Hollywood, please stop cuddle the alien

Rating: 7/10 (23 March 2017)

Another hit and miss big studio attempt to hardcore sci-fi (Gravity, Interstellar, Arrival), by my opinion the best of the three. What stands out are the mostly likable characters, almost believable as scientists.
The good side: The story takes place on ISS in close future, the sets are very good and the movement around the station looks very realistic. SPOILER: The story soon becomes an Alien clone, but so far the best I have seen. In comparison to, lets say, Prometheus, where there is also a group of scientists slashed by a monster, in this case you can at least care for some characters. BIG SPOILER: The ending is not happy by any means, which is at least interesting and bold (or maybe an attempt to milk the trend of dark movies?).
Bad side (I tried to avoid a list, but anyway here it goes):
1. The alien design is cool, but it looks and moves (unintentionally) funny in some shots - it somewhat resembles cartoon animation of that starfish friend of SpongeBob. The monster is most effective in scenes where it is only partially seen or not seen at all (breaking fingers, the pilot death in lab)
2. The editing seems sometimes confusing, the important plot elements are easy to miss (How many entities there was on the station? At least two I guess? The biologist tried to hide the alien on purpose, or he could not feel it because of his condition? What happened with the shuttles at the end, was the plan thwarted by the alien accidentally or on purpose etc.)
3. The last man and woman standing are the most underdeveloped characters.
The movie is worth seeing, it was a pleasant surprise. Just do not expect any milestones in storytelling.