History YMMV / Aliens

** Keeping something handy "for close encounters."

-->'''Hicks''': Dwayne. It’s Dwayne.
-->'''Ripley''': Ellen.
-->'''Hicks''': Don’t be gone long, Ellen.

-->'''Ripley''': Get away from her, you bitch!

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: There are two antagonists, [[SuperPersistentPredator the predatory Xenomorphs]] and the greedy and weak [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Weyland-Yutani representative]] Burke. The Xenomorphs are [[EvilIsCool terrifyingly beloved]] by the fans, while Burke is so hated even Creator/PaulReiser's ''mother'' was pleased when he was killed in the film. The characters themselves also share that sentiment, as Ripley chews him out with: "[[HumansAreTheRealMonsters You don't see them (the Xenomorphs) fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage]]." Then again, without Weyland Yutani's repeated attempts to profit from them, xenomorphs would be ''physically incapable'' of running amok to the extent they do as they have no spacefaring technology of their own; it's always humans who come to the xenomorph planets, not the other way around. There's also the fact that the xenomorphs, though relatively intelligent, are basically just [[NonMaliciousMonster animals doing what comes naturally]] to them.

-->You sent them out there and you didn't even warn them. Why didn't you warn them, Burke?

** Ripley's absolutely on the money in accusing him of killing the colonists; there's a line from her as she confronts him in the director's cut which says ''he'' was named on the order to go investigate the derelict's coordinates.

* WTHCastingAgency: While few complain about what Jenette Goldstein brought to the role of Vasquez, many are quick to point out how this amazing character is played by a white woman in brownface. This is explained in the making-of documentary included with many Blu-Ray releases: Because ''Aliens'' was filmed in England, policies in place at the time required the production to hire as many native British actors, or Americans currently living in Britain, as possible before flying any American actors in (with the exception of Sigourney Weaver). Jenette Goldstein was living in Britain and was one of many talented actors the production found. Odds are, there simply wasn't a sizeable pool of Hispanic actors living in Britain at the time (and Goldstein herself ''does'' have Brazilian heritage, so it's as much about making her appearance match [[LatinoIsBrown audience expectations of what a Hispanic woman would look like]]).

* {{Narm}}: Being operated by multiple puppeteers, the Alien Queen's movements look very awkward and unnatural, with her different appendages seemingly moving in an uncoordinated manner...

* CommonKnowledge:
** Vasquez was played by a white actress with no Latina heritage? While Jeanette Goldstein wore {{Brownface}} makeup, she is also part Brazilian and identifies as Latina.

* SignatureScene: Ripley facing the Queen in the power loader to rescue Newt. The scene serves as the culmination of her CharacterDevelopment, and show just how far she’s willing to go to protect Newt. The scene is immortalized with one famous line from Ripley:

** Burke was acting on company orders to secure a xenomorph. Except, he clearly wasn't. Burke was a satire of the Reaganite maverick, the ruthless yuppie who launches risky projects -- on his own initiative -- to prove his worth and capability to the senior partners, similar to Bob Morton from ''Film/RoboCop''. If Weyland-Yutani ''was'' really hellbent on acquiring a xenomorph, there is no reason they wouldn't have scoured every planet on the Nostromo's flight path over the past 57 years. The story only really makes sense if the company covered up the original plan, and then Burke found out about it from Ripley's testimony and decided to handle it as his own pet project (the Execs at Ripley's deposition seem genuinely dismissive of her claims, Burke was the one who ordered the colonists to investigate the derelict and the military operation to salvage the debacle, Burke seems legitimately frightened at Ripley's accusations, and neither he, Ripley, or the marines bring up the possibility that anyone other than Burke was responsible). The idea Wey-Yu are some kind of fanatical xenomorph-worshipping cult whose board members throw unlimited resources at acquiring this one alien species was invented for the sequel, ''Alien 3'' -- which, incidentally, had cut dialogue explicitly stating Burke ''was'' acting on his own initiative in ''Aliens''.

** Burke was acting on company orders to secure a xenomorph. Except, he clearly wasn't. Burke was a satire of the Reaganite maverick, the ruthless yuppie who launches risky projects -- on his own initiative -- to prove his worth and capability to the senior partners, similar to Bob Morton from ''Film/RoboCop''. If Weyland-Yutani ''was'' really hellbent on acquiring a xenomorph, there is no reason they wouldn't have scoured every planet on the Nostromo's flight path over the past 57 years. The story only really makes sense if the company covered up the original plan, and then Burke found out about it from Ripley's testimony and decided to handle it as his own pet project. The idea Wey-Yu are some kind of fanatical xenomorph-worshipping cult whose board members throw unlimited resources at acquiring this one alien species was invented for the sequel, ''Alien 3'' -- which, incidentally, had cut dialogue explicitly stating Burke ''was'' acting on his own initiative in ''Aliens''.

* BetterOnDVD: The extended cut restores Newt's backstory, where her father was the first colonist who was infected, and Ripley's subplot of her heartbreak over losing her daughter during hypersleep, thereby adding a much deeper dimension to her relationship with Newt. These additions do interfere with the film's pacing and tension (they give away exactly what went down at the colony and that someone from the company set the colonists up to die), however; it's up to the individual viewer's opinion as to whether or not the trade-off is worth it.

* SugarWiki/DevelopmentHeaven: Creator/JamesCameron wanted to show a military unit that worked cohesively and acted like a group of friends. To that end, he brought the actors playing the soldiers (sans Creator/MichaelBiehn, a replacement for Creator/JamesRemar) up to England for a multi-week military training course, which allowed them time to get to know each other and forge believable friendships. He purposefully kept William Hope (Gorman) out, to preserve the aloof friction between the grunts and the new officer. He also shot the scenes on the ''Sulacco'' toward the end of the shooting schedule, when the actors had gotten to know each other very well, and had a high level of camaraderie.

* SignatureLine:
** "Game Over, man! Game over!"
** “Get away from her, you bitch!”
* SignatureScene:
** Ripley, via the Power Loader, vs the Alien Queen.
--> "Get away from her, you BITCH!"
** To a lesser extent, but still quoted frequently: "Game over man, game over!"

*** It looked like plexiglas to me, and a lot of people call panes of plexiglas "glass."

* SciFiGhetto. Averted. Creator/SigourneyWeaver received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress as Ripley.

** Its reintroduction of the SpaceMarine trope to a new generation wound up having an impact far beyond film, especially in video games. Decades' worth of [[ASpaceMarineIsYou sci-fi soldier protagonists]] and squadmates of such in games from ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' to ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' were inspired by this film's depiction of the United States Colonial Marines, while Creator/HRGiger's monster designs were likewise frequently copied for the alien baddies that they fought. Even the hive levels full of MeatMoss frequently seen in such games have a prototype in the scene where the Marines explore the reactor pit.

* {{Sequelitis}}: The film avoided this by using a completely different genre. While ''Alien'' was more horror/suspense, ''Aliens'' was a pretty straightforward sci-fi action film with a few moments of suspense/horror. Everything after the first two movies tries to copy one of those two formulas.

* WTHCastingAgency: While few complain about what Jenette Goldstein brought to the role of Vasquez, many are quick to point out how this amazing character is played by a white woman in brownface. This is explained in the making-of documentary included with many Blu-Ray releases: Because ''Aliens'' was filmed in England, policies in place at the time required the production to hire as many native British actors, or Americans currently living in Britain, as possible before flying any American actors in (with the exception of Sigourney Weaver). Jenette Goldstein was living in Britain and was one of many talented actors the production found. Odds are, there simply wasn't a sizeable pool of Hispanic actors living in Britain at the time (and Goldstein herself ''does'' have Brazilian heritage, so it's as much about making her appearance match audience expectations of what a Hispanic woman would look like).

* WTHCastingAgency: While few complain about what Jenette Goldstein brought to the role of Vasquez, many are quick to point out how this amazing character is played by a white woman in brownface. This is explained in the making-of documentary included with many Blu-Ray releases: Because ''Aliens'' was filmed in England, policies in place at the time required the production to hire as many native British actors, or Americans currently living in Britain, before flying any American actors in (with the exception of Sigourney Weaver). Jenette Goldstein was living in Britain and was one of many talented actors the production found. Odds are, there simply wasn't a sizeable pool of Hispanic actors living in Britain at the time (and Goldstein herself ''does'' have Brazilian heritage, so it's as much about making her appearance match audience expectations of what a Hispanic woman would look like).

* IdiotPlot: Everything relating to the ruptured cooling system and the resulting nuclear melt-down.
** After Ripley gets the SmartBall and asks about the pulse rifle ammunition, which is explosive, there is apparently never any alternative ammunition available that *isn't* explosive, despite modern ammunition coming in different varieties especially for different scenarios where collateral damage could be an issue.
** Lt. Gorman tells the Marines the 'bare minimum' about not firing their guns and switching to flame units only, without explaining any of the consequences. Of course, this is in character with his demonstrated inexperience and by the book attitude.
** Sgt. Apone, however, asks very few questions, which is 'not' necessarily in character, as he's otherwise shown as competent. Sergeants are supposed to advise their Lieutenants, especially when they are new. You'd think he'd try to get a private conversation in, if nothing else.
** As a result, the Marines spend little time switching to weapons or strategies based upon this new information. The group fans out in a large scattered pattern, which coupled with the fact that this is a hostage rescue mission, makes flamethrowers an absolutely insane plan. Hicks switches to a shotgun, an appropriate weapon for the scenario, but he's the only one. Several other Marines lie about disarming their weapons.
** So, the action begins, the group is spread out and easily picked off, and friendly fire (literally) occurs with the flamethrowers. Other marines open fire and rupture the cooling system.
** The dropship the marines landed in takes off immediately after they depart, but some time after that it lands again and just sits there with its back door open. This allows the xenomorphs to easily kill both of the pilots and destroy the ship, leaving the marines stranded
** Sometime later, the survivors discover the fact that the station is going to self-destruct in about four hours and a reasonably intelligent plan is made to bring a dropship down. However, there are no discussions about escape routes or timetables for evacuation, especially considering they realize there's little spare time to escape once the dropship arrives.
** With only a couple hours until the whole area is destroyed in a nuclear explosion, Ripley and Newt lay down and take a nap, away from the rest of the group.
** The aliens approach, and the group welds the doors together and bunkers up, not once mentioning the fact that the station is going to be destroyed in less than an hour, and they need to be leaving NOW.
** What's curious is that there really doesn't seem to be a need to have the explosion at all from a story perspective, except to be similar to the first film. They've already discussed nuking the area from orbit (which cleans up loose ends), and the additional tension/timeline isn't needed as they mention they have little chance of surviving more than a few hours against the aliens anyway.
** Also, why is there no crew running the ship while the marines go down to the planet? They literally take every one with them, leaving it completely empty. The incomptence of the marines is at least justified in that the Weyland-Yutani corp wants the mission to fail so that infected marines will transport alien embryos back to Earth for them, but that becomes an idiot plot in and of itself.

* WTHCastingAgency: While few complain about what Jenette Goldstein brought to the role of Vasquez, many are quick to point out how this amazing character is played by a white woman in brownface. This is explained in the making-of documentary included with many Blu-Ray releases: Because ''Aliens'' was filmed in England, policies in place at the time required the production to hire as many native British actors, or Americans currently living in Britain, before flying any American actors in (with the exception of Sigourney Weaver). Jenette Goldstein was living in Britain and was one of many talented actors the production found. Odds are, there simply wasn't a sizeable pool of Hispanic actors living in Britain at the time.

** The same goes with the xenomorphs. Only a few full suits were built and yet every trick in the book was used to give the illusion of multiple aliens fighting the Marines.

** Bishop. He's feared and distrusted -- if not outright hated -- by his coworkers at worst, and treated as little more than a useful tool by them at best, but he's one of the most popular and iconic characters in the entire franchise.