The first part was a masterpiece of claustrophobic space horror and is still one of the best sci-fi films ever. With Aliens – The Return, James Cameron managed to successfully build on this milestone. You can watch the great sequel on TV today.
Sci-fi horror masterpiece with a good dose of action: That’s what Aliens – The Return is about
Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is still alive: she barely survived the events of the first Alien film. After more than 50 years in cold sleep, she is horrified to discover that humanity is running a colony on the very planet where she and her crew found the alien eggs.
Because contact with the colony breaks off, a heavily armed rescue team sent off. Ellen Ripley suspects what awaits her and accompanies the group. After all, she is the only person to have had experience with the aliens and survived to be able to report on it.
The big difference to the first Alien film is not just that this time James Cameron is directing instead of Ridley Scott. People here also have to deal with a whole bunch of nasty aliens instead of just one. That’s not all it does much more dangerous, but also much more action-packed.
Sci-Fi ecstasy: The many other films in the series have never come close to this Alien sequel
There has been no shortage of attempts: the venerable Alien series has been continued many times. After James Cameron, David Fincher also tried it with Alien³. The experiment with the prison planet was still quite successful, but not as good as its predecessors.
After that it went steeply downhill. Alien – The Rebirth is considered a fun ride by fans of the series, but it also remains far behind the class of the first Alien films back. The same can be said, with some reservations, about the crossover films. While Alien vs. Predator certainly has its advantages, its sequel was a complete failure with the vast majority of fans and critics.
Ridley Scott even returned to the director’s chair for Prometheus and Alien: Covenant to bring the series back to its former glory. But it never really worked out And so we’re left with Alien and Aliens – The Return as two of the best sci-fi horror films there are. Fede Álvarez last tried his hand at this universe with Alien: Romulus.
TV or stream: When and where is Aliens – The Return showing?
Alien 2 aka Aliens – The return is on Sunday, December December 15, 2024 at 10:05 p.m. on Tele 5 to see. Alternatively, you can find the film on Disney+ in the streaming flat rate.
This article was first published in a similar form on Moviepilot in November 2023.