Provides Explanations, But Requires Interest

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2017)

The title pretty much sums it up. If you aren't interested in what the heck the "Space Jockey" and the U-shaped craft were in the first film, this movie might be a chore for you, especially if you are expecting an Alien prequel that focuses on creatures exiting human abdomens.
First of all, I believe the project was absolutely necessary. After a few sequels, one great, the rest not, we were still in the same bucket of not knowing who or what that pilot was. This movie finally addresses some questions that have been asked since the late 1970s.
Unfortunately, the film does end on a cliffhanger setting up the Prometheus sequel. I was fine with this because I got enough of the "Space Jockey" background I was looking for to satisfy me until the next one. Also, I'd like to add that this film chooses to show more and tell less, and some people may feel a bit left in the dark. Again, it might come down to your level of interest, and whether or not you are just looking for chestbursters and facehuggers.
That's not to say the film doesn't have any of the gore we've seen in the past. In fact, it does have the same amount of intense violence as the first film, but the first film is a textbook example of how you build suspense, and this is more about answering questions for which there is no solid blueprint. For some of you, though, the surgery scene alone may be worth your time. Yikes.