Yea...Um...OK

Rating: 5/10 (11 June 2017)

The latest entry in the Alien series is not good nor is it bad. It's just there. It's like a ho-hum episode of a TV series.The movie tries to be nostalgic with reference to the original Alien but it just comes off having a been there/done that kinda feel. I felt the same way about the prequel Prometheus and I think if both movies were stand alone film and not part of the Alien Universe my reaction to them would probably be different. In a way, I think I liked Prometheus better than this film because at least it was trying to be different and it started the series on a pure sci-fi note then divulged into horror.
What I did like about this film are the following...The new neomorph.I like the way it looked and how ferocious it was.I think its look is how the alien/human hybrid of Alien: Resurrection should have looked. The effects were OK and the best action scene was on top of the freighter scene. And Danny McBride shows he can do serious acting he was a highlight of the film.
What I didn't like was the story. It focused more on the androids than any other "Alien" film. And when the Xenomorph did arrive I was expecting a voice over saying "and now introducing the Xenomorph" because when it first appears something happens that is the goofiest moment in all the series. And there is a story element that changes the whole mythology of the Alien itself that I think is absurd and makes no since. Put it like this, I think this "idea" is so bad that I know don't care where the franchise goes from here. Now that I have the answer to the most lingering question I have always had about the Xenomorph there is no need for me to be intrigued anymore. Oh and the Xenomorph in this movie is the dumbest Xenomorph in the whole series. They are supposed to cunning and clever and they always show some intelligence. Not in this one, it runs around like a rabid dog (in fact its movements remind me of they way the "dog birthed alien" moved in Alien 3). And the ending was supposed to be a twist but you already knew what it was leading too (in some ways I think this was intentional).
All in all, this is not a great movie and it is watchable but you will roll your eyes to some of the choices made in the film and of the mythology. If I had to rank this one out of all 6 of the Alien films this one would be #5 just above Alien: Resurrection and below Prometheus (Aliens is #1, Alien is #2, Alien 3 is #3 and yes I like Alien 3 a lot...now). When the next film comes out I can wait to rent it and just enjoy the first 3 films on DVD.