80's R rated Action Movie Shootout: SF2 - The Terminator vs Aliens

[Hunter Rider]

The other Semfi-Final is pretty much a blowout so I figure we might as well get the 2nd one under way, I imagine this will be a lot closer.

VS​

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Aliens ( longue version ).

 

[Iceman]

Aliens for me but not a whole lot in it.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I love T1 significantly more. Annoying space marines alone put Aliens below.

 

[Broseph44]

Aliens

 

[Mandon Knight]

The Terminator by a country mile and then some vast, open space, maybe a few hundred more miles. Vote - The Terminator

 

[Spider-Fan]

Aliens is like, a top 10 or 15 favorite of mine. Barely edges out The Terminator.

 

[BlackFox]

 

[B]

Although I liked Alien it's not even close decision for me, Terminator quite easily.

 

[Nightwatcher11]

Terminator for me. It's just a classic, and my favorite terminator film. I really love the ominous horror tone, mixed with the thriller/ action pieces. Aliens is great as well but I was raised by T1 at a very young age. Thanks Mom and Dad!

 

[BlackFox]

Match is on a knife edge.

 

[Iceman]

In most of the other matches I really wanted one to win but here I’d be fine with either taking it.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Come on, T, you can do this. In the name of Technoir.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

The Terminator is a tighter, more suspenseful and I feel ultimately the more emotional and impactful film. Plus, I like the performances from the leads better, especially notable since Michael Biehn is in both (Kyle Reese is the performance of his career).

 

[NDX]

I'd have to go with The Terminator on this one, although both had some classic lines. Love both films, but Arnie wins out this time.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Terminator has a frisson in that it's Jim Cameron going all out trying to make his mark. Within the strictures of his budget he's squeezing out everything he can to make this story work and be a hit with the audience. But you also see the beats he will hit again and again in this film. His mastery of telling a story via on screen action that is propulsive and yet easy to follow and understand. And perhaps the frantic need on his part to make this a splash translates to the screen because the film is so tight and bare bones but also engaging. It's like eating a really good but simple meal. It might just be steak and potatoes with a salad and a cold beer to wash it down with... But the steak is exactly as you like it, the potatoes are pitch perfect, the salad has enough variety and accents to not be bland and the beer is a great German import (Or... Austrian as the case is here...) that goes down with a satisfying crisp but strong flavor.

All that said...

I have to give this to Aliens. Yes, it's a sequel. Yes, it changes gears from the Lovecraftian space nightmare to a more relatable military sci fi adventure. Yeah, now Cameron has the budget to do what he wants... But this doesn't create some sophomore slump. This is Cameron unbound and if Terminator is a great but simple meal, Aliens is a four course dinner done just right, and never once tipping over the precipice into either bloat or pretension. In fact, similar to another of his films, The Abyss, Cameron cut this down for fear of bloat but he could have left what was cut out in and it would only enhance the experience. Inspired greatly by the prose version of Starship Troopers Cameron brings us a easily recognizable characters in the same way that Scott's film did with his "Space Truckers" but here it has a military twist to it. And that's the thing... This film feels totally and completely compatible with the world set up in Alien. It's not mining the same kind of body horror, slasher film type of vibe sure. But... There's no doubt it is in the same fictional world only the story has now branched out into another area. What's interesting is that while the Marines are certainly more well equipped on multiple fronts to deal with the situation in comparison to Ripely's first crew, they are no less the underdogs, which is a common trait of Cameron's films. The dialog is snappy and quotable, the characters well defined but with human graces and foibles, the production valutes tops for their time, the score is amazing and the action is superb. This for me is a case where, as much as I adore Terminator, bigger is indeed better. I think that while Terminator just works as a mini masterpiece the copycats that came after soon died. Aliens on the other hand? We are STILL getting Aliens rip-offs til this day. That shows how the film still resonates but I think it might muddy the waters a bit for the true appreciation of what Cameron's second true blockbuster achieved.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

If Terminator edges this out next round will be...

 

[BlackFox]

In most of the other matches I really wanted one to win but here I’d be fine with either taking it.

Worthy of a final this one...

Might need pens to separate them.

 

[Hunter Rider]

This is the tightest contest so far!

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

This is the tightest contest so far!

As it should be. Two Ur classics of their respective action genres.

 

[Pink Ranger]

I chose Aliens because they did something really hard; they managed to assign tactical behaviour and motivations to antagonists which in any other movie would just be animalistic monsters.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I chose Aliens because they did something really hard; they managed to assign tactical behaviour and motivations to antagonists which in any other movie would just be animalistic monsters.

"How could they cut the power? They're animals, man!"

Love the deleted scene with the auto-guns just depleting ammo.

Outside of Titanic and Avatar I usually always feel that Cameron's deleted material always enhances my viewing experience. One in particular, The Abyss I can only watch the Director's cut off.

 

[Hunter Rider]

It was an epic contest in the battle of the Cameron sci fi action classics, and in the end Ripley edges it to book a spot in the final!

 

[Mandon Knight]

So, really the question now becomes, which is worse ? A narcissistic German terrorist or a Acid spitting Queen as a villain of your piece....

 

[Iceman]

"How could they cut the power? They're animals, man!"

Love the deleted scene with the auto-guns just depleting ammo.

Outside of Titanic and Avatar I usually always feel that Cameron's deleted material always enhances my viewing experience. One in particular, The Abyss I can only watch the Director's cut off.

That line worked so well for me. Classic Hudson - hilarious but at the same time amping up the tension/horror.