Prequel.... You Decide

Rating: 8/10 (8 June 2012)

It has been 30 years since Ridley Scott has dabbled in this genre and I have to say that I am glad that he is back. A lot of things that I am going to say in this review are going to sound negative, but I want to say right up front that I liked this film. Mr. Scott said in an interview that he hasn't done a Science Fiction film since Blade Runner because he could not find a script that he liked. Apparently he just dusted off the Alien script and restructured it a bit. I saw the film in 3D, but I don't think that it was really necessary. The visual effects in this film just didn't require it. The sets were over the top along with the CGI. It has also been stated that this film is not meant to be a prequel to the Alien films .. whatever!!! It sure looked like one to me. I think that the whole premise of trying to find out where we came from was pretty interesting and not too far-fetched since there is now several television shows geared toward explaining the unexplainable by attaching the possibility that aliens have visited this planet before. Towards the end of the film I found myself shaking my head (smh) a lot. The physicality by Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) was so incredibly unbelievable, especially after all the stuff that she had been through. I don't think so. The android David (Michael Fassbender) was very stoic and vacant (which I guess that is how a robot should be). I was once again shaking my head when some of the scenes had me thinking "where have I seen this before". Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) was almost as robotic as David as she represented the company financing this little venture. Janek (Indris Elba) and his crew was the voice of reason in this journey into the vastness of outer space. If you are an Alien fan, then you will be a fan of this film. There were some parts of the film that were slightly gruesome, but you come to expect that with this type of film. I have been a fan of monster movies every since Godzilla first graced the screen and this film reinforced my loyalty to the genre. This is one of those times that I wish we had a light between green and amber, but I'm going to stick my neck out and give it an orbiting green light.