30. Seeing the Alien Derelict Again
In the extended version of the movie we see the derelict alien craft that was in the first movie the one with the weird elephant pilot man that was recently explored in more unsatisfactory detail in Prometheus. We were still mystified by what that craft was, who the pilot was and why it ended up there but just seeing that ship on that rocky outcropping again was fantastic. The first time I saw the extended edition it sent chills down my spine.
29. Kids Are Not Safe
One thing that I love about this movie is that nobody is left out of the Aliens bid to procreate. They take everybody, Newts line Theyre dead alright, can I go now? informs us that the Aliens have literally abducted all of the colonists, kids as well. Action movies always shy away from the point of innocents being killed, unless they bat around big figures eg: 10 million people that you never see and dont care about were killed in a nuclear blast see any Michael Bay movie for details. This film didnt shy away from the fact that Newt's brother and the other kids we see in the special edition have also been taken to become hosts for the horde. This for most people compounds the horror of what the Aliens do.
28. Wayland Yutani A Corporate Study
The goddamned Company are everything we hate about the corporate run world in which we live. They have power over the military and own just about everything. They cover up the events of the first film and only pull Ripley back in when they cant away with it any longer. They send the marines out with one unmentioned objective, bring back a specimen. Burke as the face of the company in the film does their reputation no favours by trying to coerce Ripley into taking one of the beasts back with them, even if it means murdering a couple of marines. The entire purpose of the companies under takings involves getting hold of one of the beastscrew expendable style.
27. Scene: Ripleys Nightmare
We get a picture of what goes on in Ripleys dreams that doubles up nicely as a scene to tell us what is going on. We learn that Ripley has been in hyper sleep for fifty seven years as we are introduced to Burke and reacquainted with Jonesy the Cat from the first film. Towards the end of the scene the cat does an amazing Alien impersonation, hissing at Ripley as she convulses on the hospital bed. We see the skin of her abdomen stretch impossible and the bulge of an Alien head under the skin just before she awakens.
26. Scene: The Robot Sentry Guns
A great scene from the special edition involved the motion tracker guns. When the Aliens move to attack, they get ground into alien-mince by the powerful salvaged weapons. We watch as the creatures relentlessly walk into the line of fire. The scene teaches us something about the Aliens will to get to the remaining marines, despite the fact that they probably took more casualties than it could possibly be worth. The scene is also tense as we watch the ammo counters race down as the alien bodies pile higher and higher. Just before the last ammo is expelled, the Aliens learn their lesson and go off to find another door.