Here is where we begin to see the hallmark of the Alien series come into play: although Cameron deftly grafts his narrative onto that of the original film, he reinvents the concept in a totally different style. A new director, at the time generally untried (Titanic but a gleam in his eye), reinvents the series utterly. Where the first one offered us a horror movie, Cameron offers up his specialty, pulse-pounding macho action (with, of course, his other specialty: the kick-ass female protagonist). It is not surprising that Weaver was nominated for an oscar for her performance here; this is the most supple incarnation of Ripley, rife with character development, and with the most comprehensive character arc that she is given in the whole series.

This is also the first film which begins to describe the alien birth vs. human motherhood metaphor, which will become a primary thematic struggle in all three sequels. Contentions of motherhood abound here: a (deleted) sequence describes Ripley's daughter, who died an old woman while Ripley was still in hypersleep; Ripley's relationship with Newt (Carrie Henn) will be the major driving plot point by the end of the film; the film introduces the Alien Queen, demonstrating that even evil bugs have mommies. The film plays nimbly with concepts of parental responsibility. Ripley feels guilt over abandoning her first daughter, which bring up feral mothering instincts when she meets Newt. Newt feels anger at her parents, who told her there were no monsters, then proceeded to be slaughtered by some. Burke (Paul Reiser, pre-Mad About You), the "parent" of the mission, is responsible for the discovery of the alien nest, but runs from that responsibility, bringing death and destruction on the squad. The marine unit, after the death of the "father," the delightful Sgt. Apone, struggles with who will assume the patriarchal burden.

If Ripley was rendered a supporting character in the original film, she is definitely the primary focus here. Cameron solves the key Sequel Dilemma (why would the character go back into what they just barely escaped last time) easily, providing Ripley with enough psychological motivation to kick the crap out of the bugs. Ripley's transformation through the film is wonderfully drawn: she makes it clear, at first, that she is not a soldier, but as it becomes increasingly clear that soldiering is the only way to defeat the aliens, she becomes one of cinemas prototypical female action stars. Her slow and inexorable move from shell-shocked timidity to tapping into her rage against the beasts drives the film forward as surely as her connection to Newt.

The supporting characters are among the most lively of the entire series, from Michael Biehn's meditative Cpl. Hicks, to Jenette Goldstein's Vasquez, Lance Henrikson's indispensable android Bishop, and of course, the show-stopper, Private Hudson, envigoratingly portrayed by Bill Paxton. Each of the above is killed or rendered useless through the course of the film, and to Cameron's great credit, each time, we stare in disbelief, not wanting the character to go. By the end, Ripley is all alone against her demon, the more mythological aspects of the storyline kick in.

And, of course, there is the Alien Queen, a terrific addition to the mythos, and a neat way to solve the "how to make these aliens more badass than the last aliens" problem. Stan Winston's creature design is a satisfying adaptation of Giger, and the final showdown between Ripley and the Queen (complete with Bishop getting ripped in half, which started it all for me) is amazing.

All that said, there is a quality lacking in Aliens that is present in the other three films; call it a gothicness, although that doesn't really do it justice. This is a pedal-to-the-metal action movie, but the other three contain elements of more psychological horror, as well as more Cronenberg-esque marriages of biomechanics, generating body revulsion that adds to the horror experience. Aliens comes off too straight-forward in light of the series as a whole; the other films will seem more perverse, sexier, and altogether more Alien-like than this.

Nonetheless, Cameron's film can generally be credited for setting the stage for the saga. He proved that the concept could be adapted, and that Ripley's story could go on. Many rank Aliens as their favourite of the four, and rightly so.

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