Being a bit of a pessimist (or optimist), I will explain that movies numbered 3, 2, and 1 are all perfect in my head. They deserve a 100% score, but I am hoping that there is either a movie that I haven’t seen or is yet to be made that is better than these three and will need a score 1 higher than these. Yet I have not seen it and fear that these cannot be improved on so I will be more than content watching these movies over and over again… Number 3 on my list is ‘Aliens’ another 80’s movie. Released in 1986 strongly influenced by James Cameron. Based on the characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett the story was by David Giler, Walter Hill and Cameron. The screenplay was all Cameron’s but was produced by Gale Anne Hurd with of course James Cameron directing. Music by James Horner and all made of a budget of $18.5m. This one had success at the box office and was a sequel as well (I know – shock horror!) this returned a disputed figure of between $130m to $184m depending on where you get your box-office figures. Critically it was liked straight off the bat and that continued with current scores with IMDb giving it a score of 8.3 out of 10 and the other usual reviewer Rotten Tomatoes gave it a whopping 97%. Which I just love!! This also has a nice big cast, so I get to do another list of characters in the plot. Which I know you know I love also. This movie led to a third movie called Alien 3 and then Alien (4) Resurrection then the franchise crossed over with Predator making Alien v Predator then a second movie before Ridley Scott brought it back to just Alien(s) with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant and there’s rumours of another movie coming. Enough background Myers get on to the plot already!!
Following the conclusion of the first movie, Ripley is found floating in space and brought to earth and her employers at the Wayland-Yutani Corporation and she is debriefed but her claims of alien eggs and a derelict ship in this planet are not believed. Having found the planet whilst Ellen Ripley was in statis for 57 years they have renamed it LV-426. She explains that her ship was destroyed because of this Alien. She again is not really believed. She points out that the planet is there, and they could go look for themselves. The panel’s response is they do not need to as its already got a terraforming colonist are already there setting up the planet to be able to host human life. They haven’t complained about any Aliens or spaceship wrecks. Ripley gets a job in the docks until the corporation rep comes a knocking on her door. Having lost contact with the people on LV-426 they are sending a troop of bad ass marines along with what might be an expert and the corporate rep down to LV-426 to find out what happened. Who’s the expert – well Ellen Ripley of course. The two men that knocked on her door will be going namely the corporate rep - Burke and the commanding officer Gorman. She eventually agrees to go as long they are going to kill and not bring back. *List time* the squad consists of Scott Gorman commanding officer, Gunnery Sergeant Apone, Corporal Hicks, Dietrich, and Ferro, Privates – Spunkmeyer, Frost, Drake, Vasquez, Hudson, and Bishop who is an android. Due to the actions of the last movie Ripley does not like the fact that Bishop is an android. This group land on LV-426 leaving Ferro the pilot and Spunkmeyer on the ship ready to collect them again. Finding the base apparently empty with no signs of life they quickly conclude that it is safe for the civilians and Commander Gorman can enter as well. Using motion trackers, they find something moving and track it down to be a young girl by the name of Rebecca Jorden nicknamed Newt. She comes under the wing of Ripley who becomes a replacement mother seeing as hers and everyone else is apparently dead killed by the aliens that have taken over the colony. The troop track down the monitors on the colonists and see they are all gathered at the core area. The troop arm up and head off to the core. Realising where they are heading Ellen asks about whether they could blow the whole place up should they fire when in there. Burke agrees and Gorman tells them to give up their ammo. Heading into a warm moist perfect area for a nest with no way of fighting back the troop head into hell. What happens next is for you to find out if you haven’t seen it.
What a fantastic movie, you boys get to watch a troop of bad ass marines prepare for a mission they have no idea how bad its going to turn. The audience just like Ripley knows how bad one of these things are and there are hundreds of colonists who have potentially been host to one of these things there could be hundreds ready to hunt this small number of soldiers. Let alone having the corporation organising things from a distance to make more money from this situation. The film has so many quotes that are used by all walks of life and even people that haven’t seen the movie still quote it. Each marine you meet has their own character and you can love and hate each one depending on your own personal feeling. This was nominated for (I think) 7 Oscar’s and won 2 which for a sci-fi horror in the 80’s was unheard of. It has some of the most kick ass visions of futuristic weaponry and technology with basic and ‘old’ technology like shotguns and flamethrowers. This movie has it all and it simply worked to create a feeling of sheer joy and foreboding creeping of knowing that the brown stuff is going to hit that fan any moment. When it does rather than the bug hunt you have a full-on war between humans trying to stay alive and a swarm of killer aliens after the next meal. On so many different layers this movie kicks so many other movies arse. It is simply better than nearly any movie out there. Oh, and you want to see the girl that played newt again? Enrol in school as she never appeared in any other movie, she became a teacher and last I hear was teaching 4th grade in a school in the states. The rest of the actors in this movie just went on to become legends so here is the list… Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, Mark Rolston. Ricco Ross, Daniel Kash, Tip Tipping, Al Matthews and William Hope. Just wow. Is there anyway to top a movie with this much action the answer is no there is not another action orientated movie out there better than this one. If there is, I haven’t seen it yet and the directors cut made it even longer which meant even more to enjoy. Seriously if you haven’t seen this movie then I may have to cut our friendship. It is that good.
Next up is the number two movie followed but the number one, I think I’ll stop the clues now…
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