<em>'Alien'</em> isn't as eventful, and as such as entertaining, as I had anticipated, though it is still an enjoyable near two hours.

It's a strong cast, with newbie Sigourney Weaver putting in a great performance. Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto and John Hurt are good too. I wanted to see more of them, though that's normal given the tightness of the setting - there's only so much they can do, of course.

Other positives include the neat set design, solid special effects and well done tension building. I can't say I was ever fully unnerved, in fairness that's more a personal thing as fiction rarely scares me, but I was locked on for the entirety. It also gets respect for setting the benchmark it did.

Will check out the sequels, prequels and spin-offs/crossovers with much intrigue.