UGO At War

Let's begin with a quote:

Hudson: Is this gonna be a stand-up fight, sir, or another bug hunt?
Gorman: All we know is that there's still no contact with the colony, and that a xenomorph may be involved.
Frost: Excuse me sir, a, a what?
Gorman: A xenomorph.
Hicks: It's a bug hunt.

Aliens (1986) was the first sequel to a sci-fi/horror movie to introduce the concept of "sending in the Marines," and it was the first sequel to show them in a situation that's way over their heads. Director James Cameron drops the creepy tone and intimate, haunted-house-in-outer-space setting of Alien (1979) in favor of an action-packed thrill ride that rarely stops to catch a breath, featuring a lot of people yelling and shooting guns and smoke machines going off to and fro. The first battle with the "xenomorphs" is both thrilling and terrifying, as most of "the Corps" are wiped out by the vicious creatures, leaving only a handful of survivors left to figure out how to get the hell out of there are soon as possible. Amidst all of the carnage, the incident that sets off the battle is actually the most upsetting, as the Marines find a colonist who begs them to kill her, only to have one of the damn things burst out of her chest. They freak out and douse both her and the beastie with a flamethrower. Wouldn't you?