The Alien franchise stoops to a new low with this pathetic cash-grab for a new generation.
The thing which is utterly missed by this episode is that Ripley always had to ESCAPE from the Alien, SURVIVE the alien or SAVE the civilians from the aliens. I know that it's more complicated than that, but for now, that will do.
In this one - and I CANNOT BELIEVE that 90% of people who saw it, liked it - some randoms turn up in a space ship and pick up two passengers en route to a decommissioned craft with a decaying orbit. If you already guessed it, then that's on you (and the lame story-telling abilities of the storytellers). Yes it really is that simple.
One of those randoms is pregnant and has next-to-zero input or character building in the story. Until!
Until, we needed a reason for someone to be a hero and save the pregnant/baby/puppy/kitten/whatever/tired/trope from the Alien/Aliens/each other/etc.
Maybe I should have offered a 'spoiler-alert', but really, if you couldn't work this one out by watching the trailer then shame on you, not me.
Ridley Scott has had solid stock that was usually bankable. The man knew how to make a picture. At 86, he has nothing to prove and everything to lose, so why he is trying to churn out film after film, year after year, leaves me baffled.
I hope his legacy remains intact after Gladiator II, because if that falls flat, as this ultimately will, he will be remembered more for killing off the Gladiator and Alien franchises than he would be for creating them.
The last line comes from the heart.
This man has brought us some truly inspiring cinema.
Please let me be wrong.