Cultural influence
Carrie Henn (pictured in 2016) chose not to pursue acting after appearing in Aliens.A cinematic touchstone, Aliens has had an enduring influence on filmmaking.[k] Elements such as a team of soldiers being dismantled by a villain have been repeated to the point of cliché.[85] The same is true of Horner's oft-imitated score,[64][85] which regularly appeared in action-film trailers for the following decade.[66][65] The film's influence can also be seen in video games' (particularly science-fiction games') ships, armor, and weapons,[208][209] as well as the 1989 Italian film Shocking Dark, a remake of Aliens that relocates much of the plot and scenes to a Venetian setting and incorporates elements of The Terminator; outside Italy, it was released as Terminator II.[210] In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Spider Man discusses the film with Iron Man, and the two use the xenomorph queen's defeat as inspiration for how to kill Ebony Maw and free Doctor Strange.[211]
Although The Terminator was a success for Cameron, the critical and commercial success of Aliens made him a blockbuster director. It also expanded the Alien series into a franchise, spanning video games, comic books, and toys; although Ripley and the alien creature originated in Alien, Cameron elaborated on the creature's life cycle, added new characters and factions (such as the Colonial Marines), and extended the films' universe.[85] Ripley became a post-feminist icon, a proactive hero who retained feminine traits.[85] Aliens features popular quotes, including Paxton's "Game over, man; game over",[207][212] and Weaver's "Get away from her, you bitch," which is considered one of Aliens's most memorable lines and has often been repeated in other media.[85][213] Aliens was named by director Roland Emmerich as one of his top ten science-fiction films, alongside Alien.[214]
Many cast and crew members reunited at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary, including Weaver, Biehn, Paxton, Henriksen, Reiser, Henn, Cameron and Hurd. Cameron said he normally would not participate (and did not do so for The Terminator's anniversary) but he considered Aliens special because of its impact on his career.[147][207] Asked why he thought Aliens' popularity had endured, Cameron said:
I have to take my filmmaker hat off and look at it as a fan and think, "Well, I really like those characters ..." There's certain lines, moments, you remember moments. It's satisfying, it ends in a satisfying way ... But I actually think it's those characters. We can all relate to Hudson running around "What the hell are we gonna do now man? What the fuck we gonna do?" We all know that guy.
Hurd believed that it was the experience itself:
It's a great midnight screening movie because you can talk back to the screen and you can have this group experience. It not only makes you feel something, it makes you cheer, it makes you jump. When you think of all the things that something can do, which is projected on a screen, it ticks all those boxes and it makes you laugh.[215]
The ensemble cast's popularity led to many members appearing together in later films, including Henriksen, Goldstein, and Paxton in Near Dark (1987) as well as Goldstein and Rolston in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989).[44] Biehn lost a role in Cameron's Avatar (2009) because Weaver had been cast, and the director did not want to create an obvious association with Aliens.[4] Paxton is also remembered as one of only two actors, along with Lance Henriksen, to play characters killed by an alien, a Terminator (in The Terminator), and a Predator (in 1990's Predator 2).[48] Despite her sudden fame, Henn decided not to pursue acting, so that she could remain close to her family. She said some people resented her fame and was uncertain whether people liked her for being in Aliens or for herself. Henn became a teacher; she maintains a relationship with Weaver and kept a framed picture of her and Weaver that the actress had given her after filming was complete.[37]
Critical reassessment
Aliens is considered one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made,[l] as well as being among the best films of the 1980s,[m] and one of the greatest action films of all time.[n] The British Film Institute called Aliens one of the 10 greatest action films, saying: "A matriarchal masterpiece of God-bothering structural engineering, there's really little that Aliens doesn't get right; from its slow-burn exemplification of character and world-building through to its jab-jab-hook-pause-uppercut series of sustained climaxes, Cameron delivers a masterclass in action direction."[241]
The film is also considered one of the best sequels of all time, and equal to (or better than) Alien.[o] According to Slant Magazine, it exceeded Alien in every way.[242] In 2009, Den of Geek called it the best blockbuster sequel ever made, and remarkable even as a standalone film.[243] In 2017, the website ranked it the second-best film in the series (behind Alien).[246] In 2011, Empire called it the greatest movie sequel ever.[247] Empire also listed Aliens as the 30th-best film ever made on the magazine's "500 Greatest Movies Of All Time" list; its readers ranked it the 17th-best.[248][249] The film is listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.[250] Aliens has a 98% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 81 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. Its critical consensus reads, "While Alien was a marvel of slow-building, atmospheric tension, Aliens packs a much more visceral punch, and features a typically strong performance from Sigourney Weaver."[251] The film has a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[252]
The Ellen Ripley character has also been recognized; the American Film Institute ranked her the eighth-most-heroic character on its 2003 100 Years ... 100 Heroes and Villains list,[253] and she was ninth on Empire's 2006 "100 Greatest Movie Characters" list.[254] Despite her character's popularity, the casting of Jenette Goldstein (a Jewish actress of Russian, Moroccan, and Brazilian descent) as the Hispanic Vasquez has been considered odd. Goldstein has said she considers herself unrecognizable as Vasquez on film, but a muscular actress was required, and the filmmakers could not find anyone else with her physique.[255]
