Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returns in her salvage ship a half a century later and in a deep sleep and the only survivor from the last film.
She is then taken back to Earth and learns that a human colony was founded on the same planet where the aliens were first found including families on the planet.
Ripley tells them what could happen if an alien was taken back to Earth like these people plan to.
The colony is suddenly lost when Earth tries to contact them and ask Ripley to help find any survivors on the planet.
She agrees but only to wipe out the aliens and not to study them or bring them back to Earth as a lead chief named Burke (Paul Reiser) assures her that is what the plan is.

Then they arrive at the planet with a full army of soldiers to protect Ripley. They go down to the place where the people built their colony building but it is deserted and torn up.
They find a little girl named Newt (Carrie Henn) who tells Ripley that her family has been killed by the aliens. They find a hive of people cocooned up and finds an alive one but then an alien starts hatching out of this victim and the people kill it.
Suddenly there's aliens surrounding them whom were sleeping until that event woke them up and killed some of the soldiers.
Also their ship to take them back to their main ship crashed and destroyed after an alien got in and killed the pilot.

Ripley and the other survivors hide out at the deserted tower and figure out a plan and hope that the aliens won't manage to get in but however they are not succeeding.
Burke also has a deadly plan for Ripley and doesn't keep his word on destroying these aliens as he wants to impregnate her with one of the aliens eggs so he can bring one to Earth so he can do some research on it at his lab.

