Seen it. I can stop avoiding this thread now
SPOILERS or at the very least SPOILERY MATERIAL follows:
I liked the line aimed squarely at the apparent plot that was being banded about a year or so ago. Scott basically sticking one finger up at that idea.
Clearly, wherever the alien creature/xenomorph came from, reproduction seems to be parasitic and “down the throat” of the host. That is assuming that genetic tampering with the original creatures has not pulled the organism too far away. The “cute lizard” was far nastier and in keeping with
Alien than other things that appear later on in the film.
The big “face hugger” was silly. I think it was put there for people who wanted to see something big and scary, but, really, the mind does horrible things with minimal provocation, and I thought it to be the clumsiest part of the film. There was a lot of subtlety in the other creatures shown, and the menace was there partly by not doing anything. This seemed out of character to me. The final “live birth” was interesting, and far better executed as a creature than that which begat it.
Some production thoughts:
The structure they were exploring looked very similar to Castle Harkonnen - an HR Giger design from an adaptation of
Dune that Giger had been working on. I also noted that they must have returned to Giger’s
Alien sketch book and used some drawings that did not make it to the original film. You should seek out his
Alien book for those. Clearly those earlier designs were seen as part of the genesis of the original film, and were given a part in this film.
The 3D was very good. If you don’t notice it, it works. There were a couple of places where I felt they had pulled focus too quickly or had cut badly, but on the whole it worked but was not intrusive or gratuitous.
Old man makeup - not wholly convincing. Given the lack of big octane gymnastics required, I don’t know why they could knot have cast someone who really was old. Just seemed odd. I was expecting some kind of rejuvenation to happen because of this, or some kind of flashback dream sequence where he was younger and features needed to be recognisable.
I was hoping to see Ron Cobb’s signage around the ship. There were similar images, but nothing I could spot.
No big scary monster - certainly not with the visual impact of the Alien from the original film. I rather think that CGI has encouraged far too many tentacles. I don’t think the film needed it, but still anyone compiling a bestiary of the
Alien universe had better start a new volume.
Sounds - lordy if you want to trigger memories, this is what you use. And there were a LOT of sounds that
Nostromo made going on in places. Just little *tinks* and bleeps - enough to connect the two films. A nice touch, but one I’d expect from Scott.
I did enjoy this film - and I’m keen to see Scott finish this story.
