Visually Beautiful But Predictable

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2017)

I have been a fan of the Alien series since in the beginning (yes, I'm that old, haha). This movie went in places I was not expecting, but it was fairly easy to predict how the movie was going to end.
First, the movie was very well made - Ridley Scott does know how to make a movie with sets and realism. This and the performances were also very good. I did not necessarily find the cast unlikable as I had read in some reviews.
Probably the biggest negative for me was the fact that whenever an alien was in a scene, it was obviously CG and I always wish for special effects similar to the original Alien film where the alien was really there. A couple of times, I just felt I was watching a cartoon creature and it took away from the scene's strengths.
I knew the timing of the film was after Prometheus and before the original Alien, but it didn't fill in the gaps completely - perhaps subsequent films will do that. I rate the film a 7/10 due to superb cinematography and set design as well as being fairly fast paced once the aliens are introduced. Not as good as Alien, Aliens, or Prometheus, but better than III and Resurrection (not saying too much there).