No-one does sci-fi horror better than Ridley Scott

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2013)

Ridley Scott had a bar that was set very high for this semi-prequel to Alien. Scott does not disappoint. The result was a sweeping epic with fantastic visuals and an unexpected homage to the sci-fi genre.
For the discerning eye, there were scenes that were reminiscent of Star Wars, Star Trek, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, Aliens, X-Files, The Thing, and probably a few more I didn't catch. The very first scene was surprising and thought provoking, and the last scene was the closest connection to Alien the movie presented, beyond the iconic images already shown in the previews.
A very long but never boring adventure, it showcased the great acting talents of Noomi Rapace of the original Swedish "Dragon Tattoo" trilogy and Michael Fassbender, the best android of the Alien films. Charlene Theron continues to amaze as the best "ice queen" in movies today.
The film isn't perfect. It stretches the bounds of believability in several areas. Why do two of the "scientists" freak out when seeing an "alien" corpse but have no problem confronting the live "thing" that would make most of us run for cover?
Noomi Rapace has a scene that shows she can portray pain-in-action as good as Bruce Willis in Die Hard, but then has action sequences that suspend disbelief more than Willis running on tattered feet.
You don't get the slow-paced, dread and suspense of the original Alien or Blade Runner. This has way more action, gore and crowd-pleasing scenes. But it is nonetheless a film that will become a most-see films for genre fans.