And yeah, this gets shot to space, no question. Both films are masterpieces of cinema in their own right.

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

It's a great action movie. Very rewatchable and entertaining. It fleshes out Ripley's character and the greater world of the Xenomorph in interesting ways, as a good sequel should, without also falling into the trap of just trying to remake the original as a lot of sequels do. A lot of the critics complain about how Aliens doesn't replicate the spare, existential dread of Alien, but honestly . . . it couldn't have done that and shouldn't have tried. Going back to try to destroy the aliens was the next logical move for a sequel. The encounter is naturally going to play out differently if the humans are prepared this time.

I understand the criticisms of James Cameron too, in that his worldview tends to be pretty simplistic and binary, good guys over here and bad guys over there and that's it. But he should also get credit for executing this kind of narratively simplistic action movie about as well as anyone ever could, outside of Steven Spielberg. He plays you like a fiddle: long introduction to get you to invest, then growing tension and a big set-piece to release the pressure, then throttle back for more character or world-building until the next one ups the stakes even further, etc. The movie is really well-structured, with very little fat on the bone (at least in the original cut).

I also think Cameron should get credit for SOME nuance here. The hoo-rah stuff gives way to sheer terror and the civilian Ripley taking the reins after the Marines get decimated in their first encounter. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement of the military-industrial complex. Hicks seems like the soldier who is least interested in proving how tough he is (and the one who trusts Ripley the most), so of course he's the one who survives. Another one of my big issues with other Cameron movies is that when he writes a non-robot villain character he just pushes them into cartoon territory (think Billy Zane in Titanic), but in Aliens there are at least some interesting facets and motivations to Burke. It's the one time he wrote a human villain who seems like a real person.

All of that said, I voted against Aliens. I think the original Alien is better and a better representative for the series, and for this kind of Cameron action movie I'd probably tap one of the Terminator movies before this one, as much as I enjoy it.

[FictionIsntReal 79]

I already explained why I rank Alien about Aliens in the previous thread, so I won't repeat myself.

Cameron wanted to adapt Jurassic Park, and his version would have been an R-rated horror movie. After Spielberg got the rights and did his version, Cameron ultimately concluded his original conception wasn't as good.

Crichton was essentially re-using his Westworld idea (which in turn was a sort of proto-Terminator) when he wrote Jurassic Park. As you note, a movie actually inspired by Aliens is Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, which began as a script titled "Bug Hunt on Planet 9" (taking the phrase "bug hunt" from this movie) and was only tied to the Heinlein novel later (which Verhoeven didn't read because he disliked the early chapters).

Ridley Scott may be a colder filmmaker than Cameron (hence his recurring interest in androids), but he's also more varied. Cameron spent years exploring the ocean while Scott kept up a pace of a movie nearly every year... and the only sequels he's made are Prometheus & Alien: Covenant. Scott can afford to make some very different films which can be quite hit or miss because he's not constantly trying to double the budget of his last film and invent a new filmmaking technology.

[hahmstrung 12]

I suppose I can't be too upset that Aliens got voted off the spaceship since Alien was booted along with it. I'm not sure I can get behind a list of the best films of all time (or is it a list of films that best represents humanity?) that doesn't include two of the most influential and entertaining American horror films, but at least it's consistent.

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

4 hours ago, hahmstrung said:

I suppose I can't be too upset that Aliens got voted off the spaceship since Alien was booted along with it. I'm not sure I can get behind a list of the best films of all time (or is it a list of films that best represents humanity?) that doesn't include two of the most influential and entertaining American horror films, but at least it's consistent.

Well, on this board the vote was unanimous in favor of Alien. On the Facebook group, the vote was also strongly in favor of both movies. Paul and Amy aren't the only votes!