A very worthy experience

Rating: 8/10 (8 June 2012)

I, like many people on this site, read many negative reviews and feared the worst when it came to actually watching the film last night. However, I believe I can understand why people have been critical and some of the issues for me are not so much of a problem.
The first thing is that I love the first two Alien films (the rest are poor renditions of the same things) and have grown up watching them. They covered different themes with the same monsters and there was a decent amount of good plotting to join the stories together. This film however does not require you to enter the cinema with any connection to these films nor does it follow the same exploration.
The second thing is to do with the genre that people seem to have applied to it. It certainly is not a horror (like Alien) or action film (like Aliens). Instead it is better to describe it as a mystery because that it what the film is all about - trying to answer some questions. It does not focus on terror (although there are some gory moments) or action (there are action scenes) as these just form part of the experience the crew endure while trying to solve the mystery.
Characters and development have come in for a lot of criticism and I can understand why. I would suggest that Theron actually plays her role very well I would join in by saying that Fassbender does really steal the show. One of the main issues about characters was that many of them are not in the foreground enough. I agree with this but feel that they are not central to the story and are therefore perhaps not needed on screen as much. The motivation of some of the characters meant they appeared very unprofessional. I believe this is dealt with when Vickers addresses the crew after they have awoken and indicates really that only two people are present because of their enthusiasm and believe in their theory, whilst the others did not want to be there at all. In fact they are made to go because they work for the company.
Answers and resolving plot issues. I believe that there is so much happening on screen and in the background that will provide the answers to some of the 'plot holes' that people have referred to on other reviews. It is almost too much for one single viewing and needs a couple of watches to make a final judgement. It does not set out to wrap up all explanations but that is the purpose. It is a mystery and offers only partial clues as to what the answers might (or might not) be. Why does everything have to be neatly concluded just for the sake of it. It does not necessarily require a sequel either – although this is still a possibility. It is up to us to try and interpret and think about what Scott has presented us with. I have been thinking about it all night and if a film makes you think, that's a good thing to me. I've had quite enough of shallow CGI films with no soul or depth.
Overall, it is a stunning film visually, character development is limited to only the main players, it doesn't connect with the genres of the others and is about humans not aliens. Go with an open mind and judge it for yourself – but make sure you go and just enjoy the experience.