The answer to the above questions regarding why Aliens works so well is easy: James Cameron.
Aliens is one of those movies I wish I could go back in time and watch with an audience on opening night.
From that point on, Aliens has steadily risen on my All-Time Favorite Movies List.
Yeah, it didn’t make much sense then, either, but when your 11-year old life revolves around James Cameron’s 1986 masterpiece Aliens, you do what you can with what you got.