I just came back from seeing it and I got to say, it was excellent.
It was one of my most anticipated movies of not only this year, but the last couple of years in general and while some reviews worried me slightly (I do take any review I read with a grain of salt as I like to make up my own mind) with their complaints about the movie not answering questions both preexisting and brought up in the film, I thoroughly enjoyed it and to be frank, I've always liked some unanswered question in my sci-fi. Call me old school, but I prefer to have a question left dangling in front of me, begging of me to formulate my own theories and answers, rather than have a bad explanation that is either contrived or makes little to no sense.
I greatly recommend this film to anyone that has enjoyed the Alien movie(s) and the mythology contained within, but be forewarned that while the plot of the movie takes place in the same universe Ridley Scott created with his seminal film Alien, it isn't exactly a prequel to those films as much as an interconnecting story that sets the stage for the thriller that Scott released upon moviegoers in 1979. But don't let this disappoint you, as it is a great movie.
Now some things I liked about the movie.
- CGI was spectacular and manged to seem quite realistic despite the scale of things created on screen
- Charlize Theron is an amazingly sexy woman (I wonder how old she is) and her ass still looks good in anything.
- Good cast without too many big names, yet strong performances all around
- Ridley Scott has never let me down personally and I'm glad to report that he still hasn't
- I love space and the premise of extra-terrestial life, so this is right up my alley
- A satisfying ending in my opinion even though questions are indeed left unanswered
- H. R. Giger's artistic conception is amazing
Concerning some of those unanswered questions:
One thing though did irk me, especially being the stickler for continuity that I am:
Check it out!!!!
9.5/10
This one easily gets Greg's Stamp of Approval TM
------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT: Some further info I found on the movie which helps clear some of the confusion posted in my last spoiler:
Damn, I demand answers!!!
What did you think of the movie and what theories have you formed after seeing it?
It was one of my most anticipated movies of not only this year, but the last couple of years in general and while some reviews worried me slightly (I do take any review I read with a grain of salt as I like to make up my own mind) with their complaints about the movie not answering questions both preexisting and brought up in the film, I thoroughly enjoyed it and to be frank, I've always liked some unanswered question in my sci-fi. Call me old school, but I prefer to have a question left dangling in front of me, begging of me to formulate my own theories and answers, rather than have a bad explanation that is either contrived or makes little to no sense.
I greatly recommend this film to anyone that has enjoyed the Alien movie(s) and the mythology contained within, but be forewarned that while the plot of the movie takes place in the same universe Ridley Scott created with his seminal film Alien, it isn't exactly a prequel to those films as much as an interconnecting story that sets the stage for the thriller that Scott released upon moviegoers in 1979. But don't let this disappoint you, as it is a great movie.
Now some things I liked about the movie.
- CGI was spectacular and manged to seem quite realistic despite the scale of things created on screen
- Charlize Theron is an amazingly sexy woman (I wonder how old she is) and her ass still looks good in anything.
- Good cast without too many big names, yet strong performances all around
- Ridley Scott has never let me down personally and I'm glad to report that he still hasn't
- I love space and the premise of extra-terrestial life, so this is right up my alley
- A satisfying ending in my opinion even though questions are indeed left unanswered
- H. R. Giger's artistic conception is amazing
Concerning some of those unanswered questions:
- Spoiler:
- My theory about the role of the giant aliens in the creation of our species and their connection to the well known aliens of the Alien series is as follows:
The giants created the black, oil like substance, either as an attempt to create another life form or indeed as a biological weapon as is suggested in the film. Assuming that the second part is indeed the case, combined with the fact that the giants share our human DNA, I speculate that perhaps they did indeed create us humans here on Earth, but perhaps for far darker purposes than were originally imagined, as test subjects for their biological weapon. This of course begs the question of what exactly went wrong and they didn't unleash the weapon on Earth (as they planned to according to the film) as well as what exactly happened to the giant in the opening scene, but nonetheless makes sense to me at least on the greater scheme of things.
As for the origin of the Alien, as is shown in the film, the black substance transformed the maggots in the statue chamber into serpent like creatures very reminiscent of the hand like alien found in the pods of the classic Alien mythology. I was quite satisfied with the explanations given as to the origin of the form of Alien we know and love from Scott's classic series, from the fact that it started as an infection which was then passed on through intercourse and conception to the final scenes of the now enormous alien overpowering the giant and his corpse giving birth to what seems to be a precursor to the alien form we are previously familiar with. I think it is given that the alien shown at the end of the film is the alien that set up the pods that kick start the infection and evolution of the alien life form from Alien, and man, what a terrifying badass creature it is.
Generally, I like the idea that a biological weapon could be the point of origin for what is one of cinema's most terrifying monsters. That and the fact that the point of origin was created by the same beings that created humanity, thus giving us effectually common origins and "ancestors".
One thing though did irk me, especially being the stickler for continuity that I am:
- Spoiler:
- Unless I remember incorrectly, in the original Alien, a giant like one of those depicted in this film is shown in a pilot seat of one of the space ships found on the moon where all these events takes place, with a hole in his chest, suggesting that the Alien infestation began from there, but the end scene where the now fully formed alien bursts through the chest of the dead giant is not even in one of the giants' ship, yet alone in the pilot seat.
So is this a continuity error, or do further events occur before Alien? Also, if the latter is the case, that means that even more giants were alive and in cryo-stasis on the moon as well, but who woke them and how did they become infected?
Are we to believe that the Alien somehow knew how to handle the giants' technology and woke them up from cryogenic stasis with intent to infect, or that one of giants was either still awake and living two thousand years after the events that are brought to the surface during the opening hour of the film?
Or did something else all together wake them and if so, what and how?
My head is starting to hurt thinking about it...
Check it out!!!!
9.5/10
This one easily gets Greg's Stamp of Approval TM
------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT: Some further info I found on the movie which helps clear some of the confusion posted in my last spoiler:
- Spoiler:
- Prometheus is not as related to Alien as you might think. People who have given it bad reviews went in expecting and Alien movie, but got Prometheus instead. The movie takes place on LV-233, not the planet featured in Alien/Aliens. The space jockey ship in Prometheus is not the same one we saw crashed in Alien/Aliens.
LV-426 being the planet on which the original Alien took place.
Frankly though, this leaves me with more questions, such as:
If the xenomorph did indeed evolve from the biological weapon created by the giants, how did it evolve to the point of being dangerous enough to infect the giants on LV-426? What were the catalysts?
Obviously some sort of organism might have helped the xenomorph make the leap from liquid to monster, which it did on LV-233 via the initial infection of one of Prometheus' crew members from the Synthetic David, but how did it do it on LV-426?
Damn, I demand answers!!!
What did you think of the movie and what theories have you formed after seeing it?
Last edited by Rectal Tenesmus on 2012-07-14, 23:40; edited 1 time in total
thats how i roll
