20. Lighting
Aliens much like its predecessor, uses a lot of low light environments. We see a lot of shadows using to mask the Aliens movements as well as increase the tension. In contrast, some areas are more brightly lit with sterile strip lights, like the medical complex, where you need to see small details, like the Alien specimen tubes. There is also a very blue theme to give us that true sci-fi futuristic feel which Cameron obviously borrowed from the Terminator and used in every sci-fi film he made thereafter.
19. The (In)vincible Marines
The marines started their trip to LV426 very confident that their state of the art firepower would be enough to overcome anything that life could throw at them. The fact that the mission was referred to as a bug hunt showed that they had never truly been tested against an opposition worthy of their time. But with what may have been careful planning or a lucky guess, the Aliens managed to outdo the technology at every turn. First they set up home by the explody reactor in the atmosphere processor which enabled them to snatch up the vast majority the team at their leisure with barely a shot fired. Then they walked into the operations centre despite the guarded corridors and superior fire technology mounted against them. The marines were run to ground very quickly and their morale was destroyed after one encounter with the beasts.
18. Scene: Aliens Cant Drive Dropships
I love the scene where Spunkmeyer is called up into the drop ship after the marines decide to bail out. The fact that he finds goo on the ramp is ignored and we learn never to let an Alien drive a spaceship. As Ferro flies the ship and the cockpit door opens, she says with some aggravation; Well where the fu a sentence she never finishes as an Alien pops in to splatter her brains around the place. We figure that it then realised its error of judgement before the ship ploughs into the ground blowing up the APC with it.
17. Scene: Game Over Man, Game Over
Following straight on from the above, Hudson has his little breakdown as the only method of escape is destroyed. Ripley then tells him to button it because a kid managed to survive without a gun or the advanced training that he obviously missed. His logical response of Put her in charge is obviously a deliberate mis-quote from me, because he was being funny at the time. I like the fact that this is the second time we see Ripley stand out from the marines as the only true leader amongst them.
16. Miniatures And Real Effects
Aliens was filmed using models a practise almost completely defunct nowadays, with costly CGI used in place of often more realistic looking physical objects. The ships were all models as was the colony itself, all built with a great eye to detail and made to look like realistic buildings and vehicles. Ive mentioned the Aliens themselves previously, but the atmosphere processor burning up made for a great spectacle and the effects used still hold up today. The Alien Queen was a full sized model standing at fourteen feet and controlled by puppeteers and not once did I think that looks terrible like certain the creatures in certain lesser Alien franchise films that were rendered in CG.