Given the picture's enduring popularity, there's really no point in rehashing the plot — OK, for the uninitiated (all two of you): Ripley (series star Sigourney Weaver) heads back into space and leads a team of military grunts against the nasty extra-terrestrials — but there's always room to rehash many of the highlights: Weaver's terrific performance in the central role; the contrast between the heroic Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn) and the
cowardly Private Hudson (Bill Paxton); the escalating villainy of company man Burke (Paul Reiser); scripter Cameron's ability to keep piling on confrontations and director Cameron's ability to milk them for maximum tension; and, of course, those wonderful alien
creations.