{"id":699826,"date":"2026-07-19T11:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T11:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/699826\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T11:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T11:01:19","slug":"40-years-later-james-camerons-aliens-still-beats-ridley-scotts-original-i-said-what-i-said","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/699826\/","title":{"rendered":"40 years later, James Cameron’s ‘Aliens’ still beats Ridley Scott\u2019s original. I said what I said"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1986, Ellen Ripley teamed up with the Colonial Marines to fight terrifying extraterrestrial creatures in \u201cAliens.\u201d Written and directed by James Cameron, \u201cAliens\u201d is the sci-fi sequel to 1979\u2019s \u201cAlien,\u201d<\/a> Ridley Scott\u2019s groundbreaking horror that first introduced audiences to the Xenomorph that wreaks havoc on the unlucky humans who cross its path.<\/p>\n

\u201cAliens,\u201d which celebrates its 40th anniversary in July, is a landmark film. It\u2019s probably not as influential as \u201cAlien,\u201d but Cameron\u2019s entry in the franchise carved its own path in film history, where it frequently appears on lists of the greatest sequels and action movies ever made. If you give me the choice to watch one, I\u2019ll choose \u201cAliens\u201d over \u201cAlien\u201d without thinking twice.<\/p>\n

\u2018Aliens\u2019 is not \u2018Alien,\u2019 and that\u2019s the secret to its success<\/p>\n

One thing I want to make clear: I\u2019m not disparaging \u201cAlien\u201d to prop up \u201cAliens.\u201d Scott\u2019s film is truly spectacular. \u201cAlien\u201d is a haunted-house thriller that popularized the space horror genre. It\u2019s a chamber piece featuring spine-tingling atmospheric horror that induces anxiety and claustrophobia. The chestburster sequence remains an all-time scene in the genre\u2019s long history.<\/p>\n

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Obviously, there is no \u201cAliens\u201d without \u201cAlien,\u201d so the latter deserves immense props. If I\u2019m sitting down to watch an \u201cAlien\u201d movie, I prefer the boisterous action and thrills of the sequel instead of the suspenseful chills of the predecessor.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s travel back to the 1980s. How do you make a sequel to a flawless movie? The easy answer is to remake \u201cAlien.\u201d Take what worked in the original movie and repeat it in the sequel, also known as a “sequel-remake.” I\u2019m sure Cameron\u2019s version of \u201cJaws in Space 2\u201d would have been effective, but unoriginal.<\/p>\n

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Aliens (1986) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers – YouTube
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Cameron knew he couldn\u2019t remake \u201cAlien.\u201d Instead of horror, he pivoted toward action. \u201cAliens\u201d has scary moments, but Cameron didn\u2019t set out to make a scary movie. \u201cIt\u2019s scary, but it\u2019s not as scary but more intense, and I like to use the word exhilarating,\u201d Cameron told Lofficier<\/a>. \u201cI think you get exhilarated by the intensity of the kind of action that\u2019s in this film.\u201d<\/p>\n

The beginning of the movie spends about 25 minutes setting the scene. It\u2019s the calm before the storm. After 57 years in stasis, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is found by a Weyland-Yutani ship. Weyland-Yutani rep Carter J. Burke (Paul Reiser) asks Ripley to accompany a group of Marines to investigate a new terraforming colony that has lost contact with the company. Once Ripley gets on the spaceship with the Marines, buckle up because this movie is about to fly.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAlien\u201d is a movie where you\u2019re waiting for the titular Xenomorph to strike. You\u2019re constantly in a state of fear while fully knowing bad things are about to happen. Conversely, \u201cAliens\u201d is a movie built around fast-paced action. It\u2019s a war movie, as humans take the fight to the aliens. The Marines fight back with guns, bombs, and fire, but most of the weapons prove ineffective in this battle. Human invasion in a foreign territory for capitalistic purposes is a theme Cameron would reexamine in his \u201cAvatar\u201d films.<\/p>\n

And the obvious difference between the two movies is one letter: \u201cs.\u201d The villain of \u201cAlien\u201d is the lone Xenomorph on the ship. Cameron, a filmmaker who loves spectacle, expands the threat from one Xenomorph to dozens of creatures and even throws in a queen.<\/p>\n

Sigourney Weaver becomes an action icon<\/p>\n

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\"Sigourney\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Alamy)<\/p>\n

Had there only been one \u201cAlien\u201d movie, Sigourney Weaver would have still been a respectable action heroine. Ripley\u2019s strength in \u201cAlien\u201d is her instincts. It\u2019s a survival of the fittest, and Ripley is the last one standing on the Nostromo. She has a heroic moment with the alien in the final moments when she opens the shuttle door and blasts the creature into space.<\/p>\n

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In \u201cAliens,\u201d Ripley becomes an action icon. Cameron smartly makes Ripley a passive observer to start. She\u2019s there to assist the Marines in their journey, not take part in the battle. However, the aliens eventually ambush the Marines at the processing station<\/a>, forcing Ripley to assume command and save the surviving soldiers. It\u2019s a riveting sequence that transforms the movie, as the conquerors (humans) become the conquered, and the only shot at getting off the exomoon is to follow the only person who walked away alive from a similar situation: Ripley.<\/p>\n

What makes Ripley such an iconic hero is her relatability. She neither wears a cape nor has superpowers. She\u2019s brave in the face of danger and uses her wits to escape dire situations. I\u2019m not saying I could be Ellen Ripley \u2014 I\u2019m likely one of the first ones to die in an alien scenario. However, I can at least relate to her feelings of fear, anxiety, and vulnerability throughout the sequel.<\/p>\n

Ripley vs. the Xenomorph Queen [CLIP] | Aliens (1986) | TNT – YouTube
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This relatability is what makes her heroic act at the end of the film that much more special. The film is building toward a showdown between Ripley and the queen. Ripley, acting as Newt\u2019s de facto mother, defends the young girl in an exosuit cargo loader, aka the futuristic forklift. Ripley delivers her iconic line<\/a> and successfully sends the creature out of the airlock into space, cementing her status as an action icon.<\/p>\n

Weaver\u2019s groundbreaking performance resulted in a Best Actress Oscar nomination, a rarity for an actress in a sci-fi movie. Without Ripley, there is no Imperator Furiosa, the Bride, Alice, Trinity, Lara Croft, and, of course, Sarah Connor.<\/p>\n

\u2018Aliens\u2019 lasting legacy<\/p>\n

\u201cAliens\u201d was well-reviewed upon its release in 1986. However, no one was throwing out the phrases \u201cgreatest sequel of all time\u201d or \u201cbest action movie ever.\u201d Eventually, people started coming around and realized Cameron\u2019s movie rewrote the book on how to make a proper sequel, one with fresh ideas and new ways of advancing the story.<\/p>\n

Who knows where the \u201cAlien\u201d franchise would be without \u201cAliens\u201d? The sequel\u2019s success spawned additional films, video games, novels, and comic books. That doesn\u2019t even count all of the future franchises it inspired in the years since.<\/p>\n

Alien: Earth | Official Trailer | FX – YouTube
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Cameron broke out with \u201cThe Terminator,\u201d but \u201cAliens\u201d proved he wasn\u2019t a one-hit wonder. It also showed he could elevate franchises, a muscle he continued to flex in \u201cT2\u201d and the \u201cAvatar\u201d movies.<\/p>\n

So next time you\u2019re discussing the best sequels, make sure someone mentions the movie where Bill Paxton hilariously says he\u2019s on an \u201cexpress elevator to hell<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch “Aliens” with purchase on Prime Video<\/a> and Apple TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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