Disappointing, but most sci fi films are worse

Rating: 6/10 (7 July 2012)

Well worth seeing in the cinema, as it is visually very spectacular. The artwork, by H.R Giger is as eery and macabre as ever.
It is well directed. I found more than one heart stopping moment where I felt I needed a scotch afterwards. Ridley Scott is in fine form.
Unfortunately, however, the story has more than a few plot holes. The characters constantly behave stupidly and illogically, and after a while it's hard to believe in, or feel for, them. Aside from the usual red shirt characters, who are obviously in the film to get killed off early on, pretty much everybody in the film is conspicuously dumb too.
There's plenty of gore, with heads exploding and similar. Some people really go for that stuff, and consider it a major attraction. I myself don't mind it, but only when it serves the story. I find it a bit cheap when the causes of these events don't seem to make a huge amount sense.
One thing worth noting before you see it is that THIS FILM IS NOT A PREQUEL. The planet it is set on is not the same planet that the original Alien film starts on (LV-426). Instead, it takes place on LV-223 which just looks very similar. Confusing, but there it is.