Overrated

Rating: 5/10 (26 March 2007)

I don't really understand what all the rage is about. I found the story fairly slow moving and the "Dark Star"-esquire crew is in the way of creating a real threatening atmosphere. I find that odd as that has always been Carpenter's strong point, particularly in Assault or The Fog. Whereas the violence in the Fog is all inside the viewer's head, here it's right on the screen. I guess it's slightly unfair to judge with hindsight as the special effects are made less spectacular by the fact that we have seen them in Alien. What puzzled me most was Morricone's soundtrack which sounded is exactly like the music Carpenter himself composes. Why hire someone to copy you? All in all, I find Carpenter's first big studio film highly overrated.