RIP Ridley Scott the film maker

Rating: 4/10 (3 June 2012)

I shan't compare this to other "Alien" movies because, frankly, I think it's irrelevant.
I shall, however, judge it as a film on its own merits.
This is a very, very poorly made film.
The narrative arc (is there one??)/script are wholly lacking, there are GAPING holes left all over the place such that quality actors have to deliver CRINGEWORTHY exposition lines to let you know what the hell is going on. Nor is there any sense of discovery here at all which is absolutely criminal given the synopsis. The pacing, or lack of it, never once let's you settle into any kind of immersive atmosphere, save perhaps for the first 30 minutes or so.
Fassbender (especially) and Rapace are the standouts here, everyone else would have served the film better if they had simply not turned up for shooting so they could be scrubbed from the "script". I'm not having a go at the supporting actors as they can only work with what they've been given but honestly, there are quality actors here having to deliver truly embarrassing work.
Are there good things here? Yes, visually, at times, it is stunning although the too-fast pacing often sees incredible imagery on screen for painfully short periods crushing your immersion. Also, the one stand-out scene left me reeling and bonding with Rapace's character - the only time I felt tension and horror during the entire film. The first thirty minutes or so are spell-binding including the introduction to Fassbender's character who we see watching a legendary movie (also a personal favourite of mine and one in which the main character is also on a journey of self-discovery).
However, from thirty minutes in, it's all downhill.
I cannot for the life of me understand how Ridley Scott let this film get away from him so badly.
Scott made his name with his first three films, showing stupendous ability at creating immersive atmospheres with exquisite attention to detail - The duellists, Alien and Bladerunner. These are films that I watch at least twice per year.
The fact that he since went down the Hollywood blockbuster route has been of constant disappointment to me. While he likely ballooned his own net worth, in my opinion he has created nothing of much worth for anybody else since, certainly nothing towards the art of film making. OK, so he went for money and ego instead of craft and art, it's his life and his choice but I never thought that he would treat a legacy such as Alien with such consummate disrespect - this is shameful work from someone who, at least used to be, capable of so much more ...
I would like to think that this film was destroyed in the editing room and that there's 20 minutes or so of "extra" narrative-laden material that was dumped for the oh-so-superfluous "action" scenes that made it to the final cut. Swap those in on a Bluray Director's Cut (sic) and maybe this can be lifted from its theatrical release level of shame ...