Aliens - Not bad for a... human (made film)

If you're into sci-fi then you should have seen Aliens by now. It's the - not particularly imaginatively - titled sequel to the 1979 `haunted house is space' film Alien. And, depending on how you like your science fiction, will determine exactly which of the two you'll like the best (it's worth noting that whichever one you pick, you'll probably agree that they're both up there with the best science fiction films ever made).

Alien is dark, quiet and moody. Its successor is loud, brash and big as it follows the sole survivor of the first film, Ellen Ripley, as she returns to Earth after floating in space for 57 years, only to find that the planet where she first encountered the xenomorph has been colonised. Then - guess what - all contact is lost with colony and she has to accompany a team of space marines in a rescue mission (that does not go well).

Sigourney Weaver was nominated for an Oscar for her performance. However, it's hard to pick out a stand-out performance here. It's rare in a movie when you know that half of the cast are going to end up on the wrong end of a monster's teeth to really care about them. Yet, here you find yourself rooting for even the lowliest of cast members.

The best part of Aliens (just like Star Wars) is that it's `timeless.' We're now nearly thirty years on from its creation and yet it still looks as good. The special effects (and general atmosphere) beat anything made today and current films could really take a lead out of its book when it comes to using miniature models over excessive CGI.

If you haven't seen Aliens, you should. Normally I would recommend it for fans of the action/sci-fi/horror genres. However, this is a film that defined the genre and has been copied (poorly) to this day (think the Resident Evil films to name but a few). Therefore, I truly believe people that don't always want to watch horror may ever enjoy it (maybe not as much as me, but I think most will appreciate that this is a behemoth in modern film history and should at least be respected, if not adored as much as I do).

And remember... there's something moving in here and it ain't us!

10/10 The Monty Python Knights of Camelot are currently looking for this