Yeah, it’s time for the five stars. I no longer care that the film is imperfect and that there are a couple of things I bump on with every re-watch. The rest is immaculate, arresting, and thrilling, which should be impossible given the runtime.
Also, I know it’s obvious during Costner’s big speech, but holy hell the script is incredible throughout, which I had not truly appreciated before. Same for the score, with John Williams once again showing he can…
The film’s biggest weakness is that it plays it too safe. That gives it a high floor, sure, but it hard caps the ceiling.
Perhaps best described as an amalgamation of all the previous Alien films (especially Ridley Scott’s contributions, who happens to be a producer on the film, and I now better understand why he has been singing its praises), Fede Alvarez doesn’t quite put the stamp on this that I thought he would. I can’t help but wonder…
David Fincher is back with the actor who, on paper, might be one of the most ideal cinematic pairings possible. Michael Fassbender is perfect in this, both because of the pairing and because Fincher wouldn’t settle for anything less.
Anyway, this fucking rocked. Fincher has never been more bare-knuckle efficient, stripping everything down to razor wire. Steady, high-floor filmmaking. It makes the voiceover seem like an over embellishment, which is why it’s perfect.
Is it a bit too measured? Maybe. Or maybe this is gonna be five stars by second or third viewing.
A horror-comedy that can’t quite seem to decide how “spoofy” it wants to be, but it was fun! Thought the all-hell-breaks-loose sequence was the best part, and the only time where the balance between the comedy and horror seemed perfect. The final act fell flat for me and put a bit of a drag on the ending. If you like your horror comedies calibrated more heavily on the comedic side, then I highly recommend this.
