Film Filter: Off- I had seen the original film, and I didn't realize that this one isn't actually a re-make; it's a prequel. I love it when movies take the higher road and seek to enhance the story instead of re-doing it, as the original plot and movie weren't that flawed to begin with.
Pros- One of the things this movie had going for it was the story line. I know that the group that created this film can't be held responsible for that, but it really is an idiot proof plot and I would have been shocked/mortified if this film weren't successful. What most scary movies attempt to create is a scenario in which some critical piece of information is not revealed. What this movie does to that concept (and enhances) is embraces it without even trying, as the nature of the human-imitating alien is that its identity cannot be determined. Since the alien can also still function in pieces, it furthers the concept of the unknown, since now many people can be infected without the majority of the researchers knowing. It really is a captivating concept and works very well.
As most re-makes/prequels/sequels intend, the special effects and makeup in this movie are much more interesting and prevalent than in the original. Usually, overly grotesque scenarios and unnecessary gore are unappealing to me, but since the documentation of this movie is of an unknown specie, it is almost appropriate to take the transformation process to the extreme. We're not dealing with humans or familiar animals, so why not go to the max?
Because this movie is centered around scientists and researchers, it makes sense that- since they were going to study the specie anyway- they would be spending a fair amount of time trying to figure out how to separate humans from the alien human imitators. For a moment the movie tried to go in the same direction as the original, so that was a little irritating, until that method failed and they were forced to go in a new direction. I thought that this was a fresh twist, and was used very well throughout the movie.
By far my most favorite part of this film is the throwback moment they had, regarding the original. I won't spill the beans, but anyone who has seen the one from the 80's will know what I'm talking about. The only reason the original movie could happen was because of this scenario, and I'm glad they included it.
Cons- I really don't have much here, other than I wasn't terribly fond of the ending scenes involving the spaceship. If it had crashed and been down in a chunk of ice for centuries...why did it look to be in mint condition? Also, were there no other aliens to be found on that huge ship? It seemed to be just one that split into several pieces. Other than that...and the obvious solution of, "Hey, if we don't EVER split up, then we'll know if someone gets abducted or not" this movie didn't have many cons.
Wrap up- Definitely see this movie. If you haven't seen the original, I would watch it as well, but I'm not sure which order would be best fitting.
Good point about viewing order if you've never seen the original. I suppose it really doesn't matter but anyone new to these movies, perhaps you may want to to start with the 80s film first as the backwards step in special effects could be a bit jarring.
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