The following is a supercut of each of Bill Paxton’s lines as Pvt. Hudson from James Cameron’s Aliens condensed into one handy YouTube video.

Considering that the summation of Paxton’s performance can be distilled to roughly 6 minutes, I think it’s a compliment to him as an actor that he could create a character so indelible in our minds that people are still quoting “Game over, man! Game over!” over 25 years later.

When you think about it, there are very few protagonists that experience the character arc that Hudson does in traditional action movies. Most characters from that era were either superheroes or cannon fodder. Hudson was a little bit of both. Chest-puffing bravado at the outset, a pants-wetting fatalist after the first attack and a hero resigned to his fate by the end. In many ways, Hudson would act like we would in that situation and I think that’s why Paxton’s interpretation of him stays with us.

God be with you, Pvt. Hudson, you glorious coward.

Thoughts?