A Solid Action Offering - Neither as Smothering as Prometheus, Nor as Smart as Alien

Rating: 7/10 (10 October 2017)

Ten-plus years after the fate of the Prometheus, a new venture stumbles across its remains and inadvertently sets loose the dark, dangerous secrets contained therein. Where director Ridley Scott over-indulged his cryptic, cerebral side with Prometheus, here he over-corrects that course and produces a film that seems a dash too superficial. After five Alien films (seven if you include the Predator crossovers) there's already plenty of lore to feed on, and this time Scott seems content to do precisely that, rather than adding another layer to the onion skin. It's an inessential film - apart from the final fate of the preceding crew, we learn very little - but an efficient, well-made one. I felt more attached to the human element of this cast, which was a problem with Prometheus, so their violent trials provide better tension. Danny McBride is an unusual choice for the hero, and his performance doesn't completely justify the distraction of such a familiar face, but it's not like that's uncharted territory for the franchise so I'm willing to give some leeway. Elsewhere, Michael Fassbender seems wasted in a dual role as matching cyborgs with a weakness for long, Shakespearean monologues. Strong as an action picture, with some good splashes of horror, but not nearly the all-engulfing experience one might expect from this director / subject pairing.