Aliens
Just came across a nice Alien-box. Turns out this has both the theatrical release and the special edition of Aliens.
If you look at Alien, it had more in common with the slasher films and the cabin in the woods films than with action. Compared to the first one, this is more of a straight up action film, with all the banter between the soldiers and the shooting. And it's an eighties action flick, so the bad guy is a real slimeball, we have a to have a cute kid in there (thank you, mister Spielberg) and the main characters get a oneliner.
That said, it does its job and delivers on all the things you would expect from a similar flick.
The knife scene with Lance Henriksen is adrenaline.
Burke gets his comeuppance in a very satisfying manner.
The fight between the soldiers and the aliens is exciting, albeit onesided and the scene near the end with the Queen and Ripley saving Newt had me on the edge of my seat.
To make a comparison between Alien and Aliens in terms of better or improvement is understandable, but misses the point. If anything, both are not so much competitive (even though this one does perfect the "go big or go home" logic) as they are complementary. They complement each other, while both telling their own story and having their own merits. And both are still worth seeing.