Alright, sweethearts, you heard the man and you know the drill. There have been plenty of documentaries about Aliens before, as anyone who has owned the beloved 1986 sci-fi sequel from James Cameron on its various formats can attest (some hardcore fans still insist the 1992 LaserDisc Special Edition release has never been bettered). But there has never been any documentary quite as extensive, expansive or exhaustive as Aliens Expanded, a title that lives heartily up to its name due to a near-five-hour runtime — not quite as long as an unusually long hypersleep, but not far off. It comes from writer-director Ian Nathan, who has literally written the book on the film.

As with 2019’s Memory: The Origins Of Alien, about Ridley Scott’s original film (also featuring contributions from Nathan), this aims to be the definitive take on a definitive genre classic. With a runtime like that, it is fair to...