Aliens-A Sequel That Shifts Genres With the Essence of the ORiginal

Aliens is often regarded as a complete genre shift from the original, leaning more towards action than horror. While it features more action-packed scenes with gunfights and explosions, what's so brilliant about James Cameron's sequel is how it shifts towards action while keeping to the original's horror roots. Like in the first film, there's a genuine sense of tension that permeates throughout the film. But unlike the first film, where the tension stemmed from the mysterious, huge, looming threat, Aliens derives its tension from our characters being overwhelmed by swarms of xenomorphs, equipment malfunctions, and the general stress of the situation. 

The tension that builds throughout the film works because Aliens is much more character-based than the original. While the original had its fair share of compelling characters and character moments, Aliens focuses much more on the characters than the original. The film's early scenes build up this genuine camaraderie between the characters, which the film then weaponizes once things start going wrong for these characters, making these moments that much more emotionally devastating. Once things start going wrong for the characters, since the viewer has grown to know and care about them, they feel just as overwhelmed as the characters, making the characters' overwhelmed dialogue feel justified and relatable. 

More than anything, though, what makes the story of Aliens so compelling is its focus on Ripley as a character and her relationship with Newt. Many scenes throughout the film's early sections set up Ripley as someone who feels detached from reality because of the trauma she faced in the first film. Her internal conflict, combined with the external conflict of nobody listening to her regarding her xenomorph knowledge, makes her an interesting, well-rounded character early on. It's her relationship with Newt, though, that makes her story much more captivating, transforming the story into that of a woman who overcomes her trauma through her maternal instincts, combined with the similar trauma she shares with Newt, allowing her to form a mother-child bond. 

The film does struggle a bit with its pacing. Like in the first movie, Aliens spends much of its early section on set-up, which was a bit slow for me. But, once the film got going, it didn't stop until the very end. 

But despite the spotty pacing, Aliens is still an excellent sequel. While in the past I've always preferred Aliens, revisiting both films, I find that both films are about on par for me. While Alien excels at atmosphere, Aliens shines in its action and characters. Both films do what they set out to do exceptionally well, minus some spotty pacing early on.

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