Which is better ALIEN or ALIENS? In my opinion, that question should not even be asked. They are polar opposites. Where ALIEN was claustrophobic, atmospheric and subtle...this sequel takes a totally different route going the action/packed, multi-alien carnage and "in your face" way. Granted, ALIENS doesn’t capture the artistry that ALIEN had going for it, but it doesn’t really attempt to either. It’s a whole different 69! Bottom line: both films are excellent in their own right and shouldn’t be compared.

ALIENS has the same ingredients than its predecessor but we basically get them all in extra high dosage. We get our alien eggs, some facehuggers, some chest bursters and plenty of alien creatures. All the bases are covered but with lots more rum in the coke!

You want ACTION? Check out the group of marines spreading heavy fire on a swarm of aliens with some rocking slow motion, an involving score in the background and catchy gun noises. Right here, beeyatch! What about DRAMA? You want some of that, too? Well, the mother/daughter-like relationship between Newt and Ripley will satisfy that craving. Actually, the director’s cut amplifies this because we are told that Ripley had a daughter who passed away while she was in cryo-sleep. And what about HUMOR? You want to chuckle a bit also? Well, I got one word for you: Hudson (Paxton)! He’s the only comic relief in the film and he cracked my pointy ass up! My fav line was, "What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They’re animals!!!" Hudson had me in stitches.

The good actors also make this movie even stronger. Most of the characters could have easily come across as one-dimensional nothings in this film, but the casting is so strong that all actors involved bring something “special” to their respective parts. I mean, I’ll always remember the brash Vasquez (Goldstein) or the silent Hicks (Biehn) or even the knife-happy Bishop (Henriksen). For some odd reason, I warmed up to the characters a lot in this film and that upped the stakes of the movie for me. I just didn’t want anybody to die! And when some of them did die...it hurt, baby!

I can’t help but admire this sequel for not only going in a totally different direction than the first, but also for taking its elements a step further. The alien mythology for example is largely expanded here. Gone is the lone phallic-like nuisance of the first. Now say "hello" to an intelligent insect-like community with alien soldiers, alien guards and of course, an alien Queen (freaking impressive). I also appreciated the theme of “birth” and “species survival” being stretched here to the theme of motherhood. Ripley protecting/loving Newt and the alien Queen watching over her eggs like a hawk; it gave the movie that extra layer and made way for the battle of the mommies.

There’s just one small thing that bothered me about this flick and that was its last plot point leading up to the big catfight. It’s basically a rehash of the original’s ending and although I bought it the first time around, I had lots of trouble buying it in this sequel. Without giving too much away, can someone please tell me how that huge “Queen” got in the thing (I’m trying to be vague) while it was flying? Yet alone fit IN the thing unnoticed! I didn’t buy it. Fortunately, the exciting bitch battle that followed made me forget all that. I just laid back and put my money on Ripley.

Sigourney Weaver (Ripley) is better here than in the first film. She’s focused and very credible (especially in her scenes with Carrie Henn). Michael Biehn (Hicks) is the shite. The guy can just stand there and you know what he’s thinking about. Charisma up the wazoo! Carrie Henn (Newt) is very believable as the scared little girl and brought a few smiles to my face (affirmative). Jennette Goldstein (Vasquez) is all pumped up and ready to go! She perfectly balances the toughness and the obvious affection she has towards her fellow Marines. Bill Paxton (Hudson) gets all of the best lines and brings much-needed laughs to the film. I loved him!

SCENE THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT IN THE DIRECTOR'S CUT: When Ripley is searching for Newt, she finds Burke who has been restrained and impregnated. Burke begs Ripley to shoot him, instead she hands him a grenade (this scene did not appear in the director's cut, but was filmed). Problem with this scene was that Burke couldn't have had a chestburster inside of him, because the impregnation was only one hour before, so he should've had a facehugger on his face instead. 

A draft of the script had Gorman paralyzed by a stinger on the tail of an alien instead of being clobbered by falling equipment on the head.

In an early draft of the script, Bishop claims to have been made by "CyberDyne". That’s the same company name that Cameron used in The Terminator films.

In the director’s cut, we see a picture of Ripley' daughter. That’s actually Sigourney Weaver's mother.

The line "…she thought they said illegal aliens and signed up..." by Hudson (Paxton) to Vasquez (Goldstein) has an inside joke to it. Jenette Goldstein (Vasquez) went to the ALIENS audition thinking that the film was about illegal immigrants. She arrived with long hair and mucho makeup. Every other actor there was wearing military-like clothing.

Al Matthews who plays Sergeant Apone in this film, is in real life the first black Marine to be promoted to the rank of sergeant in the field during service in Vietnam. YOU GO, BOY!

Carrie Henn (Newt) had no acting experience when she did this film and never acted again. She is now studying to be a teacher.

Sigourney Weaver was nominated for her performance in ALIENS.