MonMothma

Given all of its awards and accolades, I was really looking forward to seeing this, but to say I was disappointed, is an understatement. It might have worked better as a straightforward film, but the bizarre decision to shoehorn surreal song and dance routines into an otherwise serious drama is, at best, cringeworthy and, at worst, ludicrous. I love alternative, quirky films, but this isn't even that. As it's so badly executed, it winds up being pretentious drivel. One particular routine set in a gender affirmation facility is destined to go down in cinematic infamy.

Once I got past the whole musical-drama crossover schtick, I gave it a chance even though it took me a good half hour before I actually became invested in the story, which is an interesting one for the most part; it's just let down by some questionable "creative choices", bad dialogue (especially poor Selena Gomez), and a finale that ends up being almost farcical. All credit to Zoë Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón for their performances as I can't fault them, but as an overall film, it just doesn't work.

I checked online to make sure that I hadn't just missed something but no, my opinion seems to align with the majority. Even the communities it purports to portray - namely, trans women, and the victims of Mexican drug cartels - seem to hate it in equal measures. I get the distinct feeling the awards committees are very much patting themselves on the back for being "inclusive", but it actually does a disservice to such communities - acting performances aside - to heap accolades on what is objectively, a bad film.

How it won the Golden Globe and secured so many BAFTA nominations ahead of Wicked as being the better "musical" is actually quite baffling. Definitely a case of The Emperor's New Clothes and until someone stands up and shouts, "But he's naked!", I fear it will sweep the Oscars also.

What a fantastic addition to one of my favourite franchises. While technically, you only need to know Alien and Prometheus, there are so many camera shots, lines of dialogue, and character references to all the films, it's a wonderful homage for the fans. The use of practical effects also gives it a great sense of realism. Even when blended with CGI, the result is still far better than using CGI alone, as happens with many other films. The relatively unknown cast of young actors did a great job as it's no joke having to carry that weight of expectation but they did so admirably. Highly recommended.