I started watching Aliens with a mixture of hope to be very entertained and readiness to be disappointed. After the pleasant surprise of the first movie in this franchise holding up to my nostalgia, I did not dare to expect a similar great experience with this movie that I had no real memory of. But I was wrong to doubt the movie! Moreover, I enjoyed this movie even more than the first one.

I will not be the first to say that James Cameron did an excellent job in elaborating on the world of Alien, keeping its horror intact while shifting the genre slightly from horror to war movie. I felt for most space marines, who felt iconic even when I would not have known them from popular media, for the young girl Newt and of course for Ripley.

And the sound design of this thing! The heartbeat-score of the first movie was replaced by a proximity meter-score and the whole was a lot more, ehm, more. But my favourite moment was the moment the elaborate introduction of the marines and their military mission transitioned into the horror of the xenomorphs. The sudden shift from triumphant military marching music to almost complete quiet, with only an occasional low note, was an amazing way to build tension.

I loved it and it was great to see this movie also stands the test of time.