PROMETHEUS (15) SciFi/Action/Horror/ Romance. Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Logan Marshall-Green, Idris Elba, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Kate Dickie, Guy Pearce. Director: Ridley Scott More than 30 years after Ridley Scott proved that in space, everyone can hear you scream – loudly – the Oscar-nominated director returns to the science-fiction genre and the ultimate deep space killing machine: Alien.

The weight of expectation resting on Prometheus would crush even the eponymous titan from Greek mythology, whose quest to bridge the divide between the mortals and gods provides the film with its pseudo-philosophical framework.

Inevitably, Scott’s film reduces to a big budget game of cat and mouse between wily xenomorphs and human interlopers.

Production values are impeccable and the numerous dank, foreboding corridors provide plentiful opportunities to slaughter supporting characters.

As in earlier films, an android – played here with a well-practised smile by Michael Fassbender – presides over the ill-fated mission and discovers that automatons are not immune from the rapacious beasts.

If the original Alien was a masterclass in nervous silences and sustained, nail-biting tension, Prometheus opts for composer Marc Streitenfeld’s overwrought orchestration and splatter par excellence courtesy of the visual effects department, who hark back to HR Giger’s iconic original designs.

Prometheus pales next to Alien and the first sequel, helmed with testosterone-fuelled brio by James Cameron.

Shocks are predictable.

The 3D version is a truly immersive experience during the early scenes, when the screen is festooned with overlaid holograms and projected computer readouts.

The eye-popping format becomes almost unnoticeable by the end.

Great Scott? No, perfectly adequate.