REMEMBERING A CLASSIC : "ALIEN"

Ok, I know. Yet another classic. But again, it’s the first time I’ve watched it myself! So I guess, I just guess there might be a few more out there like me who missed this one. Hence I will now just scribble it down. Just in case you thought, you know “Oh another silly old sci-fi movie. Naah, I’ll pass”. NOT the right attitude. At all. Well I mean, yes it is a sci-fi film. We’re pretty much in agreement there. But it isn’t “any old” sci-fi”. It’s a bl**dy good sci-fi / adventure film. And if you’re any kind of film buff you would be a fool to miss out on, if only because it is such a good example of its kind. The Nostromo is a mining ship back from an average duty shipping ore back to planet earth from a distant planet. They are well on the way home when the ship’s main computer changes their course and re-charts it to a seemingly deserted planet from which a mysterious, indecipherable signal seems to be being transmitted. The duty of the crew is to investigate any further life forms. From the moment the crew get to the abandoned buildings on the planet, something isn’t quite right. And although, when they get back to the ship, they are fully aware of the fact that they have returned with “something”, it will take a while to realise what a dangerous “something” they are dealing with. In the limited space of the ship, the danger grows and in the middle of outer space there is simply nowhere to run… Now, in my view Alien is an interesting mix of a thriller a sci-fi and a horror film. I have to wag my finger a tiny bit at Ridley Scott at this point, if only because he seems, in my opinion, rather overly reliant on jump-scares. And I mean they are well done, but still. Too much is too much, and to my mind it gives the impression of not knowing what else to do. But Scott lets the tension build up really well. Another thing, credit where it’s due, is that he has obviously let his imagination run wild. And he has done an excellent job of the whole sci-fi side of things; considering the film is not one of the newest around (I was just reading in one of my text books in fact that a lot of the Nostromo was built largely out of old souped-up airplane parts hehe). I mean, it’s not life changing by a long shot. It’s the classic story of the monster roaming an enclosed space where our characters are trapped and get “picked off” one by one. (Oh come on, that was NOT a spoiler. Besides, I haven’t ruined ANY of the actual surprises). It’s good fun basically. Watch it. You’re in for a nail-biting time if nothing else!