I much prefer Aliens to Alien, and Ill detail why. Firstly, I find the character growth of Ripleys character to be extremely well executed and rewarding in Aliens. She goes from a sole survivor struggling against a singular foe to a knowledgeable, prepared badass who holds her own with and even outdoes seasoned military soldiers, and its done in a way thats believable and inspiring, making Aliens Ripley one of the most grounded and badass heroines in cinema, imo. Secondly, the expanded Alien lore. The aliens are back much bigger and better, with much greater numbers, and a new sub species that is introduced masterfully, with a fantastic creature design to boot. The queen is alluded to but not seen until near the end and yet is still established as a worthy nemesis to Ripley, especially with the added layer of her fight to save Newt, a character Ripley has formed a mother/daughter bond with while coping with the loss of her own daughter that she tragically outlived due to the sci-fi nature of the story and her hibernation. Lastly Aliens is packed full of memorable, complex characters. Ripley, Newt, Hicks, Vasquez, Bishop, Hudson, and a few more all add to an amazing cast and help elevate the story and the stakes.  And now Im going to say something about the first movie. I have a lot of respect for Alien – its a masterclass in horror. Its not fair at all for me to levy this criticism about it, but it still needs to be said. Alien did such a wonderful job at horror that it was copied ad infinitum, and to be quite honest it feels diluted as a result; there are many other good horror movies that successfully copied the horror formula of Alien. And while great, I feel its a little more straightforward than the sequel, doesnt have as many interesting characters, doesnt have as much rewarding character growth, and just doesnt offer quite as much as Aliens. I often find showing people new to the franchise Aliens to be a funner experience than Alien. When new viewers watch Alien with me, they react like theyve seen a hundred other horror movies that go through the same story beats. When they watch Aliens, theres a lot more interest and discussion to be had, because it does more and hasnt been copied successfully to the same degree.