A long-planned, crushingly filmed prequel to Alien, with director Ridley Scott again insulting his high achievement in Blade Runner. Many borrowed themes get rummaged together with absurd effects, dismal violence, and self-administered surgery by a scientist (Noomi Rapace) that seems both for and against abortion (in this ugly, loopy vision, who can tell?). The alien planet seems to be hell. Michael Fassbender preens as a blond robot, and clips from Lawrence of Arabia beckon us to that tough, real, better world. It is like watching a script wrestle its budget into exhaustion. Guy Pearce, as a crazy billionaire, is (to his credit) unrecognizable. (2012) — David Elliott