Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
As a kid who used to roam Blockbuster and take to high-concept thrillers that thrive in claustrophobic feelings (Joy Ride, Phone Booth, Cellular) and has delighted at the occasional recent revivals (Premium Rush, Grand Piano) a film in that vein this well done is catnip for me. (I imagine without this fondness, most people would be around 6.5/10 for this instead)
And yet... everything apart from its B-level story is at such consistently A-level that slight disappointment comes from wishing it to set its ambition higher for grander rushes. The fluid direction is great and very tense; care and some thought have been put into the monster design; even characters are a notch above those found in the usual competent slashers, with serious, sincere performances elevating them further. And the film knows itself too, having a bit of fun playing at and occasionaly subverting its own genre's conventions.
But, without getting into spoiler, the high level of craft in every way makes this feel slightly like a missed opportunity? Especially combined with that sincerity, which feels at odds with the dictated arc of its B story, making the ending somewhat unsatisfying. Fun while it lasts, and god knows pure fun and genre films get dismissed more and more so this is a solid point for them. But the film takes almost all of itself so seriously that I wish the story rises to that level too. 7/10
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
This is almost exactly how I felt. The characters are broadly written but underplayed by the actors to the degree that they feel convincing (if never specific), and the usual squid sort of alien builds to that point through interesting evolutions. If you wanted to take a crack at developing deeper themes, you could note how the overall evolution of life is mimicked in the creature's evolution throughout the film. Starting as a single-celled organism, splitting, forming into more complex organisms, achieving prehensility, etc. Until it's a creature of comparable intelligence to the chattering monkeys it's chasing (maybe one of the characters could notice that).Quoting Peng (view post)
Instead, the closest we get to any sort of subtext is one character noting that it's just trying to survive, and another character observing later that, even though they recognize the irrationality, they hate the creature. Which makes me wonder if the film is about anything at all beyond its own superior pulp suspense. Certainly B-movie mechanisms sneak in, like when the creature's ferocious development relies on a scientist whose biological inquiries seem limited to poking the alien with his finger (shades of Prometheus) and when []
Overall, the flick's worth the time, especially for fans of pressure cooker sci-fi suspense like Sunshine and The Martian (or, at least, their best scenes), but like Peng says, this is just good enough to make you realize that it could've been great and settled.
I'll just double down on what has been said already. It basically borrows from better movies of this genre. Competent in it's delivery for the most part, but never taking the material to interesting places.
Also for Scientists/Astronauts, these characters just make stupid mistake after stupid mistake. You sort of accept that in a teen slasher movie, but not when these guys are supposed to be the best and brightest.
I didn't buy how quickly the alien adapted and understood human stuff. Otherwise, yeh, whatever everyone else said.
Alien: Covenant or this?
Alien: Covenant, easily.
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