But then to suggest a sequel is-BETTER than the film of origin?! I'm surprised the film sacrilege police haven't busted down my door.
But if anyone can do it, I suppose it's that darn James Cameron. After all, many believe his second effort in the Terminator franchise eclipsed the first. I guess you (you being me) have to weigh out all the pro's and con's.
James Cameron cannot (again all in my opinion, informed as it is, by several thousand movies) and I mean CANNOT write to save his life. One of the glaring shortcomings of every film I've ever seen by him is a stereotypical ancillary character that just distracts and detracts from the overall presentation. Cases in point: Titanic--Billy Zane's Cal was so melodramatic both in performance and script and the magnanimity of Victor Gerber's character, heck even of the two main protagonists is so sickeningly sweet, I nearly got a toothache. Then there's The Abyss-another solid, solid and stunning-effects driven film ahead of it's time, downgraded from an A+ to B+, A- because of the hillbilly character "Catfish", and others, though at least the two leads were able to act the pants off an otherwise silly exchange of dialogues. Don't even get me started on Avatar. It is so self-righteous, (and the extended version of the Abyss straddles that line also) that it's suffocating on it's own self-importance. Thankfully, again, the visual element leaves one breathless anyway. And if you really want to have some fun at Avatar and Cameron's expense, watch Aliens and Avatar back to back and keep a log of how much he ripped off his own story.
So, back we circle to Aliens. Bill Paxton's character of Hudson is so distracting that I nearly have to mute the film whenever he gets panicked. (SIDE NOTE: Bill Paxton's directorial debut is a thriller/supernatural horror gem of a film called Frailty. I would include it in the short list of "good" horror films) Thus, one might say of James Cameron, "Joel, if he's that bad of a writer, how can he get all this attention, critical acclaim, and have Aliens be considered one of the best horror flicks of all time?"
I'll tell you simply in my opinion. He can direct the crap out of a film, and is one of the best innovators/new idea makers and video technology advancers that I can recall. His fault is in his writing, not his vision or direction. It's like that magic bullet blender. Sure it looks like the thing can be launched into space, but there's no getting around the fact that you just paid five times the price for a smaller, slightly faster, blender. There's always a trade-off. The trade-off between Ridley Scott's first installment of Alien to Cameron's Aliens sequel? Cameron's dialogue is clunky, and expects everyone to believe that all Marines are dumb jarheads that just wanna blow stuff up, while all corporate managers are slimy and as evil as the aliens the Marines encounter.
But he took the elements of suspense that are now naturally present with multiple aliens and keeps the audience perched on the edge of their seats with precise advancement and initiation of screen time and off screen elements regarding the otherworldly antagonists. His treatment of effects-driven work gives it a stunning upgrade to the franchise. The attention to visual details and continuity as well as set design as impeccable. Everything looks more industrial, more slimy, more gritty, just....more.
Ridley Scott's pace in the 1979 film is deliberate also, but lulls too much because we're learning about each character and ultimately kind of liking each of them for what and who they are. He establishes Ripley's importance, and the integrity of her never waivers. She will always do what is best, what is right. Cameron's characters you don't have a lot invested in, except Ripley, who as I just noted, was already established. His supporting cast is more flippant and ultimately kind of silly. This is not, however, a total loss-because it gives Weaver a chance to shine once again. She was even nominated for an Oscar in the role-forever giving a new credence to the genre as a whole. Pay attention that early scenes with her are an anecdote for a woman's struggles in a man's world. See also Bishop (Lance Henriksen) the android: he is historically noted as one AI that follows Issac Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics. So here's that lack of character development/poor writing vs. great directing tradeoff again. Since you care so little about some of the Aliens characters, and in fact dislike them strongly, you actually look forward to their demise, creatively and lovingly crafted by a visionary who has capitalized on our fear of the unknown and ALSO our fascination with that fear. The problem being that the end is somewhat telegraphed in regarding the two most attention-holding characters, Ripley and Bishop. I won't mention much about Newt at this point; on any given particular viewing, I vacillate on her character's effectiveness. She's there to point out a kink in Ripley's armor; the rest is a near total suspension of disbelief.
Still, since you get what you pay for--(i.e. every horror movie I've ever seen there's always a character you love to hate, either because they're pesky, whiny, incompetent or evil) one will tolerate this lack of character depth, and appreciate that Cameron has played by the rules. The hero must be willing to give all. The hero possesses an innocence that is either challenged or tainted. The hero has a character flaw that nearly causes them to fail; they ultimately overcome it. The hero is one of the only survivors, and gets to go home. Straight out of The Odyssey and the Bible.
But don't expect Ripley to be resurrected in white robes. Her journey is far from over, sadly. This is the point where going out on a high note would have been wise, call it a day. When the scene faded to black, the first time I saw it, I was nearly panting. Scott's Alien equals the ride that drops you straight down ten stories in two seconds and bounces you up and down once or twice. Cameron's Aliens is like a roller coaster ride that you love every second of except for the weird soundtrack.
The last two films to conclude this thread soon.
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