Soars high and avoids being burnt

Rating: 8/10 (4 June 2012)

A scientist couple seems to have found a planet far away from Earth where we may have originated as a species, and this has them, and a small crew, exploring the massive, dark creepy hallways. The theme here is mankind's search for meaning in life, to know where we came from, and pondering why we want to know the answers to those. This is a spiritual prequel to, and not remake of, Alien(it takes place in the same universe and explains backstory for that and as you may already know, it evokes some of the most unforgettable imagery from it, as well, and, unfortunately, it also goes some of the same places we've already been in this series(not to mention that if this is your introduction to these, I doubt it will feel like a full movie to you... if you love the 1979 picture, you'll either have the same response to this or the opposite, and for the same reason it explains things that were left up to our imaginations before) but it does also provide one new take on the biology which will forever haunt you, and that scene alone is worth the price of admission), this is not flashy as the trailer makes it look(do not go straight from the preview to the full thing, the former gives far too much away), in spite of glowy ship buttons, holograms(this is one of the movies that 3D is made for, by the way it enhances the expertly built atmosphere, it is subtle and it was filmed that way, not a post-conversion this may be the only title shot in that manner that doesn't throw anything at the camera(and thus the audience) at any point, it's not gimmicky in the least; FX in general are incredible, I can't tell where physical reality ends and CGI begins) and those light-blue, spandex-like skintight spacesuits(!) that were clearly forced upon all of the well-selected cast simply because they look great on Theron(who's a regular Ice Queen in this(maybe this was the audition tape for Snow White and the Huntsman?), as the woman in charge) and that woman we used to call Lisbeth Salander(until Rooney Mara proved that she is the one deserving that title). Fassbender is the android(hey, it's part of this franchise, there's gotta be one of those in it! At least he has a point in this, he knows ancient languages and the like), established through, at first him being awake whilst the others are in hypersleep, amusing himself with a basketball(I guess outdoing the baseball of The Shining?) and old movies, and then, by him not batting an eye at the sight of a mostly naked, wet Charlize doing pushups. The characterization is very strong, with roles being established effectively through their initial, brief interactions with each other. Acting is phenomenal for all concerned. There is a ton of disturbing content and a bit of moderate language, bloody violence, gore and sexuality in this. I recommend this to any fan of the original and of sci-fi horror-thrillers in general. 8/10