Reviews

I say it with no snobbishness intended: I genuinely liked this movie and respect Ridley Scott for having the intelligence, at the age of 80, of proposing something which reaches deeper than your average sci-fi blockbuster, and trust his viewers to follow.

For one, he avoids a lot of clichés that more heavy-handed directors would have used to make sure we got the plot twists. Think of how sparsely flashbacks are used, when they could have been a (too) convenient way of making us understand characters' motivations and some crucial revelations. Instead, Scott leaves it to our logic and imagination to fill in the gaps.

The film also shines in its reimagining of the saga's elements, and of their place in the story. The titular aliens are not so much the humans' nemesis here as that nemesis' objective. Moving the creatures away from the center makes room for one of the most complex and interesting characters in the franchise: the cyborg David (I am of the opinion that he is now second only to Ripley in the pantheon of Alien characters). Through him, and his more recent prototype Walter, both played with absolute subtlety by Michael Fassbender, Scott takes a truly interesting look at such themes as humanity, hubris, art and creation. Without giving too much away, one is reminded of Blade Runner and Westworld.

The movie also works as a spectrum of different styles that its genre can adopt, and that Scott has himself adopted through his career. I already mentioned Blade Runner, but Exodus comes to mind in one scene.

It is not a perfect movie - apart from Fassbender's turn, the other characters feel underdeveloped, even the amazing Katherine Waterston who does top-notch work with what little she's given - also, it takes too long getting to the really good stuff. But once the direction the movie is taking becomes clear, Scott doesn't shy away from going through with it, and doesn't hold any punches, which is oh so rare in most big productions.

A lot of people would agree season 7 hasn't been the best in the show's run. Too many plots (in both meanings of the word) dull the power and the human element somewhat. A lot also feels like delayed action for the sake of delaying action.

However, to give Kurt Sutter his due credit, he is still capable of the occasional streak of genius. Throughout most of its run time this episode is on average better, and the last half hour contains some of the best acting and writing not only this season but in the series as a whole. Without giving anything away, let's just say it is not the action sequences (satisfying as they are) that are the best feature here, but the human moments. The scenes in question are quiet, shot with perfect sobriety (which is not always the show's strong suit... but then again this episode also contains graphic visuals of someone's eye hanging out of its socket, so even when showing restraint in other scenes, Sutter doesn't shy away from some of the over-the-top-ness that is one of the show's most annoying gimmicks). But when he lets the camera roll and the actors do the work while providing them with dialogue that is both clever and sensitive, we are reminded of the rich and relatable characters behind the gore.

It's powerful stuff.

Nothing much really happens, and what little does happen feels awkward, forced. Mickey's scenes with Sean don't seem to make a whole lot of sense, apart from their role as a delayer of action. Ray's trip to Boston is underwhelming, what we learn about his past could be compelling but instead is just thrown there. The arrival (if we put aside last episode's glimpse) of James Woods's character is undermined by the cartoonish bunch that surrounds him. The scenes between Abby and Deb are poorly written. As to the bit involving Marvin and Bridget, its relevancy will depend on where the next episode goes from here, as this one ends on a cliffhanger.