40 years after its original release in theaters, one of James Cameron‘s best sci-fi movies is returning to streaming to terrorize a new generation of viewers. With films like Avatar: The Way of Water and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, there’s no doubt that the director has a special skill for making sequels that surpass their predecessors in many ways. However, with this essential sci-fi film, Cameron delivered a superb expansion of a universe that he hadn’t created. For a full 137 minutes, the director basically makes us forget about the original with the depiction of a world (and its monsters) that went from scary to downright terrifying.
‘Aliens’ Cemented Cameron’s Status as a Master of Blockbuster Filmmaking
The film is Aliens, Cameron’s brave attempt at following up on the 1979 classic by Ridley Scott. With the original laying down the foundations of sci-fi horror, Cameron faced a difficult task, given that he had to make a follow-up that didn’t feel like a copy. Fortunately, his vision remained uncompromised, and although it had a troubled production, the director delivered one of the greatest sci-fi sequels of all time.
Aliens takes place 57 years after the events of the first film, when Ellen Ripley defeated the xenomorphs, becoming the sole survivor of the Nostromo crew. The Weyland-Yutani Corporation discovers her escape pod, where Ripley has been in stasis for decades. She soon learns that the colony on the moon where the Nostromo encountered the aliens has stopped making contact.
Ripley is eventually recruited to guide a group of soldiers on a rescue mission, and unsurprisingly, they find that there’s a reason why humans stopped making contact. However, there’s more than the lone xenomorph Ripley fought in the first film.
Released in July 1986, Aliens grossed more than $183 million against a production budget of $18.5 million, effectively cementing Cameron’s status as a blockbuster mastermind (he had previously made The Terminator, which had grossed more than ten times its budget). The sequel was also well received by critics and earned seven nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Sigourney Weaver. Of its Oscar nominations, it won Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects Editing.
‘Aliens’ Is One of the Greatest Sci-Fi Movies (And Sequels) Ever Made
Aliens has long been considered one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made, despite being a sequel and the common stereotype that sequels are inferior. The critical reception has improved over time, and today it holds a 93% critics’ score and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (for comparison, 1979’s Alien has the same ratings). It is officially James Cameron’s highest-rated film.
Naturally, there has always been a strong debate about whether Aliens is better than its predecessor. The 1979 original introduced audiences to a new kind of threat – an extraterrestrial nightmare unlike any audiences had seen before – whereas Aliens lacked that element of surprise. Nevertheless, Cameron uses the sequel to expand the mythology of the creatures that would eventually become iconic in science fiction. Additionally, the movie further established Ripley as one of the most memorable female figures in cinema. Alien is a major sci-fi film that inevitably flows into horror, while Aliens adds action and offers more exposition of the antagonistic creatures.
Those who have never seen Aliens will get another chance to watch it next month. The film will arrive on Hulu on November 1, where it will stream alongside other new arrivals such as War for the Planet of the Apes, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and The Meg films starring Jason Statham.
