By the numbers

Rating: 5/10 (8 June 2012)

I was very impressed by the trailer and the thought of Ridley Scott taking back his movie was very exciting but the movie itself was surprising for following so much cliché whilst having no overarching plot, focus or strong character development. Michael Fassbender was the best character by far with mannerisms that seemed more alien than the aliens though much more subtle. His motivations though remained unclear throughout the film and this was the main criticism. What is is film about? The alien at the beginning drinking the black goo with a terrific spaceship taking off all three of which are then promptly forgotten after the intro credits. Peter Weyland - the uber-genius and arguably the creator of the Alien universe and the feel of the evil corporation reduced to nothing more than the old sci-fi staple of the evil old man looking for extended life an on screen for maybe 5 minutes. The space-jockey which was so mysterious in the first movie - maybe thousands of years old and from an exotic race nothing more than a large human being who may have died a few decades ago. And it turns out every major race from the movies are basically human beings that have had their DNA messed around with, including the iconic aliens themselves. No questions answered - only huge obvious setups for a sequel. Really it would have been fine for some low-budget Aien ripoff a la Aliens vs Predator filmed by a 'rent a director'. But for a return to the original Alien universe vy the man who invented it it was, well, meh...