‘Maybe the best pumped-up sequel ever made’: James Cameron’s Aliens hits 40
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- Aliens (1986) celebrates its 40th anniversary this week and is described as "maybe the best pumped-up sequel ever made," introducing Cameron's signature "plussing" approach to existing characters.
- Sigourney Weaver earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Ellen Ripley — a rare honor for a sci-fi/action film — with the article highlighting her range as "action hero, Cassandra figure, fish out of water, final girl on steroids, and surrogate mother."
- A deleted scene restored in the film's special edition reveals Ripley learning her daughter died of old age during her approximately 60-year cryosleep, deepening her protective bond with Newt (Carrie Henn).
- Roger Ebert's original 1986 review opened with ambivalence — "Do I praise its craftsmanship, or do I tell you it left me feeling wrung out and unhappy?" — before landing on a positive notice.
- Private Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) has "an ambiguous approach to gender and sexuality that feels well ahead of 1986 mores," though the article notes Aliens has paradoxically been adopted by self-described anti-feminist fans as proof they "love strong female characters."
- The film's DNA carries forward into Cameron's later work: Ripley protecting Newt prefigures the T-800's guardianship of John Connor in T2, and the space marines' "colorfully cornball-pulp" dialogue mirrors the soldiers in the Avatar films.
- The piece contrasts Aliens with Alien: Romulus, which it characterizes as more of a "theme-park ride," arguing Weaver's performance is what keeps Aliens from feeling similarly weightless.
- Bill Paxton appears in the film, part of what the article calls his presence in most Cameron movies during his "too-brief lifetime."
Why it matters: Aliens is the rare sequel that redrew the boundaries of its genre — Weaver's Best Actress nomination alone was a breakthrough for sci-fi/action recognition, and the film's template of a muscular female protector has shaped four decades of blockbusters, even as that template gets misappropriated by fans who reject nearly every female action hero created since.