The opening has a good dark background with nice glowing credits saying Aliens which looked nice and flashy. Then we spot Ripley sleeping in the small space craft with her cat as this looked very suitable proving that this followed exactly where the last film left off.
Then there's a nice shocking moment involving Ripley after she awakens in a ship near the Earth as we spot a baby alien creature about to burst out of her chest. But we have all guessed that was a nightmare she was having. Still it was nicely put in regardless and nice shocking effects on her skin too showing the shape of this creature ready to burst out.
There's also some good scenarios at a meeting with Ripley discussing what could happen if those creatures came down on Earth after finding out that families and a big population of people went up to that planet which is not a pleasant thought at all. In the background there's a screen with the character's from the previous film and their files rolling up which I thought looked cool too.
Some nice humoress one liners while a ship is heading towards the planet with some tough soldiers being sarcastic towards one another one like Pvt. Hudson asking a body builder tomboy Pvt. Vasquez if she's ever been mistakened for a guy as this was perfectly put in. Also a good moment with an anrdoid named Bishop showing up as well as Ripley getting upset by this and trying to protect her boundries since we all knew about the last android named Ash who tried to kill her in Alien. Definetely a nice touch to the sequel here.
The story becomes even more entertaining when Ripley discusses what happened in the very beginning on how one of her crew members got impregnated by the alien creature which seemed impressive to watch and how she was disturbed to what had happened after it was born and having a hard time talking about it. This was disturbing on what had happened after all so it really worked well.
Nice scenery on the planet in a rainy storm with the abandoned area as well as the insides looking damaged giving the film a total creepy feel to it and making you scared wondering if the alien creatures will come out and attack since things seem way too quiet. Plus it's cool to see the soldiers being cautious holding onto their weapons which definetely keeps you in suspense wondering if they will be in for a shocking surprise with these monsters coming in for the attack.
It's interesting to see a child survivor named Newt and where she hid out all the time when the creatures killed everyone which is an area underneath a vent. Kind of like those forts kids make in an empty part of a house. It kinda looked cool seeing this.
Also a nice interaction with Ripley trying to talk to Newt and asking if her parents are hiding like she is and she bluntly tells them they're dead in an upsetting fashion in which we kinda suspect that's what was going to be said but was nicely put in making you feel sorry for the poor child after acting disturbed ever since Ripley and the gang found her. Brings a nice touch to the horrifying story about to unravel.
The terror happens later on when they detect something moving and it's not them and good shots on the creatures crawling out of their hiding places which seems pretty clever that they belnd in with the dark caves and stuff like that. It creeps you out too as you know alot of these people won't make it back and great battling action sequences with the machine guns firing away or someone accidentally burned alive and falling off a ledge plus someone having their face scarred by acid causing by them firing their gun inside the creatures mouth as this was nice stunt work and suspenseful looking effects too.
But tragedy really stirkes is when the small jet that's suppsed to take everyone back to their mother ship crashes cause one of the creatures is in it and kills the driver. The effects looked awesome watching this crashing into the rocks and everyone running to take cover. It was psychological thinking you're stranded on the planet for good especially with Pvt. Hudosn whining and complaining that it's game over. Not a good feeling at all. Also it's interesting when Newt tells them they'd better get back inside as the creatures mainly come out at night since dawn was breaking. This seems to work really well with the creatures prowling at this time especially in a sci-fi/horror like this one.
Perfect wirting in dialogue with Ripley talking to Newt and she said her parents told her there's no such thing as monsters but there are and asks her why parents tell kids that and Ripley's answer is that it's mostly true. I found this moment to look very clever. Also Ripley wakes up and realises that one of those parasite type creatures that implants an egg inside a person so the creatures can be born is loose and wakes up Newt telling her there's trouble as this definetely makes you shiver and making you scared that it will leap out any time. Imagining if you were in this situation.
Nice effects showing some mechanically operated machine guns firing away with the alien trespassers or when the power is cut off created by these creatures and Hudson freaks out telling them they're animals and how can they shut it off which also worked in well. It really makes you wonder as to how they did this.
The suspense packs a punch with the creatures breaking up from the floors to attack or crashing through the walls which can almost make you jump for sure.
Nice moments when the survivors try to escape in an elevator and we see one of the creatures sprawling after which looked intense and well shot with all the terrifying surroundings placed here. Plus there's good panicking moments when Newt is stuck below Ripley and Cpl. Dwayne Hicks on a metal passageway with her being in water and Hicks tries to weld open a vent to get her out while some creatures are luring and hovering over Newt which looked believeably mind pressuring wondering if they will save her in time.
My favourite scene is yet to come as we spot Newt waking up in an area infested with Alien eggs as well as Ripley coming in for the rescue with a perfect dark moment when we spot the queen alien laying more eggs as this thing is huge. The surroundings looked dark and gloomy as well as Ripley destroying the eggs which looked perfect and vengeful too with her doing this. You almost hope she will try and terminate the queen as well. All of this showed dynamic special effects with all of this happening. There's great effects with the city about to explode too showing fire and things falling.
Another cool moment is that Ripley is controlling this robotic type of device that lifts heavy things and challenges the queen alien as well as a memorable one liner when she tries to protect Newt from being killed by this ferocious thing which was a terrific one liners indeed and certainly aggressive too. Lots of suspenseful struggling action watching on what's happening and quite terrifying too with how to plan to snuff this monster.
Bottom line is that this is a great action packed fast paced film with a great story like the first one with a bigger cast and more aliens too.
Lots more special effects and getting to the point of things on how these nasty creatures breed and the reason for others being coccooned up. The film was a bigger hit at the box office than the first one due to all these reasons too.
Excellent combat fighting sequences too against these monsters keeping you glued to the set without a doubt.
You couldn't ask for a better film than this.
After watching this I begged to see another sequel but sadly it was a disappointing one.

