Saw it opening night. While I agree that its not "film of the year" worthy, it was FAR from being a bad movie and personally I freaking loved it and had few if ANY complaints.
Felt like a good companion piece to JCs original and ill agree that it segues so perfectly into that film, leaving almost no loose ends untied, that it has that "part 1/part 2" feel to it, or one big movie if watched back to back.
On its own, i liked how it alluded to but didnt blatantly rip off or copy any major elements unique to the first film. kept it fresh and interesting. Just like a poster above said, its like another rollercoaster ride, yeah theres loops and turns, but still fun and enjoyable nonetheless.
They also did VERY well in keeping the look in sync with the time period. too many were fearing the look would be too "advanced" due to a few shots from the trailers, but i was pleasantly surprised to see that the stayed true to the setting. Also, the picture projection in this theater was VERY clear, crisp, clean and on a LARGE aspect ratio so you got to enjoy it as a true spectacle of film display.
Creature designs were awesome, and despite what you see in trailers, they have been updated graphically and rendered/animated much better so they dont look as "obviously CG" as you would have thought. You could tell that there were practical elements under some of the digital extensions, but the CG elements are done so well that you almost dont even notice except for one particular creature in particular that Im not going to mention (no its not one seen in any released material so far). Overall, very well done. Extremely faithful to JC while being its own unique flavor of body horror.
AS for suspense, yeah this film has a faster pace, and while that does create a sense of urgency and "holy crap we gotta kill this thing!" and that is perfectly appropriate, it does take a few points off of the "growing terror" factor IMVHO, though I will admit there were a few times where the suspense did work wonderfully, and even surprised me as a viewer with the twists and turns it took you on, though I will also admit I want to kick myself in the ass for jumping at a moment I could see coming a mile away! :lol guess its like a cruise missile, youll see the blast coming, it doesnt "surprise you" or catch you off guard, but roasts you nonetheless.
Ending scene of course, was the icing on the cake
The only MAJOR complaint (really a non issue, just a personal peeve) I have is the final showdown, because I felt like I had watched that EXACT SAME SCENE at the end of Cowboys and Aliens, but other than that I had no real problems.
Now for some more speculative aspects, this one did shed new light on how the thing (cant call it any other title, creature, alien, virus, cell colony, etc just seem inappropriate for some reason) works, but it also raises a lot of questions as well. Like the people who get infected pretty much right off the bat. What contact did they have? or maybe is it that the thing can emit microscopic "spores" or "darts" into everyone or even something as mundane as "doc touched it, then shakes your hand now youre infected".
Another curiosity is that it seems to favor the "slow infection" theory in that you may seem normal and think youre normal, but youre secretly being assimilated from the inside out until the things cells gain enough control over your chemical makeup to do enslave its molecular motor functions and use it as a vessel and a tool for its purposes, all the while you are still alive and conscious while it does the remainder of its work. this, to me, REALLY heightened the suspense of the picture, because ANYONE could be taken over, even if they were only like 1% infected at the end of the picture, they were still doomed, which, to me, makes even the "meaningless" deaths significant; I wont spoil the ending, but given this idea, the charged emotions running thru that scene, and the subsequent realization afterward, dont seem too far fetched or out of place, and proved to be VERY effective. This also makes you re watch the Carpenter picture with a whole new shade of glasses as a means of filling in some of the gaps that were never explained in that movie.
the final speculation is, of course, the ship itself. Ive never believed it was the ONE thing piloting that gargantuan saucer (why such a HUGE ship for a single pilot? unless its 95% engines and warp drives, and even THEN, why only a one man crew to maintain the WHOLE ship?). Heck the very indication that it CRASH LANDED makes me think that it originally had a multi species crew that had the thing as either a biochemical weapon, study specimen, trophy, or even a crew member (but it just doesnt seem plausible that the thing would be THAT intelligent given its instinctive nature), or maybe a single species crew that captured the thing after it had assimilated many prior species, though given the details of this film Ill lean on the former multi species crew theory based on geometries alone.
Either way, the thing breaks out and absorbs the whole crew, causing the surviving pilot to crash land in Antarctica, away from any more potential sources of nutrients for the thing. Given that it seems to NEED material to assimilate, it breaks out of the ship and exposes itself to the elements in order to preserve itself rather than burn all its calories so to speak. I had LONG suspected this to be the case, and even the film makers themselves confirmed it stating that they had shot material showing this to be the case, either in flashback at the start of the film or aftermath footage at the end of the film, but due to story focus issues they cut it out. While im sad to see they didnt add that in, as for to me it would have filled in gaps and potential plot holes regarding the things origin, it WAS The right move for plot and story concerns. maybe well get a deleted scene on the blu ray?
Anyways, ive rambled on too long about this! lol
Just take my recommendation and GO SEE THIS MOVIE!
Regards,
IMP
