While severely limited by a tight budget, Aliens plays like James Cameron operating completely off the leash. The ad campaign promised “This Time It’s War” and Cameron did not let the audience down. While the first half is completely Alien free , the back half is so hyper-adrenalized it’s like all Aliens all the time. James Horner’s metallic, military score pours over one of the greatest thrill rides ever constructed.
James Cameron must be a big Howard Hawks fan. Both share a joy for placing everyday laborers under extreme conditions. Even the soldiers here aren’t an elite squad, just your typical cross section of gung-ho types. Eventually responsibility falls to Hicks, a mere Corporal whose reluctant to make tough decisions but doesn’t think twice about throwing himself into a glass window to face the enemy. Michael Biehn plays Cameron’s version of an everyman beautifully and Cameron repays him with many unforgettably cool moments. In particular, when he sticks his pump shotgun into an Alien’s mouth, that might be the coolest moment in an action scene ever. It’s at least right up there with Indiana Jones and the sword guy.
The other marines do fairly well, making an impression with limited dialogue. (“Look into my eye.” Sgt. Apone grew up on a steady diet of Hawks-isms.) Even Wierzbowski is memorable, if only for his name. The obvious standout is Jenette Goldstein as Vasquez. I love her unspoken relationship with Drake. You can tell there’s more to their story just by how they work together. Her final line to Gorman is perfect. I don’t have anything new to say about Sigourney Weaver’s “beyond the call of duty” performance or Paul Reiser, whose Burke is one of cinema’s greatest slimeballs. (Love how at his introduction he admits that he works for the company, but assures Ripley he’s actually a nice guy.)
Back to Cameron who shows the absolute right way to make a sequel. He takes Ridley Scott’s established groundwork, stays true to it while expanding the universe to accommodate his own creative ideas. Cameron plays with audience expectations, like how you never trust Bishop the android right through till the very end. He also begins his film with a slow, visually cool scene that looks like Alien before easing you into his own blue and red palette. When the Aliens pour out from the walls, that’s the director saying goodbye to the Geiger inspired art direction for good. The film becomes pure Big Jim.
Cameron’s greatest effect however is The Alien Queen, which just might be the last of the great pre-CGI effects. I’ve seen the test footage, but on camera I have no idea how he got the material that made for two of the most spectacular sequences in science fiction. There’s a tangibility to this marvel that even the best computer graphics has yet to duplicate and it never looks less than 100% credible, whether lifting up grates or taking on Ripley in her power loader.
The scene where Ripley and Newt are set up to be hosts for two face-huggers would be my on-set film school. It showcases Cameron’s ability to make the impossible look and feel real. Something he does without a moment of computer graphics. The movement of the face huggers is astonishing, aided greatly by the editing to hide their limitations and some tail-whipping sounds in Post. It’s scary, exciting and really fun to watch.
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