10 Sci-Fi Movie Sequels Better Than The Original
3. Aliens
Ridley Scott's Alien was something to be revered. The 1979 horror was a game-changer for the science fiction genre that not only contained one of the most heart-stopping scenes in movie history but continually terrified audiences over the course of its two-hour runtime.
It was a masterclass in how to slowly heighten tension that earned its reputation as one of the best sci-fi-thrillers of all time. It would have been impossible to recreate that, so when The Terminator director James Cameron took the reins for the sequel, he decided to do something completely different - something we've come to learn he's a pro at doing.
Aliens may have opted to go down the action flick route but it never felt like it was substituting story for special effects. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the 1986 sequel provided audiences with a much deeper story that just so happened to pave the way for the action that ultimately made it a blockbuster. Furthermore, it expanded on the world that the original could only allude to and single-handedly turned Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley into a cinematic icon.
Alien has and always will be a phenomenon but the creature or the character designed to survive its wrath may never have lived on in the way that they do had it not been for the ambitious splendour of its action-packed sequel.