Ridley Scott goes through the motions, nothing more...

Rating: 5/10 (12 May 2017)

The film was a disappointment. I was hoping that after the rather hollow Prometheus that extra effort would have been made with this one but alas all we are treated to is a visual homage to the genre of Alien films, but one with with a less than invigorating plot and nothing new to say.
Pieces of the film are so disjointed in terms of pace that I started to wonder if the three producers actually talked to each other during it's filming. From the ridiculously sweary and over-acted descent sequence, to the flacid, pointless and alas lengthy Walter/David flute playing sequence, this film follows the rather rambling narrative style of Prometheus rather than the tight and gripping style of the first two Alien movies. In fact I would suggest that even Alien3 is more consistent and has better interaction between the characters than this piece.
On the positive side the film is once again beautifully designed and shot, the Aliens well rendered (if a little predictable) and the film features many visual nods and easter eggs to both it's predecessors as well as films such as Avatar. I was particularly charmed by the inclusion of a reference to the 'nodding duck' from Alien reproduced here.
The actors are once again challenged with portraying a variety of poorly written roles. Fassbender is of course great as David, but the others have little to work with. Billy Crudup struggles to convince with a character with a ridiculously unbelievable religious streak and Waterston despite her heavy pre-publicity does nothing except grimace at what she witnesses. Everyone else in the script is just Alien-fodder in the style of a particularly bad teen-slasher movie. I found myself wondering if Irwin Allen was still alive and script writing.
In summary a film with visual splendour but little else to recommend it. Please Ridley Scott - stop making these things now. They're beginning to become painful.