When Ridley Scott made Alien he made one of the greatest horror movies. It was near perfect in every way, including its commercial success, so it was no surprise when the studio called wanting a sequel. But unlike almost every other example I can think of, Aliens kept it’s “universe” (in the cinematic sense) and its characters and bravely abandoned the horror/thriller genre that made Alien so great, brought in James Cameron and made a top class action movie that still stands up superbly today.