Simply...a disaster

Rating: 3/10 (21 June 2012)

As a first comment I will not compare this film to Aliens or any other work of Scott. This movie, being a prequel or not, should be judged on its own basis.
Now, it is true that the movie has a very good cinematography, very nice effects, adequate 3-d and, in general, it constitutes a very nice visual experience. Of course, there is still the awful appearance of Guy Pearce. His make-up, whatsoever, is SO CHEAP that makes you wonder whether they actually overcome the budget and had to impose austerity measures. Why not recruit an old actor? It would have probably saved some of the dignity of the movie.
BUT (and that is a HUGE but)...anything good about the movie begins and ends within the visual level. The plot is so sloppy, full of holes and irregular and illogical sequences of events. Further, the script is full of childish dialogues that many times do not make any sense. But, in any case, the characters are badly designed, unbelievable, not developed and full of illogical motivations (if any) and attitudes. Such characters, probably, could only comply with the current script.
As the for the level of Science-Fiction there is simply no Science nor fiction in this movie, not even for the Hollywood standards.It seems that the writer has absolutely no knowledge of basic first grade science for, otherwise, there is no explanation for what we were forced to see. The so-called "top-scientists" who crewed one the most important missions of humanity behave like anything but scientists. Actually, they resemble a crew of mindless mercenaries, exiled or just prisoners with zero scientific background. In good faith, even stupid and soon-to-die students in Friday the 13th or in C-rating horror films behave more rationally before dying.
Now, I will not go into specific details for the film's irregularities. There are many reviews herein that give thorough descriptions and they are absolutely correct.
In all, movies are not only visual objects. You need a script and a plot to make something watchful. Also, science fiction is not about visual effects; on the contrary, it is about a good story that incorporates scientific elements beautifully and cleverly mixed wit fiction. Simple etymology.