Then: Weaver’s rip-roaring return as Ripley is the main reason for Aliens’ eternal awesomeness. Blankenship reminded us that Weaver’s performance earned her an Oscar nomination, a rarity for an action film. Why? Because, he says, while Aliens is indeed a “fantastic action movie,” it begins with “Ripley’s struggle to cope with her past and with her own fear.” Weaver has the audience in the palm of her hand from beginning to end, shifting seamlessly between emotional heft and serious ass-kicking. Watch as she silently saves little Newt from a roomful of alien eggs. Not many actresses can make you feel something and burn the place to the ground in the same scene.