James Cameron's incredible sci-fi sequel has to be one of the greatest sci-fi/horror films ever made. However, that's not to say that it is perfect. Like with every movie, fans love poking fun at the nonsensical mistakes and plot holes of great films, since it is just good-natured fun, with no ill intent.

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Aliens is the ultimate sequel. It's bigger, badder and more action-packed than its predecessor (without stepping on its toes), which allows both to exist in the same reality as complementary forces to one another. It's also loaded with some things that just don't make the common sense cut, but that shouldn't deter anyone from watching it for the thousandth time. It is truly that good.

The Tribunal

Ripley stands before a tribunal

Shortly after a traumatized Ellen Ripley learns that she's been floating around in space for 57 years, she finds herself facing down a boardroom full of suits who want an explanation as to the events of the previous film. The scene begins with Ripley looking over photos of her dead crew members, before turning and telling them that she's told the same story over and over for three and a half hours.

One would think that after such time, the executives would have gotten the picture. Yet, they insist on going over details that would have been considered firmly established up to that point, including her reasons for detonating the Nostromo and fleeing in the shuttle.

No Warning Beacon

Newt & her family discover the derelict

The crew of the Nostromo in the original Alien film stumbled upon the creature when they investigated a distress call from a derelict ship, which had crash-landed on a small planetoid. Upon further investigation, Ripley determined that the signal was actually a warning to steer clear, which definitely held water.

Yet, in Aliens, Ripley learns that a colony was established on the notoriously hostile planet, now called LV-426, with no reports of any hostile alien life forms. Why wouldn't they have detected the same warning beacon, and investigated? The video game pseudo-sequel Alien Isolation attempts to rectify this massive plot hole, but unfortunately, it's hard to tell if it can be considered official canon at this point.

Why Does Ripley Trust Weyland-Yutani?

Ripley speaks to Burke

It could be argued that the main driving force behind Ripley's decision to return to LV-426 was to face down her fears and obliterate the Xenomorph species once and for all. Still, it's hard to imagine her squaring away the sheer distrust she must have harbored towards her employer, who initiated a clear directive to secure the creature for study, even at the cost of her crew.

Yet, she's ready to trust the suits at the unscrupulous Weyland-Yutani all over again, and head back to a planet she knows harbors something they want. It's possible that she believed the company would have moved on in 57 years, but that's a rather big if, especially given the events of the time period in question, which included utilizing Colonial Marines to pacify rebellious worlds.

Why Did Bishop Miss?

Ripley notices Bishop has cut himself

Early on in the film, the crew awakens from hypersleep during the final approach to LV-426. They freshen up and hit the mess hall for some food when Bishop shows up and gets goaded into showing off his fancy android skills. The guys prank Hudson by putting his hand underneath Bishop's, and getting him to play a game of five-finger fillet.

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Hudson emerges unscathed, save for his nerves, but Bishop seems to have cut himself. While this is obviously a plot device meant to expose him as an android so that Ripley could react negatively, it doesn't make sense for a being of his ability to injure himself while performing such a mundane task.

Gorman Doesn't Explain His Decision

Gormon, Ripley, Burke & Newt arguing in the comms center

Shortly before the first encounter with the aliens takes place, the Colonial Marines begin moving into the bowels of the processing plant, which has been converted into a grotesque xenomorph hive. Ripley asks Gormon what kind of firepower the Marines are packing, then warns him that firing within the plant could trigger a catastrophic nuclear meltdown.

Gormon then rings up the Marines and orders Sergeant Apone to collect magazines from everyone, forcing them to rely on flame units. He never relays the same information Ripley gives him, which makes absolutely no sense from a tactical or intel perspective. This would be considered command malfeasance.

The Locator

Hicks gives Ripley a locator

Midway through the film after the team suffers their first major defeat by the Xenomorphs, they retreat back into the Hadley's Hope compound and lock down to prepare for the incoming onslaught. Hicks takes a moment to strap Ripley with a locator beacon so he can find her anywhere within the complex.

The obvious question is why all the Marines, Ripley and Burke don't have these devices on them at all times, especially given the circumstances. With so many dimly lit corridors, cramped vent shafts and walkways, it would be good to be able to keep tabs on one another, especially during an alien attack.

The Facehuggers

Ripley attacked by a facehugger

Burke decides to kill two birds with one stone by unleashing face-huggers in the medical bay, where Ripley and Newt lay down to take a nap. This would have seen them become hosts for xeno embryos, giving him justification for freezing them for the return home, while silencing Ripley, who had learned of his true intentions.

How he gets the face-huggers into the medical bay is a mystery. Would they not have made a beeline for Burke immediately when set loose? Wouldn't there be an awful lot of noise? Further, Bishop makes it clear at the beginning of the film that only two specimens are alive, and he performs a dissection on one, so how did two manage to get into the medical bay? It's possible he performed a dissection on one of the dead specimens, but Bishop himself mentions the creature's blood oxidizing after death. This would have been hard to figure out without a live specimen to test his theory.

How Did Ripley Miss The Ventilation System?

Ripley & the Marines shooting through the ventilation system

Upon getting their tails kicked, Ripley and Marines immediately locked down the entire compound by welding the doors shut, and reinforcing them with steel plates. They even set up remote sentry guns in the passageways (in the Director's Cut of the film, that is), which should have covered all the bases.

Yet, they still get in. As they begin closing on their victims, Ripley glances up and realizes that they are coming in through the vent shafts. This makes no sense, given that Ripley already knows that Xenomorphs use air ducts and vent shafts to get around. Plus, she would have noticed this on the schematics when planning the lockdown.

 Wasting Time In The Egg Chamber

Ripley torches the egg chamber

After rescuing Newt from the terrifying bowels of the alien hive, Ripley makes her escape back to the dropship so they can flee before the entire processing plant explodes. She doesn't have a lot of time, either, which makes her run-in with the Queen all the more puzzling. After Ripley threatens to torch the eggs in the chamber, the Queen orders her drones to back down.

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Ripley and Newt start to back up, but when she glances at an egg starting to hatch, she decides to torch the entire egg chamber. This wastes precious time that she and Newt needed to escape. Ripley would have known that the destruction of the complex would have destroyed them anyways.

How Did The Queen Get On Board?

Split image of a scared Ripley facing off against the Queen alien

It's still a mystery as to how the xenomorph Queen managed to stow away on the dropship for the big showdown on board the Sulaco. It all starts when the Queen follows Newt and Ripley up to a landing platform, where Bishop picks them up. There is a shot of an explosion rocking the dropship into what appears to be a pile of twisted metal, but there's no actual Queen to be seen.

Obviously, she stowed away in the landing gear, but the lack of any definitive connecting shot makes it hard to swallow. It would have been better if the shot of the dropship crashing into the metal pile had never been shown, which would have added to the surprise.

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