The acting is superb and excellent with again mainly a household cast. Sigourney Weaver (Ripley) is at it again who acts very tough and tense with her actions as well as showing a good caring side to her part in which we don't see in the original film. She's got it all nailed down and never once have I seen her do a bad job in her shows. She brings out more into this film I must say and congrats to her. She stole the film without a doubt.
Child actress Carrie Henn (Newt) was very natural in her part and was adored by millions of fans showing great energy and knew how to scream in fear from these ferocious monsters. She shows a nice innocence to her part in the flick. A shame she never carried on with her acting career as she had a promising one. Again, lots of child stars never move on.
Michael Biehn (Cpl. Dwayne Hicks) was great playing the good tough guy soldier as his role is similar to his role in Terminator. He shows a good hearted behavior along with a nice seriousness to what he does and punding out some great energy too. He also comes across as quite charming too and making himself quite believeable.
I also enjoyed Jenette Goldstein (Pvt. Vasquez) play the tomboy with a perfect butchy behavior. She was good acting sarcastic and acting aggressive which she brings out everything with all that she does here. She has a good coolness to her speaking too. Usually she was cast on other films having minor roles which I though she deserves better acting work.
Lance Henriksen (Bishop) brings off a good eccentric type of appeal onto the screen but yet shows a nice decent type of attitude too. He comes across as one of those intelligent types who knows what he's doing and really making this come to life while watching him perform by doing all of this.
Of course I remember Paul Reiser (Carter Burke) from the TV series Mad About You as a scumbag and I truly felt he got what he deserved in the end. He definetely focused very well into what he did in the film making him a believeable backstabber that you can't trust as well as making himself convincing as a greedy type who you'd just want to smack across the face.
We can't forget about James Cameron's favourite actor Bill Paxton (Pvt. Hudson) who plays the whiney type and certainly shows a good sarcastic type of behavior along with acting childish and immature in every way. First by acting tough and then coming across as a real pussy. He was well remembered to what he did in this flick. He worked in Cameron's other films like in Terminator, True Lies and Titanic (all excellent movies) and is good in all of them too.
Al Matthews (Sgt. Apone) certainly had a great supporting role in this as he shows a great strict and bossy no BS type of attitude towards everyone making him a believeable sergeant and getting to the point with everything. He also shows a nice good hearted type of personality too making him a truly likeable character. He certainly shows a good gruff speaking whenever he spoke.
In the special edition there is a special appearance by Mac McDonald (Colony Officer Al Simpson) as people who saw the special edition remembered his role in it as he was quite witty in it. He then moved to the UK to pursue his acting career there and was well remembered for playing Captain Hollister in certain episodes comedy-sci-fi cult classic TV series Red Dwarf. He shows off a nice charm to his role in this one and acted quite lifelike in what he did.

There are corpses cocooned up and an alien burts out of one of them.
Acid is splashed on a couple people's faces but that isn't really gruesome.
The android Bishop is split in half but again he is just a robot.

The music was composed by James Horner and is superb with it for this one especially the dark music sounding for the opening of the film which was used in other scene's too along with good army drum sounds while everyone on the ship prepares for themselves to do battle on the planet. This guy has a huge resume for his composing in other films. There's classical music is composed on this film as well and I loved the closing credit music with the smooth and peaceful violin playing.

[first lines]
Salvage team leader: Bio-readouts are all in the green, looks like she's alive. Well, there goes our salvage, guys.

Van Leuwin: Thank you, Officer Ripley, that will be all.
Ripley: God damn it, that's not all! 'Cause if one of those things gets down here then that will be all! And all this, this bullshit that you think is so important, you can just kiss all that goodbye!

[On whether she would return to LV-426]
Ripley: Now please leave. I am not going back, and I am... I would not be any good to you if I did.

Ripley: Just tell me one thing, Burke. You're going out there to destroy them, right? Not to study. Not to bring back. But to wipe them out.
Burke: That's the plan. You have my word on that.
Ripley: All right, I'm in.

Ripley: [to Jones, the cat] And you, you little shit-head... you're staying here.

Gorman: Good morning, Marines. I'm sorry we didn't have time to brief you people before we left Gateway, but...
Hudson: Sir?
Gorman: What is it, Hicks?
Hudson: Hudson, sir.
[points]
Hudson: He's Hicks.

Apone: All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious day in the corps! A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I LOVE the corps!

Drake: Hey Hicks. Man, you look just like I feel.

Hudson: Man, this floor's freezing.
Apone: What do you want me to do, fetch your slippers for you?
Hudson: Gee, would you sir? I'd like that.
[Apone points at his face with middle finger]
Apone: Look into my eye.

Hudson: Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
Vasquez: No, have you?

Vasquez: Hey, Mira. Who's Snow White?
Ferro: She's supposed to be some kind of consultant. Apparently she saw an alien once.
Hudson: Well whoopee-fuckin'-do, hey, I'm impressed.

Hicks: Guess the new lieutenant's too good to eat with the rest of us grunts.
Frost: Boy's definitely got a corncob up his ass.

Ripley: You never said anything about an android being on board, why not?
Burke: It never uhm, never occurred to me. It's common practice, we always have a synthetic on board.
Bishop: I prefer the term "Artificial Person" myself.

[Ripley slaps away the tray of food Bishop offers her]
Frost: I guess she don't like the cornbread, either.

Hudson: Hey top, what's the op?
Apone: It's a rescue mission, you'll love it. There's some juicy colonists' daughters we have to rescue from their virginity. Heh!

Apone: Allright, sweethearts, you heard the man and you know the drill! Assholes and elbows!

Hudson: Maybe we got'em demoralized.

Hudson: Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen!

[the marines are all hard at work, preparing for the drop]
Ripley: I feel like kind of a fifth wheel around here, is there anything I can do?
Apone: I dunno, is there anything you can do?

Drake: They ain't paying us enough for this, man.
Dietrich: Not enough to have to wake up to your face, Drake.
Drake: What? Is that a joke?
Dietrich: Oh, I wish it were.

Gorman: Any Questions?
[Hudson raises his hand]
Gorman: What is it private?
Hudson: How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?
Apone: You secure that shit Hudson!

Vasquez: Look man! I only need to know one thing: where they are.

Vasquez: Anytime, anywhere, man!
Hudson: Right, right. Somebody said "alien" she thought they said "illegal alien" and signed up!
Vasquez: Fuck you, man!
Hudson: Anytime, anywhere.

Hudson: Is this going to be a standup fight, sir, or another bughunt?
Gorman: All we know is that there is still is no contact with the colony, and that a xenomorph may be involved.
Frost: Excuse me sir, a what?
Gorman: A xenomorph.
Hicks: It's a bughunt.

Apone: All right you guys, we're a team and there's nothing to worry about. We come here, and we gonna conquer, and we gonna kick some. Is that understood?
Marines: Yes Sir!
Apone: That's what we gonna do, sweethearts. We are going to go and get some. All right people, on the ready line!

[special edition]
[during the drop to LV-426]
Hudson: I'm ready, man, check it out. I am the ultimate badass! State of the badass art! You do NOT want to fuck with me. Check it out! Hey Ripley, don't worry. Me and my squad of ultimate badasses will protect you! Check it out! Independently targeting particle beam phalanx. Whoa! Fry half a city with this puppy. We got tactical smart missiles, base plasma pulse rifles, RPGs, we got sonic electronic ball breakers! We got nukes, we got knives, sharp sticks...
Apone: Knock it off, Hudson. All right, gear up.

Frost: Hey, I sure wouldn't mind getting me some more of that Arcturian poontang! Remember that time?
Spunkmeyer: Yeah Frost, except the one you had was MALE.
Frost: It doesn't matter when it's Arcturian, baby!

[When they are dropped over LV-426]
Hudson: We're on an express elevator to hell - going down!

Frost: It's hot as hell in here.
Hudson: Yeah man, but it's a dry heat!

Hicks: Remember: short, controlled bursts.

[a facehugger trapped in a stasis tube tries unsuccessfully to attack Burke]
Hicks: Looks like love at first sight to me. Oh, he likes you, Burke!

[Bishop reads a medical chart describing the captured facehugger]
Bishop: "Surgically removed before embryo implantation. Subject: Marachek, John J. died during the procedure." They killed him taking it off.

Dietrich: Looks like some sort of secreted resin.
Hicks: Yeah, but secreted from *what*?

Burke: Busy little creatures, huh?

Ripley: I dunno how you managed to stay alive, but you're one brave kid, Rebecca.
Newt: [whispers] N... Newt...
Ripley: What?
Newt: Newt. My name's Newt. Nobody calls me Rebecca except my brother.

Ripley: These people are here to protect you. They are soldiers.
Newt: It won't make any difference.

Gorman: Drake, check your camera. There seems to be a malfunction.
[Drake smacks the camera against a nearby support. The picture clears]
Gorman: That's better.

Ripley: How many drops is this for you, Lieutenant?
Gorman: Thirty eight... simulated.
Vasquez: How many *combat* drops?
Gorman: Uh, two. Including this one.
Drake: Shit.
Hudson: Oh, man...

Frost: Man, I'm telling you, I got a bad feeling about this drop.
Crowe: You always say that, Frost. You always say, "I got a bad feeling about this drop."
Frost: Okay, okay. When we get back without you, I'll call your folks.

Ripley: Lieutenant, what do those pulse rifles fire?
Gorman: 10 millimeter explosive tip caseless. Standard light armor piercing rounds, why?
Ripley: Well, look where your team is. They're right under the primary heat exchangers.
Gorman: So?
Ripley: So, if they fire their weapons in there, won't they rupture the cooling system?
Burke: [interjecting] Woah woah. Yeah, she's absolutely right.
Gorman: [turns round to Burke] So, so what?
Burke: Look, this whole station is basically a big fusion reactor...
[Gorman turns back to stare, horrified, at the screen]
Burke: ...right? So you're talkin' about a thermonuclear explosion and "Adiós, muchachos."
Gorman: Oh, great. Wonderful. Shit!

Gorman: Apone! Look... we can't have any firing in there. I, uh... I want you to collect magazines from everybody.
Hudson: Is he fuckin' crazy?
Frost: What the hell are we supposed to use man? Harsh language?

[Pulling out his pump-action shotgun]
Hicks: I like to keep this handy for close encounters.

[Hudson is reading a motion detector which indicates the alien horde should have passed the door by now]
Hudson: It's reading right man, look!
Hicks: Well, you're not reading it right!

Vasquez: LET'S ROCK!

Hudson: Let's just bug out and call it even, OK? What are we talking about this for?
Ripley: I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Hudson: Fuckin' A...
Burke: Ho-ho-hold on one second. This installation has a substantial dollar value attached to it.
Ripley: They can *bill* me.

[the Marines are being torn apart by the Aliens in the Atmosphere Processor Hive]
Hicks: Where's Apone? Where's Apone?
Hudson: The Sarge is gone, man! Let's get the fuck outta here!

[Hicks is dozing through an extremely turbulent entry into a planetoid's atmosphere]
Apone: [laconically] Somebody wake up Hicks.

Hicks: Drake, we are LEAVING!

[an alien pushes the APC doors back trying to get in]
Hicks: [pushes his shotgun into the alien's mouth] Eat this!
[fires]

[the drop-ship crashes]
Hudson: Well that's great, that's just fuckin' great man. Now what the fuck are we supposed to do? We're in some real pretty shit now man... That's it man, game over man, game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?
Burke: Maybe we could build a fire, sing a couple of songs, huh? Why don't we try that?

Hudson: Oh dear Lord Jesus, this ain't happening, man... This can't be happening, man! This isn't happening!

Newt: We'd better get back, 'cause it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night... mostly.

Newt: My mommy always said there were no monsters - no real ones - but there are.
Ripley: Yes there are, aren't there?
Newt: Why do they tell little kids that?
Ripley: Most of the time its true...

Bishop: I'm afraid I have some bad news.
Hudson: Well that's a switch.

Hudson: You maybe haven't been keeping up on current events but we just got our asses kicked, pal!

Ripley: How long after we're declared overdue can we expect a rescue?
Hicks: [pause] Seventeen days.
Hudson: *Seventeen days?* Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last seventeen hours! Those things are gonna come in here just like they did before. And they're gonna come in here...
Ripley: Hudson!
Hudson: ...and they're gonna come in here AND THEY'RE GONNA KILL US!
Ripley: HUDSON! This little girl survived longer than that with no weapons and no training.
[to Newt]
Ripley: Right?
[Newt apes a salute]
Hudson: So why don't you put her in charge?
Ripley: You'd better just start dealing with it, Hudson! Listen to me! Hudson, just deal with it because we need you and I'm sick of your bullshit.

Ripley: Well, someone's gonna have to go out there. Take a portable transmitter and patch in manually.
Hudson: Oh yeah, sure! With those things running around? You can count me out.
Hicks: Yeah I guess we can just count you out of everything, Hudson.
Hudson: That's right, man.
Bishop: [speaking under Hudson] I'll go.
Hudson: And watch you go, man!
Bishop: [more loudly] I'll go.
Ripley: What?
Bishop: I'll go. I mean, I'm the only one qualified to remote-pilot the ship anyway.
Hudson: Yeah right, man, Bishop should go. Good idea!
Bishop: Believe me, I'd prefer not to. I may be synthetic but I'm not stupid.

[only in special edition]
[discussing where the eggs come from]
Hudson: What if it's like an anthive?
Vasquez: Bees, man. Bees have hives!

Burke: Look Ripley, this is a multi-million dollar installation, okay? He can't make that kind of decision, he's just a grunt!
[to Hicks]
Burke: Ah, no offense.
Hicks: None taken.

Burke: Okay, look. What if that ship didn't even exist? Did you ever think about that, I didn't know! So if I went and made a major security situation out of it, everybody steps in; Administration steps in, and there's no exclusive rights for anybody, nobody wins! So I made a decision, and it was... wrong. It was a bad call, Ripley. It was a bad call.

Burke: Look, this is an emotional moment for all of us, okay? I know that. But let's not... Let's not make snap judgments, please. This is clearly an important species we're dealing with and I don't think that you or I, or anybody, has the right to arbitrarily exterminate them!
Ripley: Wrong!
Vasquez: Yeah. Watch us.

Burke: Ripley? You know I expected more from you - I thought you'd be smarter than this.
Ripley: Well, I'm happy to disappoint you.

Hicks: Hey! I know we're all in strung out shape but stay frosty and alert. We can't afford to let one of those bastards in here.

Ripley: Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?

Ripley: You know Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage!

[after making a plan to wield the doors shut and put the sentry units]
Hicks: Outstanding. Now all we need is a deck of cards.

Hudson: They're coming outta the walls. They're coming outta the goddamn walls, we're fucked!

Gorman: Hicks, meet me at the south lock. We're coming in.
Hudson: He's coming in. I feel safer already.

Hudson: [Points muzzle of pulse-rifle to Burke's face] I say we grease this rat-fuck, son of a bitch right now.

Hicks: This doesn't make any god-damn sense.
Ripley: He figured he could get an alien back through quarantine, if one of us was impregnated, or whatever you call it, then frozen for the trip home. Nobody would know about the embryos we were carrying; me and Newt.
Hicks: Wait a minute now... We'd all know.
Ripley: Yes! The only way he could do it, was to sabotage certain freezers on the way home. Then he could jettison the bodies and make up any story he liked.
Hudson: Fuck. He's dead.
[Points muzzle of pulse-rifle to Burke's face again and looks him in the eye]
Hudson: You're dog meat pal!

Hicks: All right, we waste him. No offense!

Ripley: They cut the power.
Hudson: What do you mean "they cut the power"? How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!

[Hudson is frantically mowing down aliens]
Hudson: Come on! Come on! Come and get it, baby! Come on! Let's go, yeah, come on! Come on! Come and get it you bastards! Come on, you too! Oh, you want some of this? Fuck you!

Vasquez: Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast!

[Gorman has just run out of ammo, and it is clear they will now both die]
Vasquez: You always were an asshole, Gorman.

Bishop: Ripley, in nineteen minutes this area is going to be a cloud of vapor the size of Nebraska!

Hicks: I wanna introduce you to a personal friend of mine. This is an M41A pulse rifle. Ten millimeter with over-and-under thirty millimeter pump action grenade launcher.

Ripley: Bishop, how much time?
Bishop: Plenty, 26 minutes!
Ripley: We're not leaving!
Bishop: We're not?

Newt: [to Ripley after they return to the ship] I knew you'd come.

Ripley: Get away from her, you bitch!

Bishop: Not bad for a human.

[last lines]
Newt: Can I dream?
Ripley: Yes honey. I think we both can. Sleep tight.
Newt: Affirmative.

[last lines]
Ripley: Sleep tight.
Newt: Affirmative.