ALIENS (1) vs. ROGUE ONE (5)

VS.

SETS AND SOUNDS:  “Aliens” takes place mostly in the complex at Hadley’s Hope.  It is a haunted house.  Many suspense/action have their climactic scene in a factory setting.  “Aliens” adds the medical lab/control room.  This is different because of the alterations made by the aliens.  This definitely creeps things up, but the set is otherwise pretty standard.  It’s what you put in the set that makes the movie special.  The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing and the sound effects are outstanding.  It also was nominated for Best Original Score for James Horner.  Interestingly, Horner had a bad experience with the film because Cameron gave him little time of help with the score.  This might explain why the movie has long stretches with no music.  One can only imagine what the pucker factor would have been like with a amped up score.  GRADE  =  B

“Rogue One”, like all the Star Wars movies, gives you a planetary tour.  The planets have radically different environments.  Jedha is like the Middle East, Eadu is rainy and rocky, and Scarif is a tropical paradise.  Nice variety.  In a nice touch, Jedha looks like Masada.  The score, by Michael Giacchino, is a typical Star Wars score.  He obviously channeled John Williams, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  Just not very original.  He treated the movie as a WWII action flick with an emotional core.  The use of music is almost the opposite of “Aliens” in that it backs every scene.  It does not manipulate or dominate, however.  The sound effects are outstanding and the movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Mixing.  GRADE =  A

DIALOGUE:  “Aliens” has 114 entries in IMDB quotes.  Most of them are Hudson either being macho or whining.  The soldier banter is realistic, but breaks no new ground and the screenwriter does not throw in anything futuristic.  For instance, Apone uses the phrase “assholes and elbows” (work hard) which would be nostalgic.  Weirdly, one of the Marines tells another “when we get back without you, I’ll call your folks”.  Everyone who’s ever seen a war movie knows the line ends with them threatening to sleep with their buddy’s wife!  Overall, the dialogue is not why the movie is great.  It does finish with one of the greatest lines in movie history:  “Get away from her, you BITCH!”   GRADE  =  C

“Rogue One” is not a very talkative movie.  Even the inspirational speeches are terse.  There is no iconic line like in “Aliens”.  There is a comic relief figure (K-2SO) who gets some good lines, better than Hudson. It has 88 entries on IMDB.   GRADE = C

CHARACTERS:   “Aliens” has one of the great sci-fi characters – Ellen Ripley.  She morphs into an action hero which is one reason why the movie is different in a great way from the original.  AFI put Ellen Ripley at #8 on its list of heroes.  This is a movie that gives women some meaty roles.  Vasquez is the toughest of the Marines and served as the template for later alpha females like Dizzy in “Starship Troopers” and Chacon in “Avatar”.  Newt stands in for the audience and is a key to the film.  Hicks is a standard hero, as is Burke as the slimy suit.  Bishop also appears to be a stereotype as the evil android and the twist is one of the best plot developments.  Everyone keys in on Hudson (most of the squad is underdeveloped) as he serves as comic relief in an otherwise humorless horror movie.  GRADE  =  B

“Rogue One” has a strong female character in Jyn Erso.  She’s your modern heroine.  She leads, she inspires, and she can fight.  Cassian is seemingly a stereotyped hero, but early on murders an informant without blinking.  An early sign that this Star Wars will not be aimed at 14 year-olds.  Plus the romance between the two is not pushed.  The motley crew has some appealing characters – especially K-2 and Chirrut.  K-2 is refreshingly different from C3PO.  Chirrut, the blind warrior, gets the Force into a movie that avoids advancing the Jedi warrior mythology.  The character was very popular with audiences.  The villain (Krennic) is adequately dastardly, but he pales in comparison to Darth Vader (and the alien queen).  GRADE  =  B

CLICHES:  The aliens are superior and should win.  There is a key person (Ripley) who the humans can not win without.  Tactics by the Marines are simply frontal (the aliens are less predictable). The aliens have a “brain” in the alien queen.  The Marines are a heterogeneous small unit that includes an ass-kicking female.  5 out of 10  GRADE  =  C

In “Rogue One”,  the Empire is superior in power to the rebels and should win.  There is a key person (Jyn) that the Rebellion must have to be successful.  K-2 serves as the movie’s side-kick and provides comic relief.  The Death Star has a weak spot.  The movie is all about getting the plans that reveal that weak spot.  Jyn leads a motley crew to get the plans.  5 out of 10  GRADE  =  C

ANALYSIS:  I love both these movies and it was not surprising that this match was close.  They both are excellent representatives of the subgenre.  “Aliens’ is a small unit skirmish movie.  “Rogue One” climaxes with a huge battle that involves infantry, air, and “naval”.  I could make a case for either one and I am sure some will be upset that “Aliens” did not make the final (I am upset, too).  I do feel “Rogue One” is more of a war movie.

ALIENS  =  30

ROGUE ONE  =  31