Rating: 
Summary: Additional scenes ruined the film
Review: I liked Alien as a film very much. Its claustrophobic sequel was something else - more or less an action film in SF environment, and a very good action at that. The reason I'm writing this is because I want to share my dissatisfaction with Director's Cut version of the film. Additional scenes slowed down the film in some places (e.g. the beginning, Ripley's recovering and facing reality), enfeebled the emotional impact (aliens are not all that dangerous after the sentry guns' scenes) and worst of all, removed any kind of implicitness from the film (a) Ripley's daughter, b) we know what happened with the colony right from the beginning). DC is not the film I've seen in the theater, but rather a much weaker version of it. I would not have had it in my collection if it had not been by an accident, and I do hope that one day the studio publishes the original film on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Another classic sci-fi film! Even better than Alien!!!
Review: As good as Alien was Aliens a little better. Aliens also has a spot on my classic movie list. This time around Ripley is found 57 years later inside the escape shuttle she used to leave the ship in Alien. After being brought to an Earth space station she finds out that the planet where the aliens were found in Alien, LV-426 has been colonized by members of the Weyland-Yutabi company who has an active involvement to capture an alien throught the first 3 movies. Anyways after contact is lost with the colony marines are sent to the planet. Ripley is forced to go for her alien expertise. The result is an extremly action packed film!!!! Weaver even recived a best actress nomination. Followed by Alien 3. Rated R for extreme amounts of violence, profanity, and alien gore.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect action movie
Review: Aliens is nothing like Alien. Alien is a somewhat slow-paced horror film (but a good movie nonetheless). Aliens is an edge-of-your-seat cut-the-air-with-a-knife intense sci-fi action-thriller. The best ever made. Hands down. Action scenes are simply insane. The film's whole visual and audio style make it utterly engrossing. Sigourney Weaver delivers possibly one of the most convincing performances I have ever seen in a movie. Geiger's aliens are still here ('nuff said). And if you're into that sort of thing, the weapons are the absolute coolest in any movie ever made. In other words, this movie from the director of Titanic makes about as much sense as the unfathomably overrated Jurassic Park from the director of Schindler's List. Own this movie. It's all you need from the Alien series, and you need it bad.
Rating: 
Summary: technically well made, but...
Review: Having greatly enjoyed and admired Ridley Scott's superb "Alien", there are some unsatisfying points about its sequel "Aliens" that deserve comment, especially considering the gratuitous and exaggerated praise that has been heaped upon it by the many. These flaws saturate the film, diminishing it beyond redemption, and I want my money back! First, there are many contrivances of plot and characterization that really grate. For example, what a coincidence that after 57 years floating in space, the aliens haven't eaten the interim colonizers until Ripley has (a) been retrieved, and (b) had time to be abused by her corporate antagonists (a shabby grab for audience sympathy), when suddenly--"Ripley, we've lost contact with them! We need you now!". That's some pretty phoney plotting. Second, who is this new sequel-Ripley that has this Big Chip on her shoulder? I realize its the same actress, playing supposedly the same character, but the brave little gal we got to know and admire in the first film was an ordinary person with nothing to prove, trying to do her job under adverse conditions, faced with an inscrutable, overwhelming horror. This was the basis of our identification with her. After overcoming not only this horrible predatory creature, but her own fear, her triumph was complete. THERE IS NOTHING IN HEAVEN OR EARTH THAT COULD BELIEVABLY PERSUADE THAT RIPLEY TO GO BACK OUT INTO SPACE TO CONFRONT THAT ALIEN MENACE AGAIN--including some lame assurance that the purpose is to destroy it, not bring it back. This is like, some Alice's Restaurant Ripley: Shrink, she wants to kill. Its ironic how, for entertainment purposes, disbelief can be suspended enough to see a guy in a rubber suit as a carnivorous monster from another planet--but not for such trite transparencies of plot. The only credible basis for a sequel would have done entirely without the Ripley character in a protagonist role--blasphemy, I know. But it illustrates the weird fixation upon the Ripley character this sequel begins. This new Ripley is bristling with hostility and spite, and has no continuity with the character Ridley Scott gave us. She reminds me of people who joyfully kill any snake, spider, or other animal they encounter that happens to earn its living by predation. Alienation (how about that) is the new theme of the series. The alien in the first film was coming to get us, and there was nothing we could do to survive except kill it first, if we could. That's called character motivation and storyline. But the second film is about an Ahabesque obsession to exterminate a species on a faraway planet that can pose no threat to us except by us going out there to mess with it. But instead of giving us a morality play about the brutality of our human nature, we get this movie, "Aliens". The hatred-of-nature theme had me feeling sorry for the alien, something I never wanted to experience. There's also hatred of natural/biological motherhood (embodied by the Queen alien, and Ripley's bizarre fixation upon Newt), hatred of anything remotely male (the film's portrayal of its various male characters as swaggering buffoons, morons, and incompetents), and a very uncomfy, uncozy jostling for post-feminist position on the boy-girl stuff. This reaches its embarrassing peak in a dialog where we learn that giving Ripley a position signaling device "doesn't mean we're going steady". Quite a dismal contrast from the dignity, maturity and understatement of the original's Ripley/Dallas chemistry. Poor new Ripley has to prove that she's tougher than any man, and certainly doesn't need a man--but not because she couldn't get one if she wanted. The threat posed by these incongruities is ultimately neutralized by having her simpering boyfriend (who acquires this role by meekly acceding to her controlling demands) get wounded and hustled off screen and out of the plot in the last act. Whew! By the way, there's one other guy who is portrayed as okay--since, you guessed it, he's an android, not a biological male. And what glowing irony, since the android in the first film was Bad. This stuff goes on and on, throughout the film, dominating its ambience, story and mood. Almost universally embraced and applauded by critics and audiences alike, "Aliens" is emblematic of how scifi films, once so enjoyable, have become monotonous exercises in technical effects and politically correct scripting. Its high technical quality (the basis of my giving it 2 stars) only serves to highlight its thematic unacceptability. For sequels, "Alien" deserved better.
Rating:
Summary: Intense!
Review: This is the sequel to the 1979 hit "Alien", and it's even better than the original, which is rare in the movie industry. Watching "Aliens" is like getting on a super-fast roller coaster. The pace starts out slow, then gets steadily faster and more intense. And I mean intense! The actors are terrific, and the sets and special effects are extremely impressive. The special edition has a few scenes cut from the original release. I'd say most of them are beneficial to the movie and helps develop the story better.
Rating:
Summary: A sequel that surpasses the original!
Review: I enjoyed the first ALIEN movie, but not on as many levels as I enjoyed the sequel. Apart from the further development of Ripley's character, we got to learn more about the aliens themselves, and their insect mentalities, which was executed beautifully with the inclusion of a very convincing 'queen' alien.
Rating: 
Summary: Aliens-A sequel worth the investment!
Review: As a fan of James Cameron, I was excited to buy this THX certified DVD and pop it into my player as soon as it arrived. Upon opening this DVD package, I first noticed the rather lazy disc design and booklet. I think the booklet can use a facelift with much more behind-the-scenes info rather then a resume on all the actors. When I buy a "Special Edition", I expect more then that. Call me crazy, but I want every aspect of the package to be 'special' if you are going to label a DVD package as a "Special Edition". But maybe I'm being picky......maybe not. So anyway, I popped the disc into my player and enjoyed the menu graphics....simple, yet attractive with easy navigation. I started to play the movie and was instantly impressed by the sound quality. I knew I was in for a treat. The picture looked terrific, with rich blacks and saturated colors. Fine detail and a clean transfer made this film a pleasure to watch. I hope all films are transferred from High Definition masters in the future....it really is a noticeable difference. The sound quality throughout the film was explosive. The surround elements are wonderful and the stereo separation is quite pleasing and realistic. There are many scenes where the bass will test your system, so be prepared for your ears to bleed a little bit. Although the vocals on the actors sound just a tad dated (a little flat in some areas), overall, this DVD sounds quite impressive. Having THX certification is almost a sure guarantee that your audio experience will be the best it can be. The disc also includes the usual stuff.....trailers, scene selecion.....but the addition of 17 minutes of restored footage is the real reason I bought this disc. The scenes fit flawlessly into the original cut, and if you are like me, you'll appreciate trying to recognize the scenes and enjoying the restored footage. I can see why they were originally cut, not being THAT important or necessary to the flow of the film, but having them included did not ruin the experience for me....I found the scenes quite enjoyable. In conclusion, I recommend this DVD to anyone who is a fan of the Alien series (except for Alien 3) and/or a fan of James Cameron. The original was wonderful, but as usual, James Camerons need to thrill us all comes through loud and clear in this sequel. Although I do recommend a better job creating the booklet and the disc graphic in this "Special Edition", every other aspect of this DVD is wonderful. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific action movie!
Review: A movie like this is very very difficult to make. After all name one of the countless clones that came after this . not one came close to it. The story is pretty simple and everyone should know it. if they dont just look at another review. James Cameron is a man's man (except maybe for Titanic). he knows how to make a movie for the action lover . and make it good he does. Siqurny Weaver (I know i misspelled her name, im sorry) is a fantastic actress and can plays Ripley as a strong leader. This movie is a must see and buy . The dvd is fantastic. and has some great extras . just go out and see it at the very least. YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED
Rating:
Summary: Blow You Away!
Review: This is the mother of Horror/Action movies. I can't believe this movie was made in 1986!? you can put all the action and horror movies in the 90's and will not find one quit like "Aliens." This movie will pump up your blood pressure, like a roller-coster will do. Prepare your heart for some thrill and get ready to have some FUN! This is the only movie where the use of profanity fitted perfectly. James Cameron made it seem like a documentary movie.
Rating:
Summary: You CANNOT miss this one!
Review: If you enjoy science fiction and fantasy movies then you will most certainly enjoy this one. It's true that the majority of sequels in moviedom are pale in comparisson to the original, however Aliens is more than a match for it's predecessor Alien. James Cameron's script really captures the mood and he creates a fine ensemble of characters played by competent actors such as Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton. Even Weaver's character "Ripley" is still relatively fresh and interesting at this point in the series. The film trades a lot of the quiet, chilling suspense of the original Alien for gun-totting action. However it remains suitably dark and oppresive as the colonial marines soon find out they are no match for the hive of deadly Aliens and it becomes a tense fight for survival. Clever and original plot, this is arguably Cameron's best film. The DVD version is certainly comprehensive and contains just about everything you could want (except maybe a directors commentary). FOX are among the best for quality and extra features on their DVD releases. Most importantly this release is the "Directors Cut" containining the extra 17 minutes of footage that was cut from previous versions. It should be noted that the picture quality IS grainy, but this is due to the original quality of the 1986 35mm film reel. If you liked the first Alien movie, this one is a must. Even people who are not fans of the genre would be hard pressed not to take something out of this movie.
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