Captivating thriller but fails to address bigger questions...

Rating: 7/10 (1 September 2013)

At the outset, I want to say that although I rate the film 7/10, I was disappointed by it. When I first came across the film, its title, its filmmaker and its general acclaim by the public, I was looking forward to something completely different. What I mean is that there are so many complex questions that the idea of extraterrestrial life throws up, and Alien does not as much as attempt to even pose such questions. What is man's place in the universe? What can the form of a living thing (here, the alien's) teach us about being? Science-fiction is a particularly potent literary form to address such questions. And although I sense the influence of that giant of science-fiction cinema, the one that so magically haunts us with its depiction of man's supposed evolution (yes, I speak of 2001: A Space Odyssey), Alien is nothing more than a thriller that capitalises on its setting in deep space, on the terror of being so far away from home.
Having gotten the rant about my initial disappointment out of the way, I will now proceed to say why Alien is a good film. It is gripping! The settings are realistic and believable; the actors are great; the scenes of exploration of the alien planet are intense; and towards the end we get a great shot of Sigourney Weaver, her tiny panties almost dangling across her butt, stretching her arms to reach some switches above her, reminding us warmly of the sensuality of the female form after the grisly inhumanness of the alien. But the terror is real! And captivating! And this is what makes Alien worth watching!