Continued my James Cameron rewatch kick with Aliens:
James Cameron is a man who likes to keep things simple--not dumb things down, mind you, but rather strip things down to their simplest elements possible for maximum readability, so that when the action sequences come fast and heavy he can keep things clear for the viewer while juggling an ensemble cast and layer on various themes. Aliens is perhaps the best example of this, because its Ridley Scott directed predecessor is the opposite--all about shadowy wide-screen compositions of cluttered mise-en-scene, and murky and malignant undercurrent of freudian nightmares. Cameron, the other hand, shoots 1.85:1 ratio, keeping the framing clear and decisive in the starker geometric layouts of his sets, where bright primary colors help to guide the viewers eye. The vague freudian underpinnings become a more clearly framed story about Ripley overcoming her fears and embracing motherhood again, with the young Newt as the force for good, and the oversized alien queen representing a twisted maternal nightmare that has haunted Ripley since Kane was "impregnated" back in the first movie.
And where the characters of Alien felt like real personalities, all muddled and mumbling, the group at the core of Aliens are all larger than life. But like the clearer visual and narrative elements, honing down the characters to easily readable personality types makes it a much simpler exercise for the viewers to imprint emotional value on them in the chaotic action sequences, and follow their arcs. You have Hudson the loudmouth, Vasquez and Drake the tough as nails gunners, Hicks the cool headed one, etc. Simple? Yes. Cliche? Yeah, by now they feel that way. Dumb? Absolutely not. Watching these personalities react to the insane shit that goes down in the movie, and watching their true personalities reveal themselves under pressure is half the joy.
All the simplification and stripping down would have been a big strike against the movie had it not put those refinements to good use, but of course we all know that's not the case. Cameron puts in probably the best work of his career in constantly providing tension raising set-pieces at a relentless pace here. It takes a little to get going, but by the halfway point the roller-coaster is at full speed all the way end to the explosive finale. And it all works because we are alway clear on who's who, what means what, and where everyone is. It's always reminded me of a comic book both in its visual readability, and its oversized action and characterization, and I mean that in the fondest way possible.
I watched the special edition for the first time, which like most special editions/director's cuts I don't have strong feelings about one way or another. I can see why the Hadley's Hope scenes with Newts family got cut, but I think with the other additions like the sentry guns and Hicks and Ripley's goodbye scene its overall a net positive.
