Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 20-July-03
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986)

Confession time: I had never seen any of the "Alien" movies until this past week. Granted, I wasn't even in my teens when the first came out and never got into monsters, but still, even the casual follower of Hollywood knows that these films put Sigourney Weaver on the map, helped launch the careers of Ridley Scott and James Cameron, and taught a "Star Wars" happy America that in space, no one can hear you scream. (They may also have made slime a necessary harbinger for all fearsome, icky Hollywood creatures, but I'd have to research that further.) These reasons make the movies essential viewing — but they don't make them really great pictures. "Alien" is not much more than a by-the-book horror movie with an outer space setting. The first sequel, "Aliens," is a lot more entertaining but doesn't stray too far from its roots. Both of the films, however, rise above their modest aims through the development of a magnetic and courageous female star, the legendary Ripley.

"Alien" (directed by Scott) stars a septet of now recognizable actors as the classic horror movie cast: an isolated mix of ethnicities and genders and stereotypical personalities whose individual failings and inability to cooperate make them ripe for picking off by some Bad Thing. A pink-cheeked Weaver emerges as the star after the first half hour by being the most level headed and least annoying member of the group (which includes Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, and John Hurt); as with most such films, you kind of look forward to watching the non-heroes buy the farm because of some exaggerated character flaw which they represent. Ripley's centrality and superiority become apparent when, as third in command of a spaceship, she refuses to allow the captain to reboard with a crew member who is carrying an alien parasite. Of course, to the doom of all, her command is overridden by the shady ship's scientist (try saying that three times fast), and the alien is brought into their midst. Thereafter the crew indulges in a bunch of stupid moves (you go look for the cat, alone and unarmed, while we look for the hugely grown, murderous space monster!) and meets with a slew of horrible deaths, all preceded by long stretches of ominous non-action meant to build up tension (successfully, for the most part). In the end, it becomes a one-on-one death match between Ripley and the alien, with the better life form emerging victorious.

Although it falls squarely into the horror genre, "Alien" has a few sci-fi pretensions beyond its galactic setting, as evidenced by a plot twist involving an android who calls the alien the "perfect organism" because it exists solely to propagate without compunction or morality. This speaks to the questions surrounding human beings and their worth, evolution, and place in the universe which are central to most futuristic fantasy tales. While these particular questions aren't directly explored in "Aliens," the sequel offers a more thoughtful story and looks a little deeper into the psychology of its returning central characters, namely Ripley and the alien race she seems doomed to fight. In addition, the second film expands the notion introduced in "Alien" that the real evil at work in the universe is not the big bad buglike ET, but the human corporation ("The Company") who commissioned Ripley's missions and uses everyone and everything within its grasp for its own nefarious purposes.

Written and directed by James Cameron, "Aliens" finds Ripley returning to human society many years after her initial adventure (but barely aged, due to the fact that she was in a self-induced coma suitable for long space flights during the interim). Compelled by a need to exorcise herself of post-traumatic nightmares, she accepts The Company's invitation to escort a military operation to the same planet on which she first encountered the alien, where a colony of settlers is believed to be in distress. The ass-hole quotient among the troop in which she finds herself is even higher than in the first movie; these guys are a bunch of losers just begging to be eaten (especially Bill Paxton as a redneck oaf). So it's no surprise when they bluster their way into an alien nest, a few of them get crunched, and the survivors end up marooned in a dark, dank, metallic warren fighting for their lives.

But just when things look to be pretty much the same as they were in "Alien," only with camouflage and better guns, a new dimension is added to the story which sets "Aliens" apart. It turns out that Ripley and her nemesis share not only a common enemy (The Company, represented by Paul Reiser as a corrupt agent), but also an unexpected maternal side. Having rescued a cat from the wreckage in the first movie, Ripley upgrades in the second film to an orphaned girl (Carrie Henn), the lone survivor of the colony. Focusing her energies on saving the child (and flirting a bit with an officer played by Michael Biehn), Ripley thus adds a compassionate softer side to her list of assets. (Lest fans miss the harder Ripley of the first film, the military unit includes a very butch GI, played by Jenette Goldstein.) While this doesn't make her any less bold or able to blast her way out of another death match, it does allow her to form a sort of bond with the queen alien, who, like her, is just protecting her young. The new focus and motivation of Ripley's ongoing battle adds piquancy to the action; in "Alien" she is simply fending off death from an anonymous animal, but in "Aliens" she is striving to preserve something meaningful in the face of complicated threats from man and beast alike.

In a way, it's too bad that I didn't see these movies years ago. I am willing to bet that the power of Ripley's character packed a wallop in the 1980s that is hard to appreciate today, when strong, kick-ass women are common in the movies and on TV. Yet she still makes a good argument for watching "Alien" and "Aliens" (and maybe the other two sequels): as a smart, sensible Jane who heads into space just trying to make a living and ends up an iconic mother/warrior hero, she remains a stand-out in the movie crowd.

Copyright © 2003 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.