Somewhat tedious, sad to say. Only 5 stars.

Rating: 5/10 (16 June 2012)

Spaceship, crewed by a bunch of mainly chain-smoking second-echelon mediocrities, including a suspiciously eye-rolling automaton, veers off-course in order to visit a creepy planet, for reasons undeniably obscure. One of the crew picks up what could be described as an infection, which then proceeds to knock off all bar one of the rest of the crew, rather like the famous Agatha Christie story about the ten little green bottles, hanging on a wall. The last survivor is a very dishy lady, called Sigourney, who feistily fights the nasty alien, dressed in her scanties, and hugging her moggie, and finally sees him off.
That's it, in effect, and although every effort is made to build up the tension, it just becomes less and less gripping as the film moves towards its predictably triumphant end. I found myself fast-forwarding. That lady is far too attractive to finish by biting the dust with the others. There is no real story, but there was some narrative potential which could have been developed and explored: like what is the true nature of this alien? What is the motivation, the back story, of these dysfunctional space bums? And so on.
There is no doubt at all that Ridley Scott is an exceptionally masterly film-maker. His command of visuals, his ability to get the best out of his actors, and (usually) his sense of pacing, are second to none; but he does need a good basic story, and good writers. Sometimes, but not always, he supplies these necessities himself. Not here.
It astounds me that this film currently sits at #42 on the top 250 list, whereas Blade Runner, one of moviedom's all-time greatest, does not appear until #123.