bob.

i just don't think the two are even comparable.....Alien is exactly what it is....an atmospheric, slow paced, suspense film set in space....it concentrates on feeling more than action...but when there is action it's beyond intense.

whereas Aliens is more like the Vietnam films of the 80s....all action...in this case also very intense action and just overloaded with it, great acting from everyone (not that Alien did not have great acting), and overall a fucking fun movie to watch....

out of the two i typically throw on Aliens when i'm in the mood....but i still think Alien is an actual masterpiece

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A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

Chula Vista

What I get more and more with subsequent viewings of Aliens is how emotion is involved and how characters changed over the course of the movie.

Ripley, the hard as stone uber female, evolving into full on protective mother by the end. "Leave her alone, you BITCH!"

Vasquez starts out hating Gorman but after he bravely goes back to try and save her they end up almost embracing as they blow themselves up in the air shaft.

Same with Bishop and Ripley. She, and us the audience, starts out completely distrusting him, and yet he turns out to be a hero who gains Ripley's trust.

The way Hicks starts out as boss but slowly gives leadership over to Ripley. And the funny and almost sweet flirting that goes on during the quiet moments.

And then there's Hudson. Dude completely loses it once the Aliens show up and becomes a blubbering mess. Then he gets that simple little salute from Newt while she's wearing the helmet and he starts getting it back together. And in his final scene he's a total killing machine. "Come on! Come on! Come and get it, baby! Come on! I don't got all day! Come on! Come on! Come on you bastard! Come on, you too! Oh, you want some of this? **** you!"

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“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

grindy

Vasquez and the others almost ruin the movie for me. I know they are supposed to be annoying, so it's more satisfying when they get all scared and killed off. But it's really overdone.

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A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.

The Batlord

I definitely agree with this, even though I still like the movie. It's like James Cameron got drunk and just wrote the most stereotypical military stereotypes he possibly could. You could replace any of those characters with one from Starship Troopers and never notice the difference.

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Chula Vista

I think that was the point. He had very little time to establish the characters before the action kicked into overdrive so none of them could be nuanced in any way. They were all basically caricatures.

Interesting tidbit. Jenette Goldstein (Vasquez) is the only actor to have appeared in Cameron's 3 biggest films. Aliens, Terminator 2 (John Connors' step-mom), and Titanic (Irish mom).

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“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard

T2 is so great, I want to watch it now.

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The Batlord

You can't defend weak characters by saying it would have been too hard to make them stronger.

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Chula Vista

As usual you totally missed my point. And Vasquez was far from a weak character. She had some of the best lines in the movie.

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

The Batlord

No she was a generic TOUGH CHICK(!!!) with not-at-all subtle dyke undercurrents.

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Chula Vista

.

__________________

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”