A thoughtful and metaphysical journey, seriously underrated

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2017)

I say it with no snobbishness intended: I genuinely liked this movie and respect Ridley Scott for having the intelligence, at the age of 80, of proposing something which reaches deeper than your average sci-fi blockbuster, and trust his viewers to follow.
For one, he avoids a lot of clichés that more heavy-handed directors would have used to make sure we got the plot twists. Think of how sparsely flashbacks are used, when they could have been a (too) convenient way of making us understand characters' motivations and some crucial revelations. Instead, Scott leaves it to our logic and imagination to fill in the gaps.
The film also shines in its reimagining of the saga's elements, and of their place in the story. The titular aliens are not so much the humans' nemesis here as that nemesis' objective. Moving the creatures away from the center makes room for one of the most complex and interesting characters in the franchise: the cyborg David (I am of the opinion that he is now second only to Ripley in the pantheon of Alien characters). Through him, and his more recent prototype Walter, both played with absolute subtlety by Michael Fassbender, Scott takes a truly interesting look at such themes as humanity, hubris, art and creation. Without giving too much away, one is reminded of Blade Runner and Westworld.
The movie also works as a spectrum of different styles that its genre can adopt, and that Scott has himself adopted through his career. I already mentioned Blade Runner, but Exodus comes to mind in one scene.
It is not a perfect movie - apart from Fassbender's turn, the other characters feel underdeveloped, even the amazing Katherine Waterston who does top-notch work with what little she's given - also, it takes too long getting to the really good stuff. But once the direction the movie is taking becomes clear, Scott doesn't shy away from going through with it, and doesn't hold any punches, which is oh so rare in most big productions.