10 Sci-Fi Movie Sequels That Are Practically Flawless
5. Aliens
Set decades after the events that rocked the Nostromo, Aliens (the "s" is very important) follows a traumatised Ellen Ripley as she returns to the confront the creature that slaughtered her friends many years ago.
Aliens built on the great work done in its original to establish women as sci-fi heroes. As Ripley, Sigourney Weaver stole the show in the first film and she does the exact same in this one, to the surprise of absolutely no one.
Whilst the original Alien was more of a tense horror, its sequel has more action movie elements. This upset some reviewers at the time, but, looking back at it now, it was exactly the right direction in which to take the series.
The novelty of "slasher movie but in space" was never going to last forever, so the franchise had to diversify before it got too stale. The addition of characters like Hicks, Burke, and Bishop was a great move and their names are still strongly associated with Alien and its follow-ups to this day.
Proof that change isn't always a bad thing in cinema, Aliens remains a classic of both sci-fi and action and that's absolutely fine